Real Life is so Boring, that I am going to talk about video games.

You would have to be a dumber man than me to actually believe that building an NHL team is as easy as it is on NHL 11 (EA Sports). But I have been playing it a lot these days, with my roomies, as to be a distraction from the actual Oilers. We are not too bad: as due to their talent at playing video games, and my attempt to build a NHL team with NHL players. This is what I am going to talk about today. Obviously, the specifics of the deals I made are irrelevant and stupid for you to read today; so I am going talk overall strategies:

a) Cap Space: asset or irrelevant?

I do not see having cap space as an ‘asset’ in relation to building the NHL. Yes, it is useful to have some cap space as to be able to upgrade your team around the dead line, or when you have to resign your RFAs, but other then that how does having 10 million dollar in unused salary help you win games? My strategies revolving around cap space are these:

1. Sign the best player available when you have lots of cap space going into Free Agency. Not the player that fits your needs best, but one that is the best (just like the entry draft). You can always deal / trade players from a position of strengthen later to fill up a weakness. What I did is sign Kovalchuk to the longest possible deal, at more then he was asking for (5 years / 10 million): I got him too. Is paying Kovalchuck 10 million a good business move? No. Is it good for the team? Well, I have the second best LW in the NHL now, and he is the most talented player on my team . . . so yes. Can the real Oilers do this? I doubt it. See there are strict limits on the term of the contract in the video game, which means I did not have to sign Kovalchuck to a million year deal. Also I did it in the first year of the game, meaning that it eats up years that the holy trinity do not have giant contracts.
2. Sign role players: over the last two or three seasons I have signed NHL players to play in the bottom 6 forwards and bottom 2 d-pairing. Is this revolutionary? No! It is common sense. I have over–paid at times (when I had the cap space) and spent lots of time looking for value (when I did not). Veterans win, ‘nough said.

b) The Dustin Penner Deal.

Yes I traded the big man; yes, the fans (roomies) were upset. But instead of trading him for a prospect and a 1st rounder, I traded him with a prospect and a first rounder. I got freak’n Patty Kane back. I know that is unreasonable, but a very useful player (like Penner) plus a top prospect and a first round draft choice should have been good enough to get back a player better then Penner, I would have hope, in real life too. I know I was not getting a lottery pick, since my team is actually in the playoffs, and in real life I would not trade the lottery pick but Tambo should be shot for trading Penner for magic beans. I had too many LWers, so I traded to help out the right side. I got a player better then I traded, shocking strategy, hey?

c) Signing goaltenders for one year at a time.

Unlike real life I was allowed to buy out the Boozen Wall: which I did after the first season (to reduce the cap hit overall). Then I signed a replacement for one year at a time, to help bring along Devan Dubnyck. Shocking strategy I know!

d) Trade to increase depth and size at centre.

This is a big surprise too. I know that Tambo has little chance of doing as well as I do (since the game over-values certain players that I traded, aka Brule), but here is an idea: big veteran centres help the team win. I trade Gagner and Gilbert for Eric Stall: most likely not possible, but those two players would be able to get something back that is quite decent (and better then any centre on the team currently). I traded Brule for David Steckel. I mean why has Tambo not dealt with the lack of big centres on the NHL roster yet, it is a fuck’n joke. I did it after one year of losing draws and being pushed around.

That is all I got. I know it is boring, but so is watching the Oilers these days. I still rather play my video game, because the Oilers win in it (and even challenge for the Stanley Cup); I mean who would want the Oilers to have a second line of Horcoff-Hemsky-Hall . . . boring! I would sacrifice a child to watch a first line of Oilers’ silks wrapped around Staal, Kane and Kovalchuck in real life. I have veterans in the NHL and rookies (Eberle / Paajarvi) in the AHL. I guess I get to watch my rookies slowly grow, but I get to play a real NHL team.