1. Re-rating
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Back to the old system of hiding as many players as you want, only limited by the number of farmers you have. Nice and simple.
THIS IS A MAJOR CONCERN OF MINE - MAINLY FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. FOR EXAMPLE, THE LIZARDS HAD ABOUT 18 PLAYERS ON THEIR FARM GOING INTO NSHL6, AND NOW THEY ARE DOWN TO ABOUT 5 ! HAD THEY KNOWN ABOUT THIS COMING INTO AFFECT, OF COURSE THEY WOULDN'T HAVE JUST TRADED AWAY 2/3 OF THEIR FARM TEAM. MY POINT IS, AND I MAKE IT VERY STRONGLY, IS THAT IF THIS RULE IS TO COME INTO EFFECT, IT BE IMPLIMENTED AT LEAST 2 SEASONS FROM NOW, WHEN TEAMS KNOW WHATS GOING TO BE EXPECTED OF THEM, AND CAN STOCK UP ACCORDINGLY. ANOTHER WAY IT HURTS IS FOR THE TEAMS WHO HAVE TRADED AWAY THEIR DRAFT PICKS, THE EASIEST AND CHEAPEST WAY TO RESTOCK YOUR FARM TEAM. I'M SURE THEY WOULDN'T HAVE DONE SO HAD THEY KNOWN THE VALUE OF A FARMER WITHIN THIS NEW RULE CHANGE.
I DON'T MIND THE PRINCIPLE OF THE IDEA - BUT TIMING MUST BE LOOKED AT.
AS FAR AS THE "OLD" CURRENT SYSTEM GOES, I THINK IT is WORKING. I HAVE NOW BEEN ON BOTH SIDES OF THE FENCE (X-PROTECTIONS / 4 PROTECTIONS), AND I CAN TELL YOU THE X IS A HELL OF A LOT BETTER! I HAVE HAD TO TRADE AWAY DEVELOPING PLAYERS FOR PLAYERS OF LESSER RATINGS JUST SO I WOULDN'T GET CAUGHT LOSING ALL GROUND - SUNDOGS HAVE BEEN SCRAMBLING TOO IN THE SAME WAY. THE TRADERS/MUFFS DON'T HAVE AS MUCH A CONCERN BECAUSE OF THEIR DEPTH, BUT FOR THE TEAMS TRYING TO GET TO THE TOP, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT. THE LIZARDS SHOULD HAVE FINISHED WAY DOWN THE LIST, AND WE'D STILL HAVE PLAYERS LIKE NABOKOV/SELIVANOV/RUCHINSKY/NIINIMAA/ETC IN THE LINEUP.
ALTERNATIVELY, THESE GOOD PLAYERS HAVE BEEN GOING TO WEAKER TEAMS, THOSE WITH ENOUGH PROTECTION SPOTS TO HIDE THEM FROM RERATING, THUS MAKING THOSE TEAMS BETTER! SO, GOOD TEAMS GET WEAKER/BAD TEAMS GET STRONGER - I THOUGHT THAT WAS THE OBJECTIVE.
2. Waiver draft
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To help out the weaker teams, we'll try out the waiver draft idea.
Each team will protect 6-10 players (I suggest 8), and then each team
selects one player, with each team losing one player. You can select a
player from your own team if you want. Order for this draft will be determined by a "team qulaity" scale, as determined by the sum of the salaries, as calcualted by HLS2, of your top 20 players. The lowest paid teams get to pick first :-)
Also, this draft will occur immediately (within a day or two) of the end of the playoffs. No trades will be permitted from the trade deadline until the completion of the waiver draft. Nobody wants the Muffs picking 1st in the waiver draft, now would they? Also, the trading of waiver drat picks will be prohibited.
THE QUALITY OF TEAMS IDEA IS GREAT WITH ME. IT ALEVIATES MANY OF MY PREVIOUSLY VOICED CONCERNS.
FOR THE WAIVER DRAFT I'D SUGGEST MAKING THIS FIGURE 11 (TWO FULL LINES OF PROTECTIONS AND ONE GOALIE). THIS ALLOWS FOR TEAMS TO DEVELOP PLAYERS AND KEEP SOME COSISTENCY WITH THEIR TEAM. OTHERWISE, WHAT I SUSPECT YOU'LL START TO SEE ARE TEAMS ONLY PLAYING THEIR BEST PLAYERS, AS WHY BOTHER PLAYING AND DEVELOPING A PLAYER OVER THE 9 PLAYER WAIVER DRAFT LIMIT, IF YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LOSE THEM ANYWAY? THIS WILL DETRIMENTALLY AFFECT THE OVERALL QUALITY OF THE LEAGUE, AND ALSO LIMIT SUBSTANTIALLY THE TRADE PROCESS AND COACHING STRATEGIES.
THE IDEA OF A WAIVER DRAFT IS GOOD.
3. Bonus camps
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The bonus camps will stay the same, but will be determined by the above mentioned "team quality" scale, as of the end of the regular season.
THAT'S FINE WITH ME - HOWEVER, I STILL LIKE THE IDEA OF AN ADDITIONAL 1 OR 2 CAMPS GOING TO TEAMS THAT HAVE MISSED THE PLAYOFFS (AS IN THE EAGLES CASE, WHERE THEY GOT CAUGHT IN STRONG DIVISION AND COULDN'T PARTICIPATE IN POST SEASON PLAY - BUT DON'T GET ANY COMPENSATION FOR THAT.
2ND THOUGHT IS: WHY NOT ALSO GIVE BONUS CAMPS TO THE TOP 3 OR 4 TEAMS IN THE REGULAR SEASON STANDING? AS A REWARD FOR PLAYING OUT THE LONG SEASON SUCCESFULLY? RIGHT NOW, THERE IS VERY LITTLE REWARD FOR REGULAR SEASON PLAY - EXCEPT THE Braggers' Bowl, AND POSSIBLY HOME ICE ADVANTAGE IN THE PLAYOFFS. BUT THEN WE HAVE A SITUATION LIKE THE SCHULTZ DIVISION, WHERE THE 4TH PLACE SUNDOGS NEVER SEE HOME ICE ADVANTAGE, AND THE 3RD PLACE LIZARDS HAVE TO MEET THE 4TH PLACE SUNDOGS IN THE 1ST ROUND! SOME REWARDS FOR TRYING AND SUCCEEDING DURING THE REGULAR SEASON !!! SO, INSTEAD, REWARD THEM FOR A JOB WELL DONE.
4. Entry Draft
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The order of selection for the entry draft will still be determined by the final regular season standings. This is a nice tradition, and changing this would take away the mystery and intrigue involved in the trading of draft picks. I do like the idea of a draft lottery, however. I would suggest we would hold a lottery similar to the NHL. Beside taking away any incentive to dog it, this will also provide us with a decent excuse to get together and drink beer (or Rum).
Posted on Jul 15, 1999, 7:12 PM from IP address 139.175.187.206