Millers Musings

 Offseason Preview

After being dispatched rather effortlessly by Las Vegas in the 1 st round of the playoffs,

the Georgetown Millers enter the off-season not certain of their next steps.

Several of their best regular season performers are pending unrestricted Free Agents –

G Cam Talbot, LW Blake Coleman, and D Sean Walker just to name 3 – yet the Millers

don’t really have a slam-dunk resign given how many of these vets have under-

performed this year in the NHL. The most likely UFA to be re-signed is current 3 rd string

G Jake Allen, who would back up or potentially time share the crease with Lukas Dostal,

given Connor Ingram’s struggles this NHL season.

The Millers have some youth coming up; ticketed for top 9 roles are C Jesperi

Kotkaniemi and C/LW Marco Kaspar, and D Jackson LaCombe is a lock for a top 4

spot. Winger Maxim Tsyplakov is likely a given for the 4 th line. Youngish vet D Zach

Jones is currently the number 7 Defenseman among those under contract or an RFA for

the next season. D Vladislav Kolyachonok, C Matt Rempe, and LW Mikael Pyythia also

graduate from their Minors status but are way down the depth chart.

Given what is currently on hand, the Millers forward depth chart lines up this way (LW-

C-RW). Players in bold are those who did not appear in any games for the Millers last

season, even If they were on the active roster.

Copp-Larkin-Necas

Kaspar-Malkin-Guenther

Martinook-Kotkaniemi-Moore

Robinson-Henrique-Tsyplakov

O’Connor and Joseph are likely reserves unless traded.

The Defense corps welcomes back 5 Defenders who saw playoff action, plus LaCombe:

Theodore-LaCombe

Walman-Marino

Gostisbehere-Ferraro

Jones and Kolyachonok are the only current depth defenders.

Assuming Allen is the UFA re-sign, the netminders are essentially the same minus

Talbot:

Dostal

Allen

Ingram

Is this a team that can nail down a playoff spot? Probably. But it lacks the depth and star

power to really challenge the top of the division and conference. One more top 6

forward is badly needed, and an upgrade in defensive depth, considering injury

concerns for Theodore and Marino, is warranted.

Georgetown has sat out the first wave of trades, preferring to see how several of their

players and potential trade targets finish out the NHL Season before making any big

moves. Expect them to be active in free agency and also to move out one of their 2 late

first round picks for more immediate help.

State of the Loons; Another disappointing exit

 As we mentioned earlier, after finally getting out of the first round last year our goal for this year was to win multiple rounds in the playoffs. No offense to Halifax but when we saw the Thunder upset Calgary our hopes were up. Even though we still believe that we were the better team we were out played by the underdog Norsemen. A week later we are still struggling to understand what happened. If you take out the last game of the season, where we sat 75% of our starters, we swept the season series against Halifax. What is even harder to accept is losing 3 home games in the second round and going 2-5 at home in the playoffs after only losing 9 games at the Pond all season. 

So what does it mean for the Loons going forward? Roster changes? Coaching change?

There doesn't seem to be a lot of room for roster moves other then bottom 6 replacements and its hard to imagine anyone could do a better job behind the bench the Sullivan. I believe our best hope is not to over react and hang in there til our blue chippers hit the roster. Will Smith and Frank Nazar should make the roster next year, Ryan Leonard and Jimmy Snuggerud the following year. That is a lot of talent on the way.

It is time to turn the page and get ready for free agency, I would have liked to be preparing for the draft but we are not on the clock til 2027!

Wisborg wisdoms

 It all looked so good! Just 6 losses after 2/3 of the season. Could the team make it under 10 losses over the season? Then it happened...

there where no changes made, no players injured, the bottom just fell out. In the last 18 games Wisborg lost 8 of them. The last four games where wins to solve a .500 for that period. We had problems all year with powerplay but we did score well in 5 on 5 so that wasn't really a problem.

Playoffs is the second season, hopefully it would start as it had in the regular season but the Donuts where in trouble already in first round and was departed after 7 games in round two. Leading 3-1 in games and ending up losing three straight OT games.

The will be a changes in the team and expect the Donuts to sell some assets. That is not often you hear that. 

State of the Loons; Round 2 Norsemen

 For the second time in Loon history we are in the second round. Last year Wisborg swept us right out of the playoffs, fingers crossed that this year is different. After a hard fought 4-2 series win over the Isotopes the #5 seed Halifax Norsemen invade Capeside.

The season series against Halifax was a lopsided 5-1 but it does not really tell the whole story.  The majority of the games were early in the season before Halifax made key additions to their lineup. Its rather remarkable how the Norsemen have expedited their rebuild. They went from a 43 point 20 win team last year to a 84 point playoff team this year. Key additions of Makar, Kucherov, Johnston and Hertl tend to do that, but the Loons did have their number during the regular season:

HFX 4 CAP 6

CAP 6 HFX 2

CAP 5 HFX 3

HFX 1 CAP 2

HFX 3 CAP 6

CAP 2 HFX 3 (CAP rested all their top players in this season finale)

As we all know there is a massive difference between the regular season and the post season especially when one gm has won a Kehler Cup while the other is in the second round for only the second time.

Simon has Halifax rated at a 70 but that is very deceiving. Prior to this year Halifax had torn down their roster and started a youth based rebuild. Along with the high end talent that was mentioned earlier there are a few stud rookies with lower ratings and well traveled vets filling out the roster that bring that overall rating down.  In the Norsemen's first round win over Seattle the top line was dominant: Hertl 11 points in 6 games, Kucherov 6 goals in 6 games and Makar also had 11 points. The Loons struggled to keep Hintz in check in their first round and if they can't tighten up their defense this could be a long series.

Halifax has the best players in this series and will be interesting to see if their high end talent or the Loons depth will win out. The difference in the series may come down to the goaltenders where the Loons have the advantage in our opinion. This series looks to be a shootout and will be interesting to see who moves on the the Conference Finals.

State of the Loons; Round 1 Springfield

 Capeside finished up the regular season with a 53-24-5 record and the 2nd seed in the Corfield Conference. This sets up a round one matchup with Corfield newcomer Springfield Isotopes (38-37-7). The Loons went 5-1 against the Isotopes during the regular season, but each game was close: 

CAP 4 SPR 2

CAP 2 SPR 1

SPR 4 CAP 6

CAP 4 SPR 2

SPR 3 CAP 2

SPR 3 CAP 4

The Isotopes carry a 72 overall rating according to Simon but have a solid mix of youth and vets throughout the lineup. Roope Hintz has been Springfield's most dangerous forward all year and will likely be the focus of Capeside's defense during the series. On the back end Moritz Seider and Jared Spurgeon are two of the top shutdown defensemen in the CCHL. Springfield will need them to slow down the Loons' top line of Kreider Eichel Boldy if they are going to pull off the upset. The Eichel line was together for all 81 games (game 82 was Loon backups) and their 133 goals made up 39% of Capeside's offense. 

Where Springfield has a clear advantage in in goal. Swayman is coming off of a career best season and can be the biggest difference maker in the series for either team. 

Both teams are built very similar and this will be a much tougher series then the seedings show. We expect this to go 7 games, hopefully home ice where the Loons only lost 9 games all year will pay off. Eventually not knowing where Springfield even is has to catch up with the Isotope players!

AMOS Comets catastrophic season breakdown

 In Amos, a small town of 10 000 populations where the cold weather and hockey is in the center of every conversation in all time.

 

The last game of the season is being played tonight and the team who is currently dead last in the conference. Fans want the head of the GM to fall for this bad season.

 

They are not wrong.

 

Injuries, the lack of chemistry and motivations was floating around the team all season.

 

It all started with a couple bad decisions the GMs has done.

 

The trade of Necas on November 6^th,  the trade of McCann and Schmaltz on November 27^th.

You can add to that list Devon Toews, 4 first pick and more other important pieces.

 

Plus how unacceptable it is for a rebuilding team to trade upcoming superstar Frank Nazar?

 

This fanbase might be the best in the whole league when the team is winning but the toughest when the team is losing.

 

The small consolation for the fans is the chance to see Tim Stutzle, Quinton Byfield & Logan Cooley every night.

 

What’s left on defence? Sergachev, Trouba & Byram? This roster will need a lot of work and the fans a lot of patience to rebuild this mess.

 

The names of Connor Murphy, John Carlson, David Savard & Marc-Edouard Vlasic will mostly all end up in the Unrestrited agent’s market.

 

The goalie situation might be stable with Mrazek & Kochetkov. Hopefully prospect Jakub Dobes will continue to grow and become a solid #2 in a near future.

 

The off-season won’t be relaxing for sure. A lot of questions are still yet to answer:

Will the GM be back? Will Martin St-Louis still be the coach next season? Can the team bounce back from being this bad?

CHP: Win and you're in!

 It’s no secret that the Crackerjacks have been rebuilding for YEARS now, and have had many different versions of what that looks like. After some strange coaching decisions to start the season that led to a restructuring and change in approach, the team slowly came back to relevancy. Trade deadline wasn’t overly exciting but some key acquisitions for the long term success of the franchise were acquired. We took a chance on PLD and that bet seems to be paying off as finally it looks like he is figuring it out and becoming a solid two way power forward that slots nicely on the second line. Finding good wingers to play with him was our focus for a large part of the deadline. With depth on the right wing moving past this year it will be paramount to flip one of those pieces for a comparable winger on the left side this off season. The main focus however needs to be addressing the top line centre position and acquiring a true #1 centre. So far the changes have worked out and after a much better post deadline performance the Jacks are in the playoffs. It will be exciting to see how we perform in a short series against an elite opponent, and there is no doubt that will help us to understand where our holes are moving forward, but all in all we can say that this season although a roller coaster of ups and downs has been pretty successful with a strong team identity moving forward and a distinct understanding of what we are trying to accomplish. Good luck to all teams in the playoffs and cheers to a great 2024/2025 season!

CCHL Update: Three seasons revenue, Draft Lottery and playoff reminder

 Hi Everyone,  

Just a few things about our upcoming season game revenue payouts and the Draft Lottery: 

I'll be concise and provide the amounts here for the upcoming seasons but will post the breakdown of how the numbers came about on the blog.  It's detailed and as some in the executive committee lamented, "too detailed for them to understand" - an unfortunate pitfall of myself being a business analyst at work.  

Future Seasons Payouts:

The NHL's ability to project where the salary cap is going has allowed us to project where our payouts for games will go over the next three years.  

As always the goal was to get to 90% of the NHL spend, which we have done below, and wanted to give you a sneak peek at what it would be over the next three years.  

The bonus and playoff revenues will remain unchanged in the next three years at this point as they are standard and does not take into account what people are spending on payroll at all.  

In 25-26 teams will get:

WIN:  $1,650,000

LOSS: $1,225,000

SOL/OTL:  $1,450,000

In 26-27 teams will get:

WIN: $1,800,000

LOSS:$1,335,000

SOL/OTL: $1,580,000

In 27-28 teams will get:

WIN: $1,980,000

LOSS: $1,450,000

SOL/OTL: $1,775,000

Of course, if the NHL changes their numbers downward as a result of something (better not be another bloody pandemic), we will adjust accordingly too.  In other words, still be very cognizant of your finances as this is merely meant to keep up with the NHL, assuming teams continue to spend like most do to the cap.  I'll be honest I'm super curious how many teams will spend $105+ million but hey, we'll find out soon enough, right?  

DRAFT LOTTERY:

We will do the draft lottery on Thursday night (February 27th) after days 1 and 2 of the playoffs at 7:00PM Eastern time.  

We will once again do this on zoom.  If you are interested in attending, please le let me know so I can send you the zoom link.  

PLAYOFF REMINDER: 

We always play two days at a time during playoffs.  This is because Day 1 is Corfield, Day 2 is Cansoa Conference.  Every team will play every day and you get the rest day on your roster when the other conference plays.  

Also just a reminder on goalie usage in the playoffs.  

45+ Regular season games played (CCHL) equals 7 games per playoff series...
40-44 Regular season games played (CCHL) equals 6 games per playoff series...
35-39 Regular season games played (CCHL) equals 5 games per playoff series...
30-34 Regular season games played (CCHL) equals 4 games per playoff series...
21-29 Regular season games played (CCHL) equals 3 games per playoff series...
16-20 Regular season games played (CCHL) equals 2 games per playoff series...
<16 Regular season games played (CCHL) equals 0 games per playoff series...

If you are in a spot where you don't have any goalie games available on your eligible guys, we move to the lowest-rated goalie on your roster for the remainder of the series.  

Best of luck to all those teams competing for 8th place in their respective conferences.  

Fort Erie records broken

 It has been a very good season for the Fort Erie Falcons, and in so many ways, could be the best in the hisotry of the team.  

There are a number of records being broken or on the verge of being broken this season so let's take a look at some of them.  

Most goals by a team in a season - Fort Erie trail last year's Sudbury Miners team for most goals in a season by one goal.  With games to play, it appears the Falcons offence will fly high and finish the year as the highest scoring team in the history of the Simon T era in the CCHL.  

Best PP by a team in a season - Fort Erie is currently firing at a 29.56% ratio on the powerplay which if it stands, would break last year's 28.10% held by the Calgary Chinook.  It would be a 6% improvement on the powerplay from a year ago for the Falcons - a team never known for a great powerplay despite always being a top team in the league the last five seasons.  

Auston Matthews - Most Points - Matthews is a point away from trying Patrick Kane's team record for 116 points in a season and will likely do that with a few games left in the season.  It's been an unreal year for the man called "Papi" in Fort Erie and this season could be a tough one to break once he sets the record.  While Nichushkin is ahead in points, he didn't play the full season as a Falcon so that will not count as the team record.  

Austin Matthews - Most Goals - Matthews is looking to build on a record he's already captured, as he has topped Mitch Marner's previous club record already with 52 goals (Marner held it with 51).  The man with the 'stache can only add to his already huge total.  

Adam Fox - Fox has broken the CCHL record for assists already, which means he owns the Falcons record as well.  He is also the highest scoring defender in team history with 94 points and he looks to build on that in this record breaking season for him - records that were already held by him.  

Five guys over 90 points - Matthews, Marner, Draisaitl, Fox and Trocheck all have over 90 points (6 if you include Nichushkin) which has never been done in Falcons history.  You could defintely draw a parallel with this scoring success and the Falcons team record power play (highlighted in the league record blog) and the results have combined to have an unforgettable season for the team.  

What does all of this mean?  As the playoffs are about to begin it could all be meaningless if Fort Erie can't capture the one trophy that's eluded the franchise for 15 seasons.  A trip to the final and another loss would have them lose four finals in that time, including their three straight final losses back in the day to Copenhagen and Niagara Falls.  

Indeed this team will ultimately be judged by their playoff performance however, it's been an outstanding season for the team regardless of how the playoffs play out.  With so many good teams in the CCHL this season, it is impossible to say the Falcons are the favorite entering the CCHL's second season.  

CCHL Record Breaking season

 Since the CCHL transitioned several years ago to the Simon T simulator, we've seen a lot of interesting historical stats kept that we can look at and review.  With that, we have some records that are unofficially the stats for which we have CCHL records since previous records weren't kept.  

In this Simon T era of the CCHL, we're seeing some records changing this season!  

The first record we've already seen re-written is for goals in a season as Georgetown's Dylan Larkin has 62 goals which erases the previous record of 61 held by Connor McDavid.  

The good news for McDavid is that his 135 point record season is likely safe, as Crosby needs 7 points in the final two games to get there.  Is it impossible?  Absolutely not - but it is very unlikely despite Crosby's season likely to stand as the second-best point total in the Simon era of the CCHL.  

Nobody will get close to the shots taken record as this year's leader will finish almost 90 shots behind all-time shot leader in a season Mika Zabinejad who took a wild 470 shots four seasons ago.  That, along with his faceoff numbers that season, must have led to some very fatigued arms after that year as that is a ton of shots!  

The plus/minus record appears to be safe as well, as Adrian Kempe would need to be plus four in Wisborg's final game of the season - again not impossible but probably quite unlikely.  

Another record that has been broken is the most assists in a single season as Patrice Bergeron's 81 assists four years ago have been bested by Fort Erie's Adam Fox this year.  There's something to be said for operating the point on the league's leading powerplay in Fort Erie, and it certainly shows in the assist totals!  

I'm sure there are more records broken or very close to it but these ones stood out when looking at the stats from this year compared to our league's historical stats.  

Hopefully you enjoyed this look at some of our record breaking season!  

Falcons at the Four Nations event

 With the return of international competition this week, it meant Fort Erie would have an opportunity to see some of their players on a bigger stage than their NHL teams.  

It's always interesting to see who is selected, and for the Falcons it turns out they had a lot of players chosen.  

Canada:  Hagel, Bennett, Marner, Toews, Sanheim and late addition Harley

USA:  Slavin, Fox, Matthews, Trocheck

Sweden: Forsling

Finland:  Luukonen

Canada has a very extensive list of Falcons, with Bennett and Harley being surprise additions after spending most of the season out of the lineup for the team.  While they didn't play a lot this season, their roles will grow next year with Bennett expected to form a vicious checking line with Trocheck and Sherwood - a trio that will have more hits in the NHL this season than any other CCHL line could throw out there.  Will it work?  Who knows.......but that's the beauty of it as Bennett could also find his way onto a line with Draisaitl and Marner given his ability to add some moxy to that line while being able to score.  

The American players on the Falcons are all guys that contribute in different ways.  As the world found out in the USA/Canada game, Jaccob Slavin is just on another level defensively and continues to be the most underappreciated player in hockey.  All he does annually is post 30 points while matching up against the league's best forwards and succeeds in shutting them down.  

Adam Fox is just a steady 70 point guy and will see a massive raise in the CCHL next year but it's a raise that the Falcons can handle.  Trocheck is having a down year in the NHL despite playing 21 minutes a game and winning 60% of his faceoffs, but the addition of real-life best friend JT Miller to the Rangers might kick-start that offence once again.  

Gustav Forsling is a lot like Slavin in that he isn't appreciated nearly enough for his +30 every season, but I can't say he's nearly as underappreciated given his play in the playoffs last year.  Forsling was on the map in a big way there.  

If Germany were to have a team, there's no doubt Draisaitl and Peterka would be headlining it along with Stutzle and Seider.  It'll be exciting to see them all suit up together at the Olympics as German hockey has come a long way in the last 20 years.  

Will having 12 players on the rosters mean playoff success in the CCHL for the Falcons?  It's hard to say but it certainly shows the team is on the right track in terms of finding elite talent to suit up.  

CCHL in-season free agency

 I'm back with another topic of interest this week. While I wouldn't normally discuss a potential change in a blog like this, I am curious about feedback on the idea.  

When looking at the CCHL free agent pool during the season, some players there should likely be on CCHL teams but are not because their NHL salary prohibits it from happening.  

My initial thought is well that is the way the cookie crumbles and it is what it is, but on the other hand, I can't help but wonder why.  Why does it have to be that way?  

If a player remains unsigned through free agency in the spring and passes through the waiver draft, why couldn't they be signed for the CCHL minimum salary for a minimum of two or more years?  The psychology of the player would dictate that they would take the money over sitting out, especially if a team is getting them discounted and making a commitment to them.

 There's likely a benefit to a team having a Brenden Gallagher or Josh Anderson in their lineup on the fourth line as well, or any other players that could find themselves in this spot where they are overpaid by their NHL GM, but could still easily help a team in the CCHL on a contract that represents sane thought.  

Does this make sense to look at changing for the upcoming season(s)?  What are your thoughts?  Hit me up via email or slack and let me know!  

Falcons gearing up for busy off-season

While much has yet to be decided with the CCHL playoffs looming in the not-so-distant future, the Fort Erie Falcons know that they will have some tough decisions this off-season no matter how the playoffs go.  

With three prime time free agents in Steven Stamkos, Zach Hyman and Valeri Nichushkin on the roster, the team recognizes only one of them can be re-signed based on the CCHL rules.  

It has yet to be decided who will receive the contract as negotiations with representatives for all three are underway, but Nichushkin is likely the most attractive given the fit he's had with the team, and the fact he'll only need a 10% raise on a $2.5 million dollar contract.  On the otherhand, that contract and his 100 point season could be really appealing for another CCHL team to come calling, especially a rebuilding team that can wait for him to play more games in an NHL season in another year.  

Hyman and Stamkos will both likely hit the 30 goal marks in the NHL this season as well, making them very attractive to other teams across the CCHL and the team will definitely look at moving two of them.  

Sure, I suppose there is a scenario at play where Fort Erie trades one of their two top ten picks to move back in the draft and have another team do a sign and trade, but that doesn't truly appear to be something they are considering right now.  

Why would they?  

They have both Shane Wright and Matvei Michkov set to join the roster next season so there is depth coming to help.  Keifer Sherwood is almost assured to take the role of Colton Sissons on the fourth line given he leads the NHL in hits by a mile and will score between 15-20 this year.  

The Falcons are primed with depth coming next year.  

Speaking of depth, Thomas Harley's continued development means that likely Devon Toews or Jaccob Slavin will likely be available, though with Slavin's tenure as the longest serving Falcon, I don't see him being a guy that is readily available.  That likely leaves Toews looking for his next CCHL home this off-season and he's a player that can help 20 of the 22 CCHL member clubs.  

While Fort Erie has done everything they can to bolster the team this year, the Kehler Cup is the hardest trophy in sports to win and the odds are Fort Erie will fall short again.  

Either way - they'll have some decisions to make this upcoming off-season and some very good players will be available to other teams.  

Article written by Stevie Cheeseboard and originally published for the Fort Erie Gazette.  

CCHL per game revenue vs. the NHL salary cap

With the recent announcement of the NHL salary cap increasing dramatically over the next three seasons, the CCHL Commissioner and financial czar has gone to work on what that means for the CCHL.  

It is always an interesting process and balancing act between the NHL cap and the CCHL spend due to the 10 team disparity between the leagues.  The CCHL also allows 30 man rosters where the NHL allows for 23 man rosters, creating further disparity.  

The net effect is that with an average CCHL roster of 29 players, that really means that six more teams worth of salaries are added within the 22 team CCHL, thus the CCHL pays for 28 NHL teams worth of players.  

That is about the equivalent of 88% of NHL team's worth of rosters playing in the CCHL.  Conversely, when doing the calculations I've always aimed to hit that 90% mark.  If you love numbers, this blog is likely interesting to you but if they don't excite you, you probably already hate it!  

The reality is that the finances are always a delicate balancing act because we need the finances to count as a league, but not to the point where teams are dying on the vine trying to operate.  This year is different as the dispersal draft clawed back some of the expansion money teams got so I expect everyone should lose money if you added anything of significance from that dispersal draft.  

The interesting wrinkle to the NHL releasing three years worht of expected salary cap upper-limits is that it can allow us as a league to also plan where league revenues for games are going.  

Again, the balancing act here is that rebuilding teams for finances shouldn't be able to struggle for a year with a ridiculously low payroll and be financially healthy again so the losers money cannot be too high, while the winner's cash also cannot be too high.  

The risk of making the winner's money too high is that it could drive salaries wild in free agency, and we saw a bit of that with Kucherov last year, but that's more an exception to the rule as he's likely the best player that's EVER hit free agency in the CCHL.  The reality is though, he's not likely alone because I certainly can see a world where McDavid and Matthews are making $20 million in cap hits in a few years so it's something to think about.  

In any event, the key to the calculation is figuring out what the median wins/losses/SOL or OTL's are around the league to see how much on average is generated per team.  That process is just finishing up and being reviewed versus the desire to hit 90% of NHL spending.  

Much like the NHL, we'll have those numbers out shortly after discussing as an executive committee, but I thought it was pertinent given the recent NHL announcements to explain that it's being worked on and how it's all being calculated.  

If you thought it was a number out of thin air, you'd be mistaken.  I think over the years the process has become even more refined to capture the accuracy and link between NHL expense and the CCHL.  

CCHL Fundraising!

 Good day everyone,

Well, this is probably my least favorite post every two years but it's that time again where we prepare for the upcoming off-season and seasons.  

I think we have a pretty great league but unfortunately, with that, comes the cost of add-ons that other leagues do not do to take their experience to the next level.  

Unfortunately, that is not free and while I'd love to eat most of that cost myself, the director of finance in my house (the wife) says it's a hard no given how much time I invest in the league as it is to run it.  

With that said, I've been reviewing the costs associated with what we do and some have gone up - such as the simulator which has increased significantly in price for two years compared to what it has been.  I look at it as a negative and a positive.  The negative is that it costs more, but the positive is that he has not lost any subscriptions to the software and it seems to have him working harder on it as we're getting quarterly updates now rather than one or two a year.  He's still committed to it which means it'll keep going for our enjoyment.  

Could we take out the cost like the draft website?  Probably but having experienced the email draft last year when we did the dispersal, it's not something I ever want to experience again as the website keeps it moving faster while eliminating duplicated picks that slow us all down.  

Our web hosting is still a very reasonable price given what Simon T is charging to host sim leagues, so I'm happy that we are saving a bit of money on that front while fulfilling what we need to be able to run the site properly.  

Our costs (in Cdn dollars) for each for two years are below:  

So this is where I turn to the league to help finance our collective passion once again.  Understand I hate asking every two years however, it is sadly necessary.  I could do this annually but I think it would be annoying and with two years commitments, we actually save money on things like the site and the simulator.  

I'll never mandate a "it's going to cost everyone X dollars" because I'm not here to assume everyone's financial situation so I simply ask that you give what you are able to do to support the league.  If everyone gave equal dollars, it would be $22.01 Canadian but I know not everyone can or will do that.  Some will go higher to help offset what some can't while others a bit lower if they contribute at all.  

The last two times we have done this collection, we have always managed to cover the league expenses for the most part.  I did eat a bit extra for the 24-25 season out of my own pocket but I can live with that small amount, but not the whole amount.  Should we somehow collect more than the amount owed, it simply stays in the post to reduce what we could need in 2027 (The Landon Dupont draft!).  

If you can contribute, please let the Commissioner know!  We've had some pretty good support in day one of the campaign but we definitely have a ways to go yet.  

In any event, I appreciate whatever support can be provided for the league and look forward to continuing to operate what I consider the best fantasy/sim league going today.  

Thank you all for your time..........let's keep this thing going!  

State of the Loons: Future watch

 In the last State of the Loons we touched on this year's team and since it was posted Capeside clinched a playoff berth. After winning a playoff series last year for the first time our realistic goal ths year is to win multiple series. As much as we want to believe that we are Kehler cup contenders we have to stay patient as long as the Donuts and Falcons are pretty much all star teams.

We have set ourself up with the majority of our team being under 25 and hopefully ready to win multiple cups over the next 10 years with the core we have assembled. However, fear has set in around our finances going forward. With the NHL cap increasing and contracts on the rise will Capeside be in the position to hand out all these second contracts or will we have to make moves? 

As of today we have Matt Boldy, Trevor Zegras, Matty Beniers, Cole Caufield, Brock Faber, K'Andre Miller, Jake Oettinger, and Cam York all playing key roles for the Loons while on their low entry level contracts. Ideally we would be stock piling cash for the future but with Eichel (28, $10m), Werenski (27, $9.5m) and McAvoy (27, $9.5m next year) getting substantial raises we are on pace to lose $9m. 

Some good news is CCHL revenues will likely be on the rise which should help. Also, with a solid group of owners it is unlikely we will be spending $13m in a dispersal draft again. This should be one of Capeside's highest bonus money years in our history. The Loons top line of Kreider, Eichel and Boldy are all in the top 30 for CCHL scoring, with only 47 GP Faber remains in the top 5 amongst rookies, Vatrano keeps hitting anything that moves and as a team we are 5th in PP and 1st on the PK. 

What will have the most significance on franchise stability is our prospect development. I would put our top 10 prospects against anyone's in the CCHL. Them taking the next steps and becoming key contributors on our roster and allowing us to make difficult decisions will be key towards our dynasty goals.

Top 5 under 25  (GP, G, A)

1. Matt Boldy - 23 (55, 18, 27)

2. Cole Caufield - 24 (54, 26, 23)

3. Brock Faber - 22 (51, 5,15)

4. Matty Benier - 22 (56, 12, 18)

5. Trevor Zegras - 24 (31, 6, 9)

Top 10 Prospects (GP, G, A)

1. Ryan Leonard - eta 2026 (26, 23, 11)

2. Will Smith - eta 2025 (48, 8, 14)

3. Frank Nazar - eta 2025 (25, 4, 6)

4. Zeev Buium - eta 2026 (25, 6, 24)

5. Jimmy Snuggerud - eta 2026 (30, 20, 21)

6. Cole Eiserman - eta 2027 (25, 15, 8)

7. Teddy Stiga - eta 2028 (26, 10, 13)

8. Isaac Howard - eta 2026 (29, 21, 20)

9. Drew Commesso - eta 2026

10. Alex Jefferies - eta 2026 (35, 8, 15)

State of the Loons: Best Loons team yet?

 Last week Simon threw us a curveball. When sending in our lines we looked ahead a few games in order to set up our goalie rotation and were shocked to see that the Loons were about to embark on 3 games in 3 days, and overall 7games in 9 days. The initial 3 game stretch saw us matched up against the top three CCHL teams in order of points: Wisborg, Falcons and Calgary. Coming off of two straight losses to conference rivals things were looking bleak. Low and behold the Loons pulled themselves together and swept through the CCHL elite. We won't get into the following two games since we like to focus on the positives today. However after the 5th game the Loons have clinched a trip to the playoffs, tied for 2nd in the Corfield and tied for 1st in the Patrick Division.

Also during this murderous stretch Jack Eichel scored his 50th goal and 100th point. Eichel is the first Loon to accomplish both of these accomplishments not to mention in the same season. All this got us to thinking if this is the best Loons' team of all time. 

Capeside entered the CCHL in the 2018/19 season and stunningly finished 1st in the Corfield Conference and 2nd in the CCHL with 110 points, just 2 behind the Norsemen in the overall CCHL standings. After a first round bye, the Loons were embarrassingly bounced right out of the playoffs by the Falcons. Unfortunately the stats from that season are seemingly lost forever in the old website but my memory recalls that Loons team was more lucky then good. 

2020 saw the Loons make the playoffs as the 6th and final seed in the Corfield, losing in the first round to Seattle 4-2. Dubois lead the way that year for the Loons in both goals and points (27/56). 2021 was by far the worst Loons team finishing dead last in the Corfield with a measly 53 points, Mikeal Granlund led the team with a whopping 21 goals and 45 points. 2022 saw the Loons move up on spot to 10th in the Corfield with 81 points, Eichel lead the team with 30g and 67 points. 2023 brought the Loons back to the playoffs as the 5th seed with 96 pts only to be swept out of the first round by the same Seattle Reign. Joel Farabee lead the way that year with 31 goals and 68 points. And last year, 2024 , saw the Loons finish with 112 pts good for 4th in the Corfield and more importantly our first playoff series win against the same Seattle Reign, only to be swept in the second round by that Donut juggernaut. Captain Kreider lead the team in goals with 34 while Eichel put up 83 points.

With 14 games left in the 2025 season the Loons record book looks to be under attack, Granted due to an aggressive front office in previous years and a lot of player turnover during the season only points recorded in a Loons sweater have been tracked. This year has been our lowest turnover year to date which helps but both Eichel and Kreider could both be 50 goals and 100 points. Eichel, Larkin and Matthews (all Americans btw) should go down to the wire for the CCHL scoring title: 50,50, 45.

This is only a look at our own team but brings up a few questions like does less in season moves translate to team results as the Loons were by far and away the least active in our history this year? Is scoring up in the CCHL as a whole with much less parity throughout the league? 

How the Loons fair in the post season will ultimately answer the question if this is the best Capeside team yet but as far as individual stats go the answer is yes.

Capeside Loons records (minus 2019 RIP)

Goals                                         Assists                                       Points

1. Eichel       50* 2025            1. Makar      59  2024            1. Eichel        101    2025*

2. Kreider     40* 2025            2. Eichel      57  2024            2. Kreider        86    2025*

3. Kreider     34  2024            3. McAvoy    53  2024            3. Eichel         83     2024        

4. Vatrano    33* 2025            4. Boldy        52 2025*           4. Boldy          77    2025*

5. Schmaltz 32   2024            5. Eichel       51 2025*           5. Makar         73    2024

6. Farabee  31   2023            6. Hanifin      50 2025*           6. Farabee     68     2023

7. Eichel      30   2022            7. McAvoy    48 2025*           7. McAvoy      68    2024

8. McCann   28  2023            8. McAvoy    48 2022            8. Eichel          67    2022

9. Caufield   27* 2025            9. Kreider     46 2025*           9. Schmaltz    65    2024

10.Garland  26   2022           10. Eichel     41 2023            10. Eichel        64    2023

CCHL Salaries - ever wonder what it costs?

 We use a detailed financial system in the CCHL where we have a few revenue streams that are used to pay for players, and that sees the overall financial health of the member organizations in the CCHL.  

Have you ever wondered though, are the expensive salaries worth it?  How much salary does a point in the CCHL standings cost a team?  Who is the most efficient at managing cost and obtaining points?  

If so, you aren't alone so I took a look at things this week!  

In terms of cost per point, the Iceland Icecats are at the top of the class spending under 1.1 million per point.  Next up would be the all American boys in Capeside, followed by Fort Erie, Georgetown, Wisborg and Calgary.  

Unsurprisingly all of these teams are near the top of the standings so it may not be a true measure, as the team's near the bottom are all for the most part outside of the playoffs.  Halifax is a bit of an outlier due to the enormous salary belonging to Kucherov, but otherwise it's very similar to standings which tells me that the costs are not all that different salary wise and impact between the top and bottom of the standings.  The graphic below illustrates the order that it took place in at the time of the study.  

Next up, I analyzed the cost per goal for the teams in the CCHL.  This one was a bit different than the cost per point as Chattahoochie was the least expensive when it comes to cost per goal, followed by the top teams.  Mixed into that group is Baltimore, so the return on investment in terms of goals is quite good for Baltimore and the Crawdads!  

Chippawa is the most expensive team cost-wise to score a goal in the CCHL, averaging over half a million bucks per goal scored!  That's a lot of Crackerjacks needing to be sold in the arena to cover those costs!  

Halifax is also high, again on the strength (well it is for him) of Kucherov's salary driving costs higher.  Wisborg has the largest payroll in CCHL history, so not surprisingly they are near the bottom of this list despite scoring a plethora of goals this year!  When you have $10 million dollar man Toffoli sitting on the bench, you had to know things were going to be pretty pricey in donut country!  

Lastly, we take a look at the costs per point for each individual player.  In news that won't shock anyone, the players with the best cost per point are those on an entry level contract and illustrates how important getting young players into the lineup contributing can be for a club in the CCHL.  

The league's leading scorer Sidney Crosby is in the middle of the list at $131,000 per point which is significantly higher than leader Jack Hughes' $12,500 bucks per point.  Wow, talk about value!  

The list also looks at cost per minute played, cost per game, cost per goal and cost per assist of the top 50 scoring players in the CCHL this week.  

Not shockingly, Kucherov is last in this list but again, I don't think he's upset about that at all given he's cashing cheques that have been unwritten previously in the CCHL history.  

In any event, I don't think there are a lot of surprising things on here but it was interesting to review the details and thought I'd share them with everyone in a blog!  

Denver Ice Chips!

 Addition by subtraction? Time will tell....

Recently the Spurs management threw in the towel on the season after the club plummeted to the bottom of the Canosa.
12 assets were brought in over 2 days with 4 going out. With the other trade on 12/14 with Capeside that brings it to 16 in with 5 going out.

Sent packing to Springfield on January 15th were team leaders Brayden Schenn (33) and blueline leader Jared Spurgeon (35). Coming back to the Spurs were veteran Zach Parise (40), blueliner Chad Ruhwedel (34) as a hedge for the rest of the season for trading Spurgeon and prospects Cedrick Guindon C (20), who has 102g, 139a, 241pts in 244 games to date in his OHL career, and Marcus Gidlof G (19) who has put up some excellent numbers backstopping the Leksands IF Jr. team. To be certain, goalies are usually long term projects in making it to the CCHL but the future looks bright for this 6'6" Swedish goalie out of Falun, Sweden. Parise was included as both a salary dump and to clear a roster slot for the incoming Schenn and Spurgeon.

Later in the day Jason Dickinson (29), who was a UFA signing this season for the Spurs, was traded to Fort Erie for Jesse Puljujarvi (26), a salary throw in, along with prospects Adam Scheel G (25), and Anthony Romani RW (19). Scheel has put up some eye popping numbers in the AHL this season albeit in a short sample. Romani looks like he might be a good one with his numbers belying his 6th Rd draft selection in 2024. His career in the OHL has seen him register 91g, 82a, 173pts in 195 games to date.

The final deal on January 16th saw team leading scorer Valeri Nichushkin (29) pack his bags for Fort Erie. This was a total shocker for the Spurs faithful! Especially on the heels of Spurgeon, Schenn & Nelson going out the door. The fans are devastated and calling for the head of GM Poelker! The Falcons GM, Matt Young, was elated when Nichushkin had a 5 point game in his first game with his new club! Two goals and three assists! He now has 87 points and 37 goals, both numbers currently leading those categories for the Falcons. He may very well be the final piece that puts the Falcons over the top in their quest for the Kehler Cup! It will hinge on whether the firepower of the Falcons that features Matthews, Draisaitl, Marner, Nichushkin & Fox can overcome the brick wall that Ullmark puts up for the Donuts every night. Although netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of the Falcons has stellar numbers of his own. Yes, this writer is calling it a Fort Erie - Wisborg Kehler Cup final. Wisborg has already clinched a playoff spot. The Smythe Division and Canosa Conference crowns will be next.

Coming Back to the Spurs were Nicolas Roy (27), Ice 2nd Rd Pick in '25 and prospects Akil Thomas C (25), Oliver Moore C (19) and Ilya Nabokov G (21). Thomas is currently playing for the LA Kings of the NHL with 3 pts in 16gp. However, his OHL career saw him post 223pts in 241gp. While in the AHL he put up 93pts in 157gp. Could project as a solid 3rd liner with good size 6' 195 lbs. Moore and Nabokov were the primary pieces for GM Poelker in making his decision to move Nichushkin to the contending Falcons. Moore, who was drafted 19th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL, is currently toiling for the University of Minnesota. Moore is from Mounds View, Minnesota. A Minnesotan through and through. In 62 games in the Big-10 he has put up 14g, 37a, 51pts with a +24. Ilya Nabokov, who won a championship with Magnitogorsk Mettallurg of the KHL in 2023-24, had stellar numbers of 43gp, 2.15, 0.930 with 23-13-3 record. The current season to date he has posted all star numbers again with 33gp, 2.19, 0.926 with 15-12-4 record.

If you're counting, that was 3 goalies brought into the organization by the Spurs. Gidlof (NHL Islanders) Nabokov (NHL Avalanche) and Scheel (NHL Avalanche). Poelker is hoping Nabokov and Gidlof are the goalies of the future for the Spurs.
It is certainly hoped that Guindon, Romani & Moore can form a triumvirate of scorers down the road for the Spurs. Nic Roy will be one of the primary penalty killers for the next couple of seasons.

With Schenn, Spurgeon, Nelson and Nichushkin gone, donning the 'C' for the rest of the season will be Brandon Saad with Jeff Petry as Alternate #1 and Evander Kane as Alternate #2. Coach Craig Berube in naming the three said, "They are all veterans and have good leadership qualities. I have confidence that they will do a tremendous job on the ice." He went on to say that he'll have a lot of input on player personnel in the off season regarding what direction the franchise will take going forward.

Reported by I.P. Daley

A note from the offices of the CCHL on goaltending

 As the trade deadline approaches, it's time we do a quick reminder about the goalie usage in the CCHL and how riding one goalie for 68 games could impact your playoff hopes.  

While 68 games seems like a great idea on the surface, it could be detrimental in a number of ways.  

In the event of injury, you could be left with a goalie that is ineligible for CCHL playoff action if they play under 17 games.  While David Ayres was a great story for the Hurricanes, he's now 46 years old and probably not a guy that you want the league to sign as your playoff goalie.  

If you are on pace to have goaltending where with 25-26 games left you can't get your tandem to seven games in a playoff series based on the chart (from the rules) below you may want to try to add a goaltender with some games played or press your luck with David Ayres and the other emergency backups in the playoffs.  If you don't believe you can win and don't want to sacrifice assets to add a goalie, this could be the way to go.  It could lead to some lopsided games or a very unlikely hero but I'm not betting a large sum of money on that outcome.  

There are only two or three teams in the risk of EBUG territory but wanted to point it out with 4 days left until the trade deadline.  

At the same time, it's also important to remind people about the 68-game max (the 150% rule doesn't apply since a single goalie didn't hit over 68 games played in 23-24).  If you are over this threshold, your team could be docked points (or conversely added for the draft lottery).  At the current rate, some teams are within reach of that according to the usage charge on the home page, but it's easily manageable for those teams close to the maximum.  

That's it for now.  Please ensure you monitor email and messages this week as it might be a bit busier than normal given its deadline week.  I may push games back an hour or so Thursday but it depends on how busy trades are that day.  If it's like the last few years, most business is done in the day prior as nobody wants to be up against the clock, but we'll see how it plays out.  As of now, games are scheduled for the normal time but I could push that to 7PM if it's busy.  I'll let everyone know if it's changing based on activity that day.  

45+ Regular season games played (CCHL) equals 7 games per playoff series...
40-44 Regular season games played (CCHL) equals 6 games per playoff series...
35-39 Regular season games played (CCHL) equals 5 games per playoff series...
30-34 Regular season games played (CCHL) equals 4 games per playoff series...
21-29 Regular season games played (CCHL) equals 3 games per playoff series...
16-20 Regular season games played (CCHL) equals 2 games per playoff series...
<16 Regular season games played (CCHL) equals 0 games per playoff series...

Miller's Musings

 It’s a new year and the Millers offices have endured 2 Winter Storms in the past week, bringing over 15 inches of snow and a half-inch of ice to Georgetown. In the rink the Millers have been on fire recently, winning their last 6 games going into this weekend’s schedule after a recent slump. 

Trade Deadline

The trade deadline is less than 1 week away, and the question is will the Millers continue to wheel and deal as they have much of the season, or are they going to ride this current roster into the stretch drive and (hopefully) the playoffs?

Below is a look at the current roster and where any additions might come in handy. 

Goalies - Cam Talbot has been great since his acquisition, and Connor Ingram continues to win when he’s in the lineup, so the Millers look to be set in net. Jake Allen is a capable #3, and Lukas Dostal is next season’s presumptive starter, so don’t expect any changes here. 

Defensemen - The Millers have seemingly settled on their main 6, with Jake Walman capable of filling in anywhere as needed as the 7th D but he has shown a tendency to be over-exposed if asked to play too regularly. The team does not have a true #1 Defender but lately the unit has done well. The current top pair of K’Andre Miller and Mario Ferraro is not typically what one envisions of a team looking for a deep playoff run, but D prices are exorbitant and the Millers have not seen anyone offered that they consider to be worth the acquisition cost. If the right player came at the right price a move could be made. UPDATE: Nick Leddy and John Marino acquired. More info below. 

Forwards - The top line of Larkin/Armia/Necas has been solid and occasionally spectacular, but the Malkin and Henrique lines have been inconsistent. Dylan Guenther has been snakebit at even strength, with just 4 goals and a shooting % around 4 percent at 5 on 5. He remains productive on the power play, but the Millers have brought in Mathieu Joseph as a bottom 6 forward who could potentially replace Guenther on the 3rd line and let the rookie concentrate on his man-advantage duties from the 4th line. More on Joseph below. Will he be the last forward move the Millers make before the trade deadline?

Mathieu Joseph Acquired

Mathieu Joseph was acquired from Amos for prospect D Marc-Andre Gaudet and Georgetown’s 4th round pick in 2025. Gaudet put up great numbers in the QMJHL but has spent the last couple of years in the ECHL. 

Joseph can play both wings, is a good skater, plays a physical game, can kill penalties and has some under appreciated passing skills. The Malkin line has been strong recently with Andrew Copp settling in alongside Trevor Lewis as wingers, so Joseph is most likely going to be in the bottom 6. Who he replaces is the question; it’s likely to be one of Jordan Martinook or Luke Glendening. The Millers could rotate the wingers around Casey Cizikas until the right combination is found. The team should finally be comfortable with their forward depth, as any of Adam Henrique, Blake Coleman , Joseph and Guenther could play up the lineup as needed. 

Nick Leddy and John Marino Acquired

Saturday afternoon the Millers made a major trade with Chippewa, sending K’Andre Miller and prospect defender Cade Webber northward for Ds Nick Leddy and John Marino. 

Cade Webber is a physically massive (6’7”) defensive prospect who came through Boston University and is currently in the AHL. At 24 his ceiling isn’t high, but his size and decent skating and puck skills should get him a look as a 3rd pair D and penalty killer soon. 

K’Andre Miller was once viewed as an untouchable building block for the Millers but his so-so 24-25 NHL season with the struggling Rangers, including a significant drop-off in his offensive production from 2 years ago, made him expendable as Georgetown sought an immediate upgrade for the stretch run. Miller still has outstanding physical tools and is just 25 so he could right the ship and fulfill his potential as a top-pairing defenseman. 

Nick Leddy is a former Miller, and returns for what is possibly his last CCHL season. Injuries have decimated his 24-25 NHL season, and at 34 there may not be a comeback in the offing. If it is the end of the line the Millers would like to send Leddy out on a high note, hoping he can replace Miller on the top pair with Mario Ferraro and also on the special teams units. Superior skating has always been Leddy’s hallmark, and his strong passing, defensive game and ability to soak up minutes should bolster the club’s blue line down the stretch. 

John Marino doesn’t have an immediate spot in the lineup, but the 27 year-old is also a strong defender and capable puck-handler. He’s likely to supplant Jake Walman as the 7th defender. The pending RFA is expected to be extended in the off-season, and although his 24-25 NHL season hasn’t even started due to injury, he’s expected to return soon and is likely to see himself used as a bottom pair or depth defender for the Millers in 25-26, with the hope that a return to health in the next NHL season sees him filling a larger role in 26-27. 

Although void of superstars, Millers brass feels that their current blue line depth matches that of any CCHL club, with a good mix of offense, defense and 2-way players.