Awesome! Glad you're in the spirit!
William was absent minded and lost in thought, as he was wont to do in the off season.
Though his presence had helped to lift the hapless Leafs to a level of respectability not seen in his lifetime, he understood that he alone wasn't solely responsible for the turnaround; his comrade and confidant Auston Matthews, who had defected from Switzerland two years earlier to much fanfare, had played a crucial role and given the team greater tactical options up the middle. Mitchell Marner, who was something of a prodigy in the Ontario leagues and carried with him always an infectious attitude that kept spirits light, was also instrumental in the turnaround of the once moribund team's fortunes.
But it was in the months past, that the Leafs added the largest and most controversial piece; John Tavares - who had chosen to leave his battalion with the Islanders and join the Leafs. No doubt a wily and experienced veteran of many battles, boasting a mind with a deep understanding of War, however his past reputation and success in battles ensured that he commanded a significant cap hit, which some believed had caused a degree of consternation within William's camp, though this was hardly the case.
William Mikhailovich was thus torn between two poles; 'how much money does one man need to be happy?', he would often wonder to himself - even his entry level deal kept him in a level of comfort that went far beyond that of the layman, it was what he worked all his life for and it was by right his...young William knew that in the coming seasons that Matthews and Marner would also require increases in salary, and was vehemently opposed to the notion of being given less than he was worth, and nor would he deny secretly salivating when he saw what the Oilers gave Leon Draisaitl a few years back as well.
He strode forward, the mist rising from the ground at his feet, giving him an appearance of walking through the clouds as if beside the gods themselves. Though eager to rejoin his comrades in these most crucial battles, he had much to consider in the coming days.
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