The Philadelphia Flyers ownership group was left with a difficult task following another unsuccesful season and the departure of the GM, there meetings led them to a relative unknown, with little experience in these leagues but someone who had lots of drive and ambition to turn the tide on this once respected Franchise. Enter Jordan Anderson who immediately put his work boots and hard hat on and got to work the same approach he expects him teams to play with every night. He was quoted as saying " I want to put my mark on this team and really get it a new identity and take it to a different place in this league. Mediocrity will no longer be accepted this is a crest you either wear with honor and passion or you wont wear it at all." Lets take a deep dive into this busy offseason! Anderson wasnt kidding when he said if you didnt want to be here you wouldnt and immediately began setting his sights on a roster overhaul!

This GM made 114 individual roster transactions this off-season
Players In via trade - 22        Players out Via trade - 30
Prospects in Via Trade - 12   Prospects out Via Trade - 5
PIcks in Via Trade - 14 ( 1 Conditional) Picks out Via Trade - 6 
Prospects Created - 10 Prospects Dropped - 2 
Draft Picks - 5 Free Agents Signed - 7 

In the draft pick we acquired a stock pile of Blue Chippers drafting 
4th Overall - Tij Iginla 10th overall - Anthony Romani 19th Overall - Justin Porier 42nd Overall - Stevie Leskovar 74th Overall - Andre Gasseau 
We were also able to accquire Jacob Battaglia 11th Overall in a trade, as well as Trent Swick 41st Overall A.J. Spellacy 50th Overall and Aatos Koivu 52nd Overall

We also found a way to keep our draft cupboard full with 3 1st round picks in the upcoming draft 4 2nd round picks and a 3rd as well as 2 year 17 1st round picks and 2 year 17 2nd round picks and 2 year 17 3rd round picks. As well as keeping a very healthy prospect pool, with the likes of Jacob Battaglia, Chaz Lucius, Jackson Blake, Lukas Reichel, Nikita Nesterenko, and the list goes on and on! 

Our real big win of the offseason came from an agressive strategy when we were able to acquire what we thought were the 3 best available free agent options this season in Mark Scheifele, Logan Couture, and Ben King for our Farm System. We had picked these as the 3 key pieces for our team and had approached them that they would all be put in a prominent position for our respective clubs and that we wanted to put ourselves in a win now position from top to bottom this approach seemed to be what all three of these key pieces wanted and needed to hear in order to sign on the dotted line. Plus the Brinks truck that backed up to all of there houses didnt hurt either! We were also able to add some strength and depth to our back end by bringing in Nik Hjalmarsson and Pat Nemeth. We also helped bring in a solid veteran presence in between the pipes by signing Max Legace to help guide this farm team from the net out. 

With all of these additions being added to the strengths we already had we anticipate a excellent season and a fun ride to the finish line! It looks like Philly is ready to do some bullying again see you on the ice! 
 

In a time were most GM’s think the prospects are not good enough. The players being developed are getting better and better. And the volume of impactful players developed goes up each season.  

Here is a list of some names jumping in and making an impact for their teams this season.  

Matvey Petrov – Petrov did have a strong base to start off and really maximized his little time on the farm. On top of checking every box in the 80 range. He has good size and at 22yo his 87sk will become elite. He also comes with what may be the most overlooked skill of 79en.  

Otto Somppi – “Who?”  Otto Somppi the Lightning’s seventh round pick and #206 overall in 2016. For a team that has struggled in the dot in the past. Somppi comes in as a perfect 3C that can eat up time on both the PP and PK.

Brennan Othmann – The bittersweet story of Brennan Othmann. It does sting a little to see him today. I must remind myself that most teams would trade a blue chip like him for a Cup. And getting Derek Stepan was a big part of winning two cups. This is another player with a good base (Not a great base). I put one good season into Othmann before Justin took over and really maximized his development. It takes a little luck to have some of these guys get that one last farm season when you were worried, he may be forced up. Still, none of this happens if you are not putting in some time and planning into your farm team.

Dylan Holloway – Will blow up this season. He may be a fancy name you know, but that has not helped him in the sim at all. He checks a lot of boxes, and it was pure development.

Scott has become a SIM mad scientist. We both were putting in time and effort to develop players. Go back a few years and the main topic of conversation was Zack. I think we had a good grasp, but it was not until we really looked at what Zack was doing that things took off.  And boy did they tale off with Henry Rybinski, Morgan Barron, Elliot Desnoyers and Matthew Villalta.

Luke Evangelista and Ridly Greig both made an impactful debut last season. They both would have been at the top of this list if I made one last season. I expect to see both taking big steps forward with enough playing time.

Mason McTavish – Is coming in with 91fo as a 22yo center. The FO skill has always been a problem in the SIM. The younger players never had a chance. It always seemed like there was a magic number. And if you were above, your skill goes up. And if you were below, your skill went down. And there was no way to cross over if you were below. Thanks to Russ, letting group of obsessed number crunchers push and come up with changes to the league. We are now able to develop players like this.

Connor Zary – I expect to see this guy take another big step forward.

Kirby Dach – Should have his best season.

And my breakout player of the year is Dylan Cozens. His makeup is just too good for him to have a third season in the 30 point range.

There were a lot of ups and downs for the Oilers last season. It was a rough start. I just won the cup with the same team a few weeks before. I kind of expected the team to just auto win games. I did not happen.

The league was boring. I can’t break up the team just to make moves. I was just sitting on my hands waiting to win.

And a quarter of a way into the season the team was in the bottom five for PP, PK and Save%.

I was not sure I was going to make the playoffs at the deadline. The West was on fire. And my team could not string together wins to keep up.

I had to make a trade to create room to bring up Yaroslav Askarov. He came in and went 7-1 .926%  2.15gga. And that was what the team needed to flip the switch.

After the team got in the playoffs Nico Hischier and Ilya Sorokin took over.

Behind the numbers.

I was happy watching the Devils trap their way to 2-1 games. And that was more less how my team played the season before. It was low event hockey with just enough scoring.

Now all of a sudden, the team needs to win 5-4 games. While the team was better overall than the season before. For the first time the team got positive DF boosts all over the lineup. And it did not help at all.

The one change is the loss of a lot of hits. You can’t see it, but I think it played a part of the changes.

Time to put on your tinfoil hat.

I really feel like depth and ED are under rated. Game fatigue plays a bigger role than we think.

I think the season before I had enough hits to cause in game fatigue to be an issue for the other team. It played a big part in my team being more of a shutdown team. The shot totals were a lot lower. And most games were in the 3-2 range.

Now with the team missing so many hits the game really opened. Now our loved 3-2 wins had to become 5-4 wins.

I have no way to prove any of that it just makes sense to me.

Looking at some of the numbers in the league.

Based on the league faceoff numbers the Devils were +9 a game, and the Predators were +8 a game. These are huge numbers that you can see and be controlled. It puts just about all teams in a big hole to start off.

As far as how it turned out for them both. I took out Rups with a hand tied behind his back with two key injuries during the game that pushed him to the WCF.

And I have no clue how the Sabers and Braden Holtby took down the Devils.

Still, it played a big part in my plan for this coming system. Go back in time and I would never advise wasting an NHL re-rate on getting only 95fo for a player. Re-rate is the best way to add talent to rebuild a team.  

The S15 Oilers are all in on the possession game.

Ivan Lodnia                      Sebastian Aho 95fo        Brandon Saad
Alexandre Texier              Nico Hischier 95fo          Brayden Point  88fo
Sheldon Dries 83fo          John Tavares 90fo          Derek Stepan 78fo
Zachary Aston-Reese                                             Martins Dzierkals

Damon Severson    Adam Pelech
Artem Zub               Noel Hoefenmayer
Roman Josi             Evan McEneny

I don’t follow the traditional way of setting lines. I think having John Tavares and Roman Josi on the third line does cause problems for most teams.

Adding Noel Hoefenmayer may be a sneaky good move. That spot jumps +12sk +5en +5ph +15pa +13sc. That should lead to less iceing. 

The team still most likely does not have enough hits. And if you see Roman Josi at minus five. I am most likely having my first season meltdown.

That is the plan and we are sticking to it.

Well folks, turns out assembling the NHL's Most Experienced™ All-Star team (we see you Stamkos, Hall, Landeskog, and friends - hope those knees are holding up! 👴) doesn't automatically translate to wins. Who would've thought? 😅

While your Colorado Avalanche perfect their putting game this postseason (we're getting REALLY good at yelling "FORE!"), we're still ALL IN on the playoff action! 🔥

To our West Coast brothers - LET'S GOOO! 🌅 Keep that cup in the BEST conference! (And yes, we're especially looking at you Kraken - that Matthews-Kucherov combo better be giving everyone hard ons! 🦑)

As for you Eastern Conference teams... adjusts golf glove we'll be practicing our booing from the back nine! 😤

May the best team win*

*As long as they're from the West! And preferably have some ex-Avs players we totally didn't trade away... 🙈

Let's evaluate my pre-season predictions for which teams would make the playoffs..

Eastern Conference:

1. Devils
2. Nordiques
3. Senators
4. Lightning
5. Whalers
6. Canadiens
7. Islanders
8. Bruins

Western Conference:

1. Oilers
2. Avalanche
3. Jets
4. Predators
5. Golden Knights
6. Kings
7. Blackhawks
8. Blues

Overall, the predictions finished decently strong with 11/16 teams correct.

Clearly I did not give enough credit to the following teams; Utah Hockey Club, Seattle Kraken, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and Buffalo Sabres.

Goodluck to everyone who made the playoffs this season!

Evan Fitzpatrick is expected to make his return to the ice for the Oilers on the road against the Vancouver Canucks. After a 5-5-2 start with a.869% with a  4.15 goals against.  Evan has spent the last two weeks in the players assistance program.

Daren pang was able to catch up with Even after practice.

Daren “Even how did you feel out there today?”

Even “Honestly it took a little time to shake off the rust. Really, I am just happy to be back with the guys. And ready to do anything I can to help the team”

Daren “The team has had a few changes early. How are Brayden Point and Roman Josi adjusting to Edmonton?”

Even “I am not going to lie it took a little while. We dropped seven in a row and were really starting to question ourselves. And then things just flipped. We are now 8-0-2 in our last ten games. At times I catch myself starting to get in a trance watching Brayden with the puck. He really has it on a string. And I can’t say enough about Roman. As soon as he was comfortable, he was like having another coach on the ice. He is a wealth of knowledge and skill.”  

Daren “Thanks Even and good luck in Vancouver”

One last thing, as Even was walking away I asked him about the T-shirt for this season. If you miss it. Going into the playoffs last season the whole team was wearing the same T-shirt that said, “Every Shift – Every Puck”. So, I asked if the team had a plan for a shirt for this season. And he just smiled and said “Feeling Dangerous”

Every season, there are surprise risers and fallers from previous years. Will this season see some former powerhouses falter? Will there be surprise contenders?

Let's take a look at some potentially BOLD predictions.

Eastern Conference:

1. Devils
2. Nordiques
3. Senators
4. Lightning
5. Whalers
6. Canadiens
7. Islanders
8. Bruins

Western Conference:

1. Oilers
2. Avalanche
3. Jets
4. Predators
5. Golden Knights
6. Kings
7. Blackhawks
8. Blues

This may be the most competitive I have seen the league since I joined. The bottom feeder teams have improved, the mid-tier teams have added some complementary pieces, and some of the former powerhouses have lost huge pieces. I would not be surprised to only get 50% of my predictions correct.

Good luck to all of the GMs in the 14th season of the Couch Coach Hockey League!

A new season. Let's get it.

IN

Elias Lindholm, Max Pacioretty, David Perron, Rasmus Andersson, Ilya Lyubushkin, Morgan Geekie, Andrew Mangiapane 

OUT

Michael Grabner, Jordan Staal, Brandon Carlo, Marc Staal, Colin Wilson, Grant Mishmah, Chris Terry

Out with the old via trade and retirement and in with slightly younger.

Big emphasis on DI and SC. 

Go B's

After another disappointing season in which Auston Matthews was sidelined for 26 games with an injury, the Seattle Kraken have made some massive additions to the core.

Scoring was a major issue for the Kraken this past season. The additions of Nikita Kucherov and Kevin Shattenkirk as free agents should provide the offensive production needed to guide the Kraken down the path to success.

Kucherov (31) agreed to join the Kraken when he signed a 6 year deal worth $84,000,000. Prior to signing in Seattle, Kucherov had spent the entirety of his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Stanley Cup champion should provide much needed scoring, leadership, and experience to the young forward group.

Shattenkirk (35) agreed to join the Kraken when he signed a 6 year deal worth $37,500,000. Shattenkirk joins a veteran blueline hoping to be a steady presence on the back end.

Career minor league players; Tanner Kaspick, Reid Duke, and Jacob Moverare will get the chance to prove themselves at the NHL level.

Going into the 14th season of the Couch Coach Hockey League, the Kraken aim to make the playoffs for the first time since season 8.

A few years ago, I jumped in as the new Oilers GM. I was 90% excited and had 10% knowledge about the game.

I really did not have much to work with on the team. I did have a plan of a rebuild and making it mine. I was going to sell off some older guys and build with the draft.

Like most new GM’s I could only see the PA and SC numbers. I would look at a player and see the high skill number and think that’s what I need.

I only had one forward with 80sc. Still, I was going to stick with the plan.

I was at a big disadvantage talent wise. Trying to think of a way I could close that gap in each game. The two things I came up with was depth and having guys that did not take penalties. Staying out of the box gave me an extra 6-10min when I was not at that big talent disadvantage. I could shorten the game to some extent. My other plan was to run four lines. With the hope that at the end of the games my 76ov player was a 100%. While the 81ov guy on the other team was at 98%. I have no way of telling if any of that worked. My team was annoying to play at best. Low in the standing but not an easy two points you would hope to get down the stretch.

What I learned the first few seasons.

I picked up a lot of bulk talent in the draft with a lot of picks. Not a lot of stars. You need some luck for that. And the lottery is something you can NEVER count on. If it happens….. great. Other then that its not something to plan around.

I also destroyed the players I did consider “The Core” going forward. Its so had to get a player +2 in anything. Not having at least decent guys next to my core guys cost them points every season. The lineup from top to bottom would lose 1-2 points in DF each season. That’s on top of the skills going down.

At this point I was still on the take no PIM and run four lines plan.

Through the first three FA season I was more less shout out. I was 0-6 on max level bids being in the top spot. And that not counting the many still top level guys I missed on.

The guys I was able to get I did a good job selling them at 50% for picks.

It was next to imposable to get my hands on a top line center. If you did not have one to a swap around, you were not getting one. Even over bidding was not getting me a player in FA.  

Around this time Nico Hischier and Sabastian Aho hit the market. It cost five first round picks on top of all kinds of other things to get them both on the team.  

Now we are in seasons 4-7 and the talent level is climbing.

After winning my second farm cup I am starting to develop guys that have some trade value. Not the huge 80 80 you see now, but guys that had value and could be in a deal for an older forwards.

I was happy to land guys like Kevin Hayes, JVR. Or even old man Frans Nielsen.

I hit on Malkin with a 6x14m deal. We were in the playoffs hunt until the last day of the season only to fall short. We did make the playoffs the next season to have Malkin get hurt in game two and we lost in six.

Seasons 4-6 knowledge level is a lot different. I am starting to see the big picture. I am looking at things like PH and EN. And I am only worried about the big four with goalies.

The team has a lot more talent but struggles to score five on five. And I believe this is because I was so against PIM. I was regularly on the top of the list for fewest PIM. And the bottom of the list for hits.

PIM = Hits = Turnovers

There is a winning balance in there if you can find it.

I started to look for two-way players at this point. And really changed how I view the game.

At this point the team is better than it’s ever been. With Ryan Johanson, Aho, Hischier, Saad, Jennner, Texier, Dauphin, Ristro, Orlov, Hronek and Severson.

We still did not make the playoffs. And I kind of snaped and blow it up.

Rebuild 2.0

Now things have really changed. I still love the idea of rolling four lines. Always makes me think of the old Arkansas 40min of hell basketball teams. If you don’t know about them ESPN did a 40/40 on them. They played high pressure full court defense all game.

One thing I could not figure out was why Zach was getting farm guys at 85 points. And my guys were in the 72point range. And it was from me rolling four lines. I did the math one time and Zack’s best guys were getting 8-10 more games based on TOI.

All over the league you will see guys with nice core numbers in the 80 range across the board. And you will see them with 58EN. That was from running four lines. At the time I was looking to make sure they were going from 13:45 a game to 14:50 the next season. Only to later find out the EN is based on the season average TOI. Its just a above or below that league average number. The player goes up or down based on that.

Later, EN came into play as my team is ready to win. And its about fine tunning things like special teams. If you really need to know how much it can come into play you can look at Sebastian Aho 71EN and Connor Dewar 88EN.

Back to the rebuild. Now I can see the damage I have did to the player I planned to keep. This time is going to be different.

I feel there is only one way to do a real rebuild. You must have forwards in groups of three and defenders on groups of two.

I say this because you can have your three good forwards score and stay in the pulse while the team loses. The last thing you need is a 4th or 7th good forward. That player will just keep taking hits each season until he gets regular support.

This last time I started with six forwards and four defenders. And mapped and planned things out to push this from two lines to three lines all at one time. I was able to rebuild without my key guys taking core stat hits.

Team starts winning a little sooner then planned. And I got a shot at John Tavares. He is a top ten player in the league. And I kind of pushed all in. I also think Derek Stepan was a sneaky good move.

I though my team had a puncher chance going into the playoffs. I am not sure if you call it lucky. Even Fucking Fitzpatrick played worse in the playoffs then the regular season. And somehow in his win was three games we were outshot 2-1 and two more games were close to being outshot 2-1. Having a guy like Ilya Sorokin 5-2 to step in came in big. I was able to play a guy that was 100% every game.

The biggest thing may be this is the first time my guys will get a boost across the board. And not take hits on skills or DF.

The team is still in a good spot going forward. And still have Juraj Slafkovsky, William Eklund and Conor Geekie to look forward to.  

Lets roll it over.