DNHL Prospect Extensions

[SlackJack]

I like the idea of transitioning DNHL to a money league.

[WestCoastExpress]

I like the idea of transitioning DNHL to a money league.

  Nahhh

[papps]

I like the idea of transitioning DNHL to a money league.

Nope

[SlackJack]

Nope

Of course not. Clearly that's a direction most people don't want to go in. My point is that rather than suddenly cranking the steering wheel from left to right we would be better served having a clear sense of where exactly we are trying to go.

Instead of big adjustments, any changes we make should be incremental over time. If we are aiming to more closely match the NHL and have more realistic contracts then we can aim for that. If we want more Free Agency action, that too is something we can achieve. But let's first understand why things are as they are now.

Prospect contracts aren't intended to provide realistic NHL values so much as they provide a mechanism for teams to retain good young talent that they have developed. I see no reason presented here to change that other than the argument that the dollar amounts don't more closely resemble those in the NHL.

As mentioned earlier there are a LOT of different approaches we can take as long as we have a clear a direction. Is NHL realism the objective? Is it the only one?

[GypsieDeathBringer]

Of course not. Clearly that's a direction most people don't want to go in. My point is that rather than suddenly cranking the steering wheel from left to right we would be better served having a clear sense of where exactly we are trying to go.

Instead of big adjustments, any changes we make should be incremental over time. If we are aiming to more closely match the NHL and have more realistic contracts then we can aim for that. If we want more Free Agency action, that too is something we can achieve. But let's first understand why things are as they are now.

Prospect contracts aren't intended to provide realistic NHL values so much as they provide a mechanism for teams to retain good young talent that they have developed. I see no reason presented here to change that other than the argument that the dollar amounts don't more closely resemble those in the NHL.

As mentioned earlier there are a LOT of different approaches we can take as long as we have a clear a direction. Is NHL realism the objective? Is it the only one?

I don't think DNHL has been about NHL realism, but our contract values have always been directly tied to the NHL.  The league started with the exact contracts of the NHL.  We use the exact resign values from the NHL.  Our salary cap is modified from the exact NHL salary cap.  The structure and mechanics of our league are our own, but the contract values are very closely aligned with the NHL. 

The biggest departure is we adapted the d-man contract reduction to suit our league because at the time d-men contract values were pushing down the FA values of more productive forwards. 

But, yeah.  Maybe this is just an issue I have and doesn't need to be changed.  I see the prospect extensions as they are today with the current NHL balance relying more on younger players as being too big a competitive advantage.  Too easy to stock up on a fleet of low cost high production. 

[SlackJack]

I don't think DNHL has been about NHL realism, but our contract values have always been directly tied to the NHL.  The league started with the exact contracts of the NHL.  We use the exact resign values from the NHL.  Our salary cap is modified from the exact NHL salary cap.  The structure and mechanics of our league are our own, but the contract values are very closely aligned with the NHL. 

The biggest departure is we adapted the d-man contract reduction to suit our league because at the time d-men contract values were pushing down the FA values of more productive forwards. 

But, yeah.  Maybe this is just an issue I have and doesn't need to be changed.  I see the prospect extensions as they are today with the current NHL balance relying more on younger players as being too big a competitive advantage.  Too easy to stock up on a fleet of low cost high production.

I'm with you right to your last statement. As a bottom feeder I have no choice but to load up on prospects and, discount notwithstanding, there is nothing easy about it. Even if I wasn't tanking (super valid strategy) I'd still be less than competitive because the top rosters are loaded and look nothing like an actual NHL roster. For every area that we copy the NHL we stray far from it in others. Take roster construction for example. How do I get my hands on one of the few NHL starting goalies nevermind the 3-4 that it actually takes to win the cup!

This isn't a criticism mind you, just pointing out that we have to be careful with what it is we are actually trying to do. That's why I'd support a move to reduce the prospect discount marginally (say to 25% rather than the current 30%), though I would also like to see this done in conjunction wit a number of other "tweaks".

[WestCoastExpress]

How do I get my hands on one of the few NHL starting goalies nevermind the 3-4 that it actually takes to win the cup!

You give up some combination of about 8-10 TOP prospects/young players/1st Round Picks. Hurts, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do to land a top-tier netminder.

That said, it didn't translate into "winning the Cup" for my lousy franchise. Again.

[SlackJack]

You give up some combination of about 8-10 TOP prospects/young players/1st Round Picks. Hurts, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do to land a top-tier netminder.

That said, it didn't translate into "winning the Cup" for my lousy franchise. Again.

I was thinking of your Vasilevski trade as I wrote that line Cally, and I will pay that price when the time is right but obviously very different arc's in our roster development. 

[Rob]

As usual we need to strike a balance between NHL realism and what works and makes for good Fantasy fun.  The two components that need to be addressed in discussing this are:

• The discounts are there to encourage building from within (a 'Fantasy fun' component) and increased value of said prospects is purposeful.  We are 9 years in now.  The original inherited contracts are gone.  The most valuable players in the league are those in their 5 year discounted contracts given their production vs cost.  If you want a shot at the most valuable players, you have to groom them yourself or pay out the nose.  I like that.
• Everything Slack said... From my point of view, keeping the bottom 5 or so teams from falling apart completely has been my most onerous task.  We always have someone that stops paying attention, or someone who is too trade happy and ruins a franchise.  I can't go and court someone to take over a derelict franchise without giving them some tools to rebuild with.  The discount is crucial for these franchises...

[SlackJack]

As usual we need to strike a balance between NHL realism and what works and makes for good Fantasy fun.  The two components that need to be addressed in discussing this are:

• The discounts are there to encourage building from within (a 'Fantasy fun' component) and increased value of said prospects is purposeful.  We are 9 years in now.  The original inherited contracts are gone.  The most valuable players in the league are those in their 5 year discounted contracts given their production vs cost.  If you want a shot at the most valuable players, you have to groom them yourself or pay out the nose.  I like that.
• Everything Slack said... From my point of view, keeping the bottom 5 or so teams from falling apart completely has been my most onerous task.  We always have someone that stops paying attention, or someone who is too trade happy and ruins a franchise.  I can't go and court someone to take over a derelict franchise without giving them some tools to rebuild with.  The discount is crucial for these franchises...

Re-read all of the input here and want to continue to make a case for Blocked Shots. A number of GM's have pointed out the low extension costs of Defence so maybe there is opportunity to re-jig on this front. If Blocked Shots were introduced we could at once raise the extension costs for D while increasing the asset pool that teams have to draw upon. This would be helpful to re-building teams in particular simply because more contributing players exist.