HFVan Hockey League 2020-21

[canucklax]

Due to a player transfer being missed(To ANA: Jesper Fast
To VAN: Det 2021 4th, Trevor Van Riemsdyk , Nikolai Goldobin), the playoff bracket for Round 1 in the Pacific division is reseeded to:
LA vs STL
ARI vs ANA
LA and ARI have advanced to Round 2.

 

[Intoewsables]

Barring a massive performance from Toronto tonight...

2020-21 Arizona Coyotes Round 2 Playoff Roster
Max Pacioretty - David Krejci - David Pastrnak
Blake Coleman - Tomas Nosek - Gage Quinney

Marc-Andre Fleury

yikessssssss

 

[E D]

Here is the HFVHL Playoff Round 2 Analysis. Some predictions were made before the end of the 1st round of the playoffs, as the Toronto/Montreal winner was crucial for a series or two, so we have made slight updates to our predictions now that we know who the winner was. Please note that due to the interference of one @VanillaCoke, our original brackets have been altered due to a couple series being changed. We have left our original brackets in the analysis.

Thanks again to Creative and Hank for taking part!

HFVHL Round 2 Analysis

 

[Intoewsables]

Meet the HFVHL: Los Angeles Kings' GM CreativeUsername

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​

Staff: First of all, congratulations on winning the President's Trophy this season. Were you expecting such a strong performance from your team, and which moves do you think contributed most to your success?

CreativeUsername: I always expect the best out of my team. If you asked me before the season started I wouldn’t have guessed we’d have won the President’s Trophy, but it’s what I aimed for. I’m proud of my team, especially considering our lack of a starting goaltender. My biggest offseason move was trading for Brendan Gallagher, who came up big for us in the regular season and is continuing to contribute in the playoffs. Signing Cody Ceci was also very beneficial, and his contributions to the team shouldn’t be overlooked. Thanks for the congrats, I appreciate it.

Staff: Let's talk about your championship win last season. What moves did you make to position the team for a long cup run? Any advice on roster building for other teams looking to win now?

CreativeUsername: I think it’s important to get both players from different playoff teams and also at least a couple players from teams you really believe in. I had faith in the Dallas Stars and the Tampa Bay Lightning so I acquired a few of their players and it paid off. My most important acquisitions were Alex Killorn and Mattias Janmark. They produced for me all the way until the playoffs were over, and even now they’re still contributing.

Staff: Are there any contributors to your Cup win that you feel haven't gotten the recognition they deserve? Any depth guys aside from your acquisitions that really stepped up to secure the win?

CreativeUsername: Corey Perry and Jamie Oleksiak come to mind immediately. They’ve both been a part of the team for a long time and they really stepped up. Also, Mike Hoffman wasn’t able to stay with us for too much of the playoffs, but when he was there he was incredible. We had a very tough play-in opponent with Vancouver, and Hoffman was vital in beating them. Believe it or not but that series with Vancouver was actually the closest for us all playoffs.

Staff: What are your expectations for this year's playoffs, and do you feel you've done enough to prepare your team for another long run at the Cup?

CreativeUsername: You never truly know just how far you’ll go, you can only hope for the best. I do know that my team will put up a fight, and that the rest of the league should keep an eye out. I feel as though I’ve done a good job at getting ready for the playoffs, coming in with arguably the best skaters in the league, but unfortunately I was unable to acquire a goalie. There were no real options available, so I feel I did the best I could. Only time will tell if I truly did enough.

Staff: On [the subject of acquisitions], how did the trade deadline go for you? It sounds like you may have looked for a goalie at the deadline but couldn't find a good trade partner. Is there anything else you wish you would have tried at the deadline?

CreativeUsername: Well, I had inquired on a lot of goalies, and ended up going with [Anton] Khudobin. Khudobin is a solid goalie but unfortunately he couldn’t join us for the playoffs. I felt he was the best option, given the others just didn’t make sense to acquire. I also acquired Josh Archibald and Alex Chiasson at the deadline, and so it’s unfortunate they didn’t stick around for too long. I didn’t give up too much in general and I may be bringing them back, so I don’t feel bad about it.

Staff: Let's switch gears a bit. This is going to be an interesting offseason with the expansion draft and a flat cap. I guess I'll ask you about your plans for the expansion draft first. Have you decided who you'll be protecting and exposing? Do you anticipate any difficult decisions?

CreativeUsername: I’ve been planning for the expansion draft probably before anyone else. I have a few different avenues I could take. I don’t want to leak anything, so l’ll put it like this. If something I’m working on falls through, I’ll still know who I’ll be protecting.

Staff: You currently have a good number of UFAs going into the offseason which gives you some flexibility. Are you planning on re-signing some of those free agents, or are you happy going into free agency with that many spots to fill?

CreativeUsername: I’m definitely looking to re-sign some of our pending free agents. I strongly believe that a few of them are big parts of this team, and the others are all welcome to come back. There’s only one or two I have no interest of bringing back.

Staff: What's your overall plan for free agency then? Any glaring holes you'd like to try and address during that time?

CreativeUsername: Just the obvious in goaltender. I appreciate everything Jaroslav Halak has done during his time here. He’s won a cup with us. But he can no longer have our #1 spot.

Staff: What are your thoughts on the upcoming entry draft? Obviously you won't be picking high barring a trade, but I'm curious what you think about the top end and also the overall depth of the draft. I won't ask you for any specifics, but are there any players you're hoping to take with your later picks?

CreativeUsername: I’m very high on a number of players. If I was picking high I’d be heavily considering both [Matthew] Beniers and [William] Eklund. In terms of depth, the class is solid. My first will be late, but there are plenty of good options that’ll still be around. I’ve kept my eye on a few players all year around. There’s one in particular I’m hoping to grab, though of course I can’t say who.

Staff: Are there any current prospects of yours that you feel will make the jump to your NHL roster some time soon? And any underrated prospects in the system?

CreativeUsername: I don’t feel as though we have any that are ready to come in and play soon. However, I am high on one prospect in particular, and that’s Joni Jurmo. He’s a rock-solid defenseman who can chip in offensively. I do expect him to join the NHL for us one day.

Staff: In your opinion, what's the best move you've made as GM of the Kings?

CreativeUsername: It was probably trading William Karlsson back to Edmonton for Darnell Nurse, Danton Heinen, and their 2020 1st rounder. Darnell Nurse has been incredible for us since his acquisition, and he just wrapped up a career year. I ended up shipping off the 1st in another trade, helping us free up cap to make room for more players. I appreciate what Danton Heinen brought to the team when he was here, but we ultimately decided to move on at the deadline, and traded him to bring in Alex Chiasson and Joni Jurmo.

Staff: Anything else you'd like to add?

CreativeUsername: Shutouts to Chandler Stephenson.

 

[E D]

For anyone interested, I am running a Player sim in NHL 21 on the Discord below (have also posted this in Discord HFVHL but putting it here as well)

Join the NHL 21 Created Player Game Discord Server!

Everyone involved fills out a form to create their own player in a NHL 21 sim of their full careers, from Junior team to retirement. I will be doing the sim myself and along the way, posting all the players draft rankings, all their stats, trades involving the players, their contract signings, awards, etc.

All that's needed is to join, create the player and then you get to just follow your players career. The sim will most likely begin late June/early July, and will be streamed for those interested in following along with me.

We're up to 18 players so far and counting! Deadline to submit players will be June 15th

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Signs Andreas Wingerli 2x850K ELC.

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Signs

Justin Danforth 2 x 800K
Liam O’Brien 2 x 900K

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Signs Gregory Hofmann to a 1 x 900K contract.

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Signs:

Elias Pettersson to a 3 x 8M extension

Miro Heiskanen to a 3 x 6.5M extension

Signs:

Mathieu Perreault to a 2 x 1.25M extension

Signs:

Kirill Semyonov to a 1 x 825K contract

 

[E D]

Hey Everyone,

ELC's and Waiver Exemptions have been updated for all players on GM's NHL and AHL rosters in the HFVHL Roster Spreadsheet!

These have been updated to reflect on next season. For anyone who still has Waiver Exemption, I put in how many games they have played thus far and the threshold they would have to hit to require waivers this year.

For players that turn 25 between now and the season starting next year, I have removed their waiver exemption status as they will require waivers by season start (all players who were under a contract for last season that are 25+ require waivers). Players that turn 25 in October, I put in the date of their birthday. Since it is unknown when the season will start and when the waiver deadline will be, please watch for these players as they may require waivers if they turn 25 before that deadline.

Please go through your own roster and let me know if any mistakes were made, or if you would like clarification on certain players and why they may not be exempt anymore.

I will still be fiddling a little with players, as I would like to update the spreadsheet to show all 35+ contracts as well for GMs to see, and maybe some other helpful information, but I felt waiver exemptions were important for GMs to know going into Expansion Draft as well.

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Signs:

Samuel Bolduc 3 x $925K ELC
Mikhail Abramov 3 x $825K ELC
Blake Murray - 3 x 800K ELC

Mason Marchment 2 x $950K
Joey Anderson 2 x $900K

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Johnny(Will) B Goode​

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Tyler Tucker 3 x 800K ELC
Riley Damiani 3 x 900K ELC
Otto Koivula 1 x 800K
Casey Fitzgerald 1 x 900K
Otto Leskinen 1 x 800K
Niko Mikkola 2 x 950K

Signs

Dougie Hamilton 5 x 6.6M w/ standard NTC.

Thatcher Demko 5 x 5M

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Signs:

Brendan Gallagher 5 x 6.5M w/ standard 12 team NTC
Mattias Janmark 2 x 3M
Jamie Oleksiak 3 x 3M
Jaroslav Halak 1 x 2M
Corey Perry 1 x 2M
Josh Archibald 1 x 1.25M
Cody Ceci 1 x 1.5M

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Bargain Binn(ington)​

 

[Intoewsables]

Meet the HFVHL: Florida Panthers' GM ATypicalCanadian

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Staff: What were your expectations for the team going into this season? Do you feel like you underachieved?

ATypicalCanadian: My expectations have always been to make the playoffs with the ultimate goal of course being to win a championship, so I'm definitely disappointed that I missed the mark on that goal this season. It's also lead to me having to reassess what the next steps should be going forward.

Staff: What do you think you need to do differently to ensure that you get back into the playoffs next season? Any particular areas on your roster that you feel you'll need to address?

ATypicalCanadian: I think my biggest issue, going back as far as last season has been the slowly declining level of depth I can afford to have on the team. I need to make well calculated decisions via trade and free agency to restore the depth I had two seasons ago. In terms of particular areas I could improve, I’d like to bring in a goalie to share the workload with Elvis Merzlikins. I also believe I need to start to give younger players a chance to make the team. Making those moves may very well lead to me needing to do some roster juggling.

Staff: Are there any players you're looking to move right now to clear cap space and allow for roster juggling, as you put it?

ATypicalCanadian: I would say I'm open to listening on almost every player currently on the Panthers roster minus Elvis and [Yegor] Sharangovich. While I'd like to be able to reconfigure the roster over one off season and re-enter the playoffs next season I could also face a different reality. This might take more time depending on what moves are available to me and also due to the challenges brought on with the flat cap era.

Staff: Have you started planning for the expansion draft? Do you have a good idea of who you'll be protecting and who you'll be exposing? Any plans to make deals with Seattle to have them take or avoid certain players?

ATypicalCanadian: I would say I decided which players and format I'd be selecting (7-3-1) fairly quickly after the trade deadline. I don't currently have any plans to make a deal with Seattle since I feel I can fill that gap internally or via free agency. I'm also extremely fortunate to have our #1 goaltender in Elvis be expansion exempt which allows us to potentially pursue that addition in net I've previously mentioned.

Staff: You're missing your 1st and 2nd round picks in this year's entry draft, but you've also managed to accumulate a good number of mid- to late-round picks. What are your plans for the draft? Will you try to trade up into the first two rounds, or are you happy using all of your picks in the later rounds?

ATypicalCanadian: I've just recently started to explore what options may be available for adding picks for this year's draft. If I get an opportunity to trade into the late 1st or even the 2nd round I'd definitely consider said moves, but I'm also happy to use my picks from Rounds 3-5 if I can't close a trade that makes sense for me.

Staff: Are there any prospects in particular that have caught your eye? Obviously I won't press you for specifics, but I'm just wondering if you've found any players you'd like to take in the later rounds -- or in the earlier rounds if you manage to trade up?

ATypicalCanadian: I've started to and am still continuing to slowly add to a growing list of players that I have interest in should they be available at different stages of the draft. You just never know how other GM's will feel about players you like and where they might go though.

Staff: Speaking of prospects, are there any in your farm system that you think can crack your roster next season? Any prospects that you think fans should keep an eye on over the next couple years?

ATypicalCanadian: I intend to give Jan Jenik, Nolan Foote and Jacob Bernard-Docker spots on our roster should they earn them in training camp. I'll also be keeping an eye on a number of our prospects in the AHL including Ivan Chekhovich, Brady Lyle, Martin Pospisil and Viktor Lodin. In terms of at the College/Jr level I don't have a large number of players, but I hope to see Matt Kessel continue to progress with UMass of the NCAA.

Staff: Moving back to your main roster, who would you say are the core pieces on your team? Who are you building around?

ATypicalCanadian: Nicklas Backstrom and Logan Couture were pivotal when our team was at it's best and we made our run to the conference finals. I also have full confidence in Torey Krug's ability to rebound next season and that Elvis Merzlikins will keep growing as the teams #1 goalie. I would say that those four players are of importance to our team while also recognizing that with the aging core I'll have to make way for younger guys to take the leading roles with time.

Staff: Once Ondrej Kase and Anders Lee come off of injured reserve, you're going to be in a pretty tight cap situation. Do you think you'll need to move one of your more expensive forwards or defensemen to fill out the rest of your roster?

ATypicalCanadian: In the case of both we'd like to have both be at training camp healthy, but in Kase's situation we're not sure where he'll be at. As it stands we'll have some cap in reserve and stand to gain some after losing a player in expansion. I won't rule out the possibility more money is sent out via trade though if it benefits the team.

Staff: In your opinion, what's the best move you've made as GM of the Panthers?

ATypicalCanadian: I would say acquiring Nicklas Backstrom, someone who's been a crucial part of our team when we've reached our highest levels with this core group of players. He keeps continuing to play well into his 30's and finished top 20 in scoring this season while we suffered a number of injuries.

Staff: Anything else you want to talk about?

ATypicalCanadian: I'll close out with saying that part of this interview has suddenly aged very quickly. I can confirm I've just closed a trade with another team regarding a goaltender to share the crease with Merzlikins. We're pleased to be welcoming Jordan Binnington to the Florida Panthers and are excited at the prospect of having a great 1A/1B pairing in net.​

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Moving Keith Is Pateranent to Misko's Offseason Plans.

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Let's Rourke and Roll​

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Signs:

Jesper Froden 1 x $875k ELC

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

San-Heim on His Way​

 

[Weylspin]

place Kevin Shattenkirk and Duncan Keith on unconditional waivers for the purpose of buyout

 

[Dustin Waleff]

Signings:

Erik Cernak 2 x 3.000M
Alex Nedeljkovic 3 x 1.500M
Joel Kiviranta 2 x 1.000M
Brogan Rafferty 2 x 1.000M
Ben Gleason 2 x 0.950M
David Hrenak 2 x 0.950M
Kaedan Korczak 3 x 0.900M
Jordan Gross 2 x 0.900M
Bobby Nardella 2 x 0.900M
Joey Daccord 2 x 0.900M
Joe Snively 2 x 0.850M
Julius Mattila 2 x 0.850M
Ryan Shea 2 x 0.850M

 

[E D]

place Bobby Ryan on unconditional waivers for purpose of buyout.

We would like to thank Bobby for his time in our organization and wish him the best moving forward

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Hudon Out for a Trade Till the End of the Night​

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Sam Steeled Himself for a Move to a New Team