If you had $64,000,000, how would you build your NHL Team?
Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 10:29 am
If you had $64,000,000, how would you build your NHL Team?
Let's say you were the GM of an NHL hockey team, and that every player was a free agent (with their current salaries and cap hits), and that there was going to be a massive draft where every single player would need to be selected. (Under the current cap)
How would you go about building your team? (For you NHL 14' fans, treat this thread like you're in 'Be a GM' mode with 'Fantasy Draft' on).
I'll post the line-ups I created later on, but here is the general mindset I try and have:
1) ALL of my players need to be atleast a '4' and above (out of '5') for both 'Physical' and 'Defensive Skill'. The only time I would make an exception, is if someone is off-the-wall physical (i.e. a 5/5........like a Chris Neil type player).
2) I never select a goalie as my first overall player. However - a goalie is always my 3rd overall pick.......or even as high as #2. Based on studies that I have conducted, I truly believe that a goalie needs to be one of your most important players......and perhaps be capable of being your best player in the playoffs, but that your actual best player on the team should be a center or a defenseman. This observation of mine is based on most of the Stanley Cup winners over the past 2 and a half decades.
3) Depth at Center. This is my signature when building teams. Even if I lack depth on wings, I always try and ensure that I am deep down the middle. A center will almost always be my first pick to ensure that I have atleast 1 superstar center. Ideally, I try and have two.
Typically, my top centers will usually consist of Sidney Crosby (if I get first overall pick), Eric Staal, Logan Couture, Anze Kopitar, etc., and my 2nd picks for centers usually are guys like David Backes, Jordan Staal, Mike Richards, Joe Thornton (i.e. his age makes him available), etc.
4) Deep Top 4 defense, but no superstars: This is something that I'm debating (i.e. is it better to draft a superstar defenseman as your first or 2nd overall pick......even if it's at the expense of having 2 superstar centers), but having two superstar centers would be my first choice. Having said that, if I'm ever in a draft situation where every single other GM is picking up a Center or a Goalie, then I would adjust my strategy and snatch up a Blue Chip Blue Liner.
Typically though, my top 4 defenseman usually consist of guys such as Dan Hamhuis, Brooks Orpik, Braydon Coburn, Kevin Bieksa, Paul Martin, Nick Schultz, Josh Georges, Chris Phillips, Francois Beauchamin (sic), etc.
In the rare instance where I do select a defenseman early on however, I typically try and pick guys like Shea Weber, Brent Seabrook, PK Subbann, or even Zdeno Chara (age, salary, and contract makes him less desirable for me than some other top gays).
5) Goaltending: Like I said earlier, I never have my goalie as my first overall pick, and even debate whether picking a goalie as my 2nd overall pick. My personal philosophy is that if you have a top notch goalie but a sub-par team in front, a goalie will have to over-exert himself (i.e. think, Sabres in 1999, Canucks in 2007). On the flip side - if a team in front is extremely dominant, it can make a 'good' goalie look 'great' (i.e. think - Antti Niemi 2010).
Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes is an example of the type of goalie that I would end up drafting. In NHL 13', Corey Schneider and Tuuka Raask (Sic) were the types of goalies that I'd end up drafting but in NHL 14', they get selected a lot earlier.
6) Wingers: Wingers are always my last priority. I won't even think about drafting a winger until the following has been met: 2 Centers, 1 goalie, 4 defensemen. THEN I go for the wingers. My wingers, as with my other players, are always atleast a '4' for both phyiscality and defense. If they are below a 4 on defense, they need to be atleast a 3 on
defense and a '5' for physicality (i.e. Jordan Tootoo). My top 6 wingers (for both NHL 13' and 14') are usually guys like Chris Kunitz, Rene Bourque, Erik Cole, Ryan Malone, R.J. Umberger, Johan Franzen. 3rd line wingers are guys like Travis Moen and Tomas Kopecky.
7) 4th line and 5th/6th defensemen - with the exception of my 4th line center, everyone else earns less than $1,000,000. No exceptions. Antoinne Vermette and Brooks Laich are typical 3rd line centers that I have, while a guy like Paul Gaustad is a 4th line center for me.
8) Contracts: Should be atleast 3+ years at justifiable cap hits.
The Brown Knight's order of drafting:
A) First Line Center
B) First Line Center
C) Goaltending
D) Defenseman
E) Defenseman
F) Defenseman
G) Defenseman
H) 3rd line Center
I) Defenseman (less than $1,000,000)
J) Winger
K) Defenseman (less than $1,000,000)
L) Winger
M) Winger
N) Winger
O) Winger (less than $1,000,000)
P) Winger (less than $1,000,000)
Q) 4th line center
Q) Winger (less than $1,000,000)
R) Winger (less than $1,000,000)
The rest of my picks are on two-way contracts if I recall correctly.
STYLE OF PLAY:
It's too much detail to go into here......and the last thing I want to do in life is bore people with useless details.......and so just know that I get my teams to play a similar style to the LA Kings and St. Louis Blues (i.e. 1-3-1 neutral zone + aggressive forecheck).
Let's say you were the GM of an NHL hockey team, and that every player was a free agent (with their current salaries and cap hits), and that there was going to be a massive draft where every single player would need to be selected. (Under the current cap)
How would you go about building your team? (For you NHL 14' fans, treat this thread like you're in 'Be a GM' mode with 'Fantasy Draft' on).
I'll post the line-ups I created later on, but here is the general mindset I try and have:
1) ALL of my players need to be atleast a '4' and above (out of '5') for both 'Physical' and 'Defensive Skill'. The only time I would make an exception, is if someone is off-the-wall physical (i.e. a 5/5........like a Chris Neil type player).
2) I never select a goalie as my first overall player. However - a goalie is always my 3rd overall pick.......or even as high as #2. Based on studies that I have conducted, I truly believe that a goalie needs to be one of your most important players......and perhaps be capable of being your best player in the playoffs, but that your actual best player on the team should be a center or a defenseman. This observation of mine is based on most of the Stanley Cup winners over the past 2 and a half decades.
3) Depth at Center. This is my signature when building teams. Even if I lack depth on wings, I always try and ensure that I am deep down the middle. A center will almost always be my first pick to ensure that I have atleast 1 superstar center. Ideally, I try and have two.
Typically, my top centers will usually consist of Sidney Crosby (if I get first overall pick), Eric Staal, Logan Couture, Anze Kopitar, etc., and my 2nd picks for centers usually are guys like David Backes, Jordan Staal, Mike Richards, Joe Thornton (i.e. his age makes him available), etc.
4) Deep Top 4 defense, but no superstars: This is something that I'm debating (i.e. is it better to draft a superstar defenseman as your first or 2nd overall pick......even if it's at the expense of having 2 superstar centers), but having two superstar centers would be my first choice. Having said that, if I'm ever in a draft situation where every single other GM is picking up a Center or a Goalie, then I would adjust my strategy and snatch up a Blue Chip Blue Liner.
Typically though, my top 4 defenseman usually consist of guys such as Dan Hamhuis, Brooks Orpik, Braydon Coburn, Kevin Bieksa, Paul Martin, Nick Schultz, Josh Georges, Chris Phillips, Francois Beauchamin (sic), etc.
In the rare instance where I do select a defenseman early on however, I typically try and pick guys like Shea Weber, Brent Seabrook, PK Subbann, or even Zdeno Chara (age, salary, and contract makes him less desirable for me than some other top gays).
5) Goaltending: Like I said earlier, I never have my goalie as my first overall pick, and even debate whether picking a goalie as my 2nd overall pick. My personal philosophy is that if you have a top notch goalie but a sub-par team in front, a goalie will have to over-exert himself (i.e. think, Sabres in 1999, Canucks in 2007). On the flip side - if a team in front is extremely dominant, it can make a 'good' goalie look 'great' (i.e. think - Antti Niemi 2010).
Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes is an example of the type of goalie that I would end up drafting. In NHL 13', Corey Schneider and Tuuka Raask (Sic) were the types of goalies that I'd end up drafting but in NHL 14', they get selected a lot earlier.
6) Wingers: Wingers are always my last priority. I won't even think about drafting a winger until the following has been met: 2 Centers, 1 goalie, 4 defensemen. THEN I go for the wingers. My wingers, as with my other players, are always atleast a '4' for both phyiscality and defense. If they are below a 4 on defense, they need to be atleast a 3 on
defense and a '5' for physicality (i.e. Jordan Tootoo). My top 6 wingers (for both NHL 13' and 14') are usually guys like Chris Kunitz, Rene Bourque, Erik Cole, Ryan Malone, R.J. Umberger, Johan Franzen. 3rd line wingers are guys like Travis Moen and Tomas Kopecky.
7) 4th line and 5th/6th defensemen - with the exception of my 4th line center, everyone else earns less than $1,000,000. No exceptions. Antoinne Vermette and Brooks Laich are typical 3rd line centers that I have, while a guy like Paul Gaustad is a 4th line center for me.
8) Contracts: Should be atleast 3+ years at justifiable cap hits.
The Brown Knight's order of drafting:
A) First Line Center
B) First Line Center
C) Goaltending
D) Defenseman
E) Defenseman
F) Defenseman
G) Defenseman
H) 3rd line Center
I) Defenseman (less than $1,000,000)
J) Winger
K) Defenseman (less than $1,000,000)
L) Winger
M) Winger
N) Winger
O) Winger (less than $1,000,000)
P) Winger (less than $1,000,000)
Q) 4th line center
Q) Winger (less than $1,000,000)
R) Winger (less than $1,000,000)
The rest of my picks are on two-way contracts if I recall correctly.
STYLE OF PLAY:
It's too much detail to go into here......and the last thing I want to do in life is bore people with useless details.......and so just know that I get my teams to play a similar style to the LA Kings and St. Louis Blues (i.e. 1-3-1 neutral zone + aggressive forecheck).