BBKL CHAMPIONSHIP 2019 discussion thread

[Bruyns]

You know you have a strong team when you can still succeed without last year's Hart Trophy winner for more than half of the season.

It really shows how the best teams in this kind of a league aren't driven by one single guy. Having top talent helps but you need depth and balance on your roster because if one guy is hurt or is off their game...do you have other people to contribute. If everyone in a given week removed their best player from their lineup or even worse they played but did nothing...could you still win a matchup?

That's definitely a philosophy of mine when it comes to team building and I agree with Matthew that on paper my team isn't that impressive. I do have 3 players in MacKinnon/Hall/Marchand who are elite but after the big 3 it's a lot of players that are more valuable in BBKL than the NHL.

Draft and develop and being patient is a good NHL strategy but a shitty one here IMO. Mik most likely will buck the trend and win one day with a roster built mostly through the draft but he has probably had more high draft picks than anyone over the last 5 years. For the two years I won Zadorov was the only player in my lineup I drafted and held onto.

I think there are so many teams in this league right now completely overvaluing picks/prospects/youth that I believe it is easier now than ever to transition from rebuilder to contender. Just have to have the balls to acquire actual good players instead of potentially good players, stop treating every 2nd round pick like a sure thing and take advantage of teams with cap problems.

[Bruyns]

I think I miss the wheeling and dealing days of old too, this league used to be trade crazy with teams talking about cycles and turning X into Y. Getting deals with GMs now can be like pulling teeth, it comes with the territory of having a stronger GM base, but we have some REAL stingy GMs now.

[Matthew]

You know you have a strong team when you can still succeed without last year's Hart Trophy winner for more than half of the season.

It really shows how the best teams in this kind of a league aren't driven by one single guy. Having top talent helps but you need depth and balance on your roster because if one guy is hurt or is off their game...do you have other people to contribute. If everyone in a given week removed their best player from their lineup or even worse they played but did nothing...could you still win a matchup?

That's definitely a philosophy of mine when it comes to team building and I agree with Matthew that on paper my team isn't that impressive. I do have 3 players in MacKinnon/Hall/Marchand who are elite but after the big 3 it's a lot of players that are more valuable in BBKL than the NHL.

Draft and develop and being patient is a good NHL strategy but a shitty one here IMO. Mik most likely will buck the trend and win one day with a roster built mostly through the draft but he has probably had more high draft picks than anyone over the last 5 years. For the two years I won Zadorov was the only player in my lineup I drafted and held onto.

I think there are so many teams in this league right now completely overvaluing picks/prospects/youth that I believe it is easier now than ever to transition from rebuilder to contender. Just have to have the balls to acquire actual good players instead of potentially good players, stop treating every 2nd round pick like a sure thing and take advantage of teams with cap problems.

I think that depends on the gm. Some gms are shitty traders and their best case scenario is probably being patient and drafting a good team, while some gms are shitty drafters or too impatient to properly rebuild. I'd say that like most things in life a balance between the two methods is probably the best scenario, where a team acquires value through the draft and then when it's time to compete trades most of that value for upgrades...but timing is everything.

As a lot of the current rebuilds (3/4 of the league???) Switch to trying to compete I think the value of good nhlers will rise and the value of prospects/picks will drop. The teams that jump to compete quickest will take advantage of the cheaper nhlers before the price go up too much and the guys still rebuilding and last to switch over won't be able to afford high end pieces, cuz demand will outpace supply of top nhlers at that point.

[Shoalzie]

To win in a league like this, it's so much a combination of having guys at the right time in terms of age/production and their contract situation. If you own players that are in their peak productive years and aren't making too much money that it doesn't prevent you from having a deep roster...you're in good shape to be competitive.

As I've said when it comes to "rebuilding teams"...there's only so many impactful young players to go around. And as I've stressed before, you can't win with just one big-time talent as teams like Matt and Steve and Mike and Mik will prove. You need a collective. If you want to be patient and draft players for a few years...maybe you'll accumulate enough talent to ascend.

Young players are making a quicker impact in the NHL in recent years. You can be a good fantasy team with a roster mostly under 23 or 24. I just don't understand the stigma of carrying a few players that are at or over 30 who are actually productive.

When 16 teams out of 31 make the playoffs...even teams that are technically building/rebuilding can make the playoffs if things goes their way. Making the playoffs and losing in the first round and getting a mid-1st rounder doesn't sound as appealing as bottoming out and having a shot at winning the lottery.

[kyuss]

Draft and develop and being patient is a good NHL strategy but a shitty one here IMO. Mik most likely will buck the trend and win one day with a roster built mostly through the draft but he has probably had more high draft picks than anyone over the last 5 years.

I doubt it tbh.
So far I have only used one player I drafted in the top 5 along the last 5 years (or ever, actually) and I paid a lot to acquire that pick.

My top picks for each of the last 5 yrs have been:
#16 (not used yet), #4 (not used yet), #2 (Laine, draft-trade), #8 (traded), #15 (Larkin).

In the previous seasons, my first 4 years in the league, I hardly had the assets to acquire 1st rounders and only made two 1st round selections over that period:
#20 in 2011 (Brodin) and #21 in 2013 (Compher)

[kyuss]

When 16 teams out of 31 make the playoffs...even teams that are technically building/rebuilding can make the playoffs if things goes their way. Making the playoffs and losing in the first round and getting a mid-1st rounder doesn't sound as appealing as bottoming out and having a shot at winning the lottery.

yeah, fantasy wise that's pretty fucked up.
Would be cool to reward in some ways playoff teams that don't end up winning the title, but in a league like this so tied to the NHL real rules it's probably not easy to find the proper way. Like, the easy option of awarding a small bonus on the following year's cap kind of conflicts with the fact we use real NHL salaries..

[Bruyns]

When I said high picks I just meant 1sts and 2nds in general and I seem to remember you having a bunch in the years I've been here, but I might be remembering wrong. Mike always had lots of mid and late 1sts and 2nds when he was active as well.

[kyuss]

When I said high picks I just meant 1sts and 2nds in general and I seem to remember you having a bunch in the years I've been here, but I might be remembering wrong.

no I did have plenty of 1st/2nd in the last 5 years, but so far only Larkin and Laine have been factors in my lineup

[Matthew]

BadDrafterMik

[kimmer]

I probably actually produced the most amount of NHLers with draft picks

[Chuck Norris]

I probably actually produced the most amount of NHLers with draft picks

You mean people that picked them with your picks that you traded away? You have that category in spades LOL.

[Matthew]

I probably actually produced the most amount of NHLers with draft picks

You mean people that picked them with your picks that you traded away? You have that category in spades LOL.

Lol

[Arian The Insider]

Lol, he's picked like 6 times in his entire time here

[kyuss]

I probably actually produced the most amount of NHLers with draft picks

lol what

[kyuss]

BadDrafterMik

doesn't mean they won't be NHLers.. some are already, but were traded before I got to use them (Sanheim, Werenski..)

[hong57]

I am one of the most lucky drafters in here with probably most of the decent NHLers produced (and still on my team)… risto, Lindholm, sissons, chabot, matheson, toffoli, dunn….. and soon to be Hayton and kylington.. a couple more is getting a decent shot next year too.. and some I traded away like matt murray.. Lindell.. schwartz.. etc.. but most of them I picked in top 3 rounds so I am not those very impressive drafters getting to pick the NHLers from late rounds but I am lucky

[thom54]

Soon i can join this list by saying I drafted Jack Hughes/Kappo Koopa Kakko

[dave1959]

Big goaltending battle between Matt and Steve...who can be the worst...lol

[lightupdadarkness]

Yeah funny how that works puts up
A career week against me and I’d be winning against either in the cup finals just got lol till
I cry

[Shoalzie]

Looks like a pretty good battle heading into Week 2...awful goaltending aside.