Hello everyone,
Another season is in the history books. Instead of just doing a cup final article, I decided I am going to tell my (Randymarsh2012) season experience from start to finish, with the cup final having some more detail to give a somewhat proper breakdown of how that series played out.
The start of the journey begins below:
During the off-season of S43, I submitted my name to SA_Pliskin to be a GM, he gave me the greasy run around with the ‘maybe, but maybe not, depending on what owners are returning’ but eventually it became a yes.
Then it came time to team selection. I think I had the 4th choice out of the new GM’s on what team I could take over. The only 2 teams I had eyes on were the vacated Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks, just praying that the 3 owners selecting before me did not pick one or both of those teams. I believe Dustyglove (VGK owner) and iearntofiy (SEA owner) selected 1 and 2, and DustyGlove selected the previous team who had the rights to Zinczy (which I think was my old S41 Sharks team when I was GM last, which may have been Pittsburgh of last season), and Fly chose to take over Peacekeepers Seattle squad. The next new GM to pick their team was SomeoneStopmePls, who played in Winnipeg last season. That fact had me thinking he was going to take the Jets, but he decided to take over Fishhure’s Columbus squad so he could resign Ustoopid. Which left me two teams with great resign options, I could choose Chicago who had Hardie, Hughsy, John D, MrlolChico and more, or I could go with Winnipeg who had Bartlett, Tommyboiii, Bejimoszn, and Staleee. We were only allowed 1 resign though which made the decision a bit more difficult.
I messaged Tommyboii and asked him if he would want to be resigned, he pretty much told me to pound sand and that his availability would be weak this season. So, I then messaged Bart and asked him if he’d be willing to resign with me and his exact words were ‘Sure I’m down, I suck though so just a warning’ and I told him ‘I don’t want to do good anyways so it’s fine that you suck.’
Then my choice of taking over Winnipeg and resigning arguably the best player in the league was made, all thanks to Tommyboii egoing be with his bad avail, and special thanks to Fly and Dustyglove for passing up on Winnipeg.
Heading into the draft it seemed obvious to me that Defense was going to be a very scarce position this season for all teams, not a lot of people signed up to be a primary defender. Getting 2 top defenders with my 1st and 2nd round picks was my top priority. There was a lot of draft picks being traded before the draft and it was hard to keep up, I felt like I was blowing it by not making some big moves before the draft. I did try a few different times to move up in the draft, but no one seemed interested in any of my trades (which was fair cause I was trying to fleece them slightly…) so I ended up being one of the few teams heading into the draft without trading a pick.
I had my eyes on KyleJ83 as my first pick but having the 9th overall selection made that a long shot. I asked a few different players about who might be some sleeper picks in this draft for defenseman, and the name that came up every time was NoScxpe96 at LD. So, the new plan was to take him if KyleJ83 was not on the board. Sure enough, NoScxpe fell to me, and I was able to take him with that 9th pick.
Now I had to work on the RD position, with KyleJ83 off the board the next best Dman who signed up for RD was Wardo_05, a 9.5M contract, but compared to every other defender left on the draft board it was worth it, so with the 11th overall pick I grabbed him. With 2 forward spots locked up, and my starting dmen locked up, I decided to focus on a LW next, thinking I could get a decent goalie for cheap in the later rounds.
In the 3rd round I went with a very reasonable 4.5M contract in Staleee-, knowing him and Wardo are bffs and that he played with Bart last season it was an easy choice.
Later in the draft I grabbed philmorin, ferdaboiss69, Nxbxr, itsjustskillz, and ice_uck to round out my top 10 roster. Both Nxbxr and Ferdaboiss69 were nice sneaky picks both being LGAHL players and solid at their positions, while itsjustskillz was a solid pick up in round 7, I played with skillz in previous seasons and he always put-up good numbers in nets and he was never toxic towards me like he has been known to be with other GM’s.
We started the season off hot, going 9-1-0 after first 10 games and seemed to be setting the tone for the league, then we had a real bad night of availability forcing me to use TC’s and have myself play RD and we went 1-2-0 one night. The bad night didn’t knock us out of first place, but it made me question what kind of availability troubles I may have going forward.
During the same week that we went 1-2-0, Philadelphia was having an awful week and were struggling hard. Cuban posted in the trade block chat that they wanted to make some moves, I messaged Cuban and asked him what the asking price for Hughsy28 was. After a short back and forth we made the block buster deal in trading Wardo_05, Staleee-, Nxbxr, ice_uck, and Flinn21(TC) for Hughsy28-, lxppy, pickletickler, and druwyy. This was a tougher deal for me to make than most people think, considering how well Wardo and Staleee were playing for the Sharks at the time (staleee with a 4.2ppg and Wardo with a 2.0ppg on D), and same with nxbxr because he was a solid defensive dman who broke the puck out well, but he was a primary LD. The reason I did the deal though was because I already had noscope playing 8/9 a week at LD, there wasn’t much opportunity for Nxbxr to get playing time. Wardo is an offensive RD, but we weren’t having any troubles scoring. I wanted a guy who I knew played the defensive role of D well and did it at a very competitive level, and that’s where hughsy made sense to grab in this deal, he’s also versatile can play anywhere. Pickle was a lowkey nice addition too, knowing he can play G very well and a solid LW if needed. Lxppy and Druwyy were the risky parts in the trade because no one ever said anything good about their avail and their commitment to the league. I figured if they got traded to the top team in the league that attitude might change though. I made this trade knowing I got 2 good reliable guys in hughsy and pickle, with hopes of lxppy and druwyy being more available than they were in Philadelphia.
Washington Capitals shortly after I made that deal with Cuban proposed a trade to me about acquiring Druwyy for Shephxrd. Knowing Shep’s talent, reliability, and his value to most GM’s in this league compared to their knowledge of value for Druwyy, I accepted the deal.
Lxppy was working out well for us in San Jose, he only missed 1 scheduled game because he was sleeping but overall, he was committed to the cup cause.
Then we had another game changing trade.
Vegas was looking to move John Dean, MrlolChico, and twnspepsi to a cup contending team. He felt that his top players deserved a better fate than the shit show that they got thrown into with Vegas with the GM quitting earlier in the season (dustyglove ur a troll) and their strong depth players giving weak availability.
So, I traded my starter LW in lxppy, my backup LW in ferdaboiss69 (who was a 3+ppg player as well), shepxrd (who was my backup Dman but normally a starter on most teams in the league), itsjustskillz (who was 13-0 in nets), and memento-mori (TC player who is an owner in VG).
The biggest problem with this trade for Vegas was the commitment levels out of the guys I traded to them, they all would play for the top team, but some wouldn’t play for one of the more struggling teams in the league. It was unfortunate, but no one can say that there was no value in the players that I traded (excluding the commitment thing). John and Chico weren’t giving Vegas full avail at the time due to real life stuff, Pepsi was the only player who was showing up for Vegas 9/9 that was in the deal. It was unfortunate for Vegas that they didn’t get the commitment from the guys I traded other than skillz and shep. IF (and that’s obviously a big if) all guys traded showed up for Vegas like they should have, that trade does not look near as bad. If Vegas thought they had a true chance at beating us then they likely don’t do this trade, but when you are a bottom team in SP, GM’s typically make moves for the guys who stuck it out for them all season to try and give his top guys a true chance in playoffs.
Anyways, into the final week of the season, we started to push harder to grab that 41-win record which ties the best season record (S23 Buffalo Sabres), and Bart and I wanted to snake the scoring titles from Hardie who lead in goals and points all season. We accomplished both tasks (suck it Hardie lol) and then moved onto focusing for playoffs.
Round 1 we had Vegas who just edged out Colorado for the lowest seed in playoffs, we beat them in 4 without top lining them once. Closest we came to losing was game 1 where we won 3-2 in OT against our worst lineup, thank you Pepsi and Bart for coming through offensively for the boys in that game.
Round 2 we played Edmonton where we went to OT in game 1 winning 3-2 (seeing a trend here). They played their backup line against our top line, and we were lucky to squeak that win out. A loss in that game would’ve been a series changing event. Edmonton was by far the toughest team we played, giving our top line its first loss all season and shutting us out at the same time. They had a real strong team, and they should’ve been in the cup finals playing us instead of having to see us in the 2nd round.
Stanley Cup final was next, as a Shark team we were hoping we were going to see Detroit in the Cup final so that we could tease Hardie when we beat him and ruined his chance at a 3-peat. Instead, Washington had the honor of putting them out and got to play us. I’m going to do a quick game by game breakdown since there won’t be another article like myself and Dirty D done previously that would usually cover this.
Game 1 – we were up 1-0 most of the game and then Washington scored 2 goals fairly late in the 3rd period to go up 2-1 with 4 minutes left in the game. Then Hughsy took a tripping penalty with 1:59 left to put us shorthanded. It looked to be over for us but Bartlett and John Dean were not ready to roll over yet, Bart carried the puck in on the left side and did his magic protecting the puck and then hit a wide open John Dean on the far post on a cross crease pass through like 4 Washington poke checks and tied the game (that’s the kind of EA nonsense I preach on the podcast that can change a game). In overtime the Sharks pretty much scored right away with a John Dean goal to take a 1-0 series lead. Sharks had their top line out while Fluri missed this one cause of LG playoffs. (The Sharks won game 1 by a score of 3-2 in OT in each playoff series, strange stat).
Game 2 – There was no Hughsy or John Dean for the Sharks, so Philmorin and TwnsPepsi got the call to play. Washington were missing Prodigytolegend due to LG as well. This game was all TwnsPepsi for the Sharks though as he had the big hattrick (including the empty netter) to win the game 4-2. Wardo scored both goals for the Capitals, but it wasn’t enough to get his team the W they needed against a Sharks team missing 2 of their top 5 skaters.
Game 3 – Sharks top line was back together again but the Capitals did not have Wardo in this one and Sharks took the game 3-0 for a commanding 3-0 series lead.
Game 4 – Sharks were going to be missing Hughsy for all 3 games Thursday because he was away on a night trip with his buddies. Washington team showed up again without Wardo. So I (RandyMarsh) had to play RD so that AsianLover420 could play his first game of the series on RW. Pickle was in nets for his first game of the series as well.
This game looked to be final curtains for the Capitals, but Washington tied it 3-3 in the third and force it to OT. But it was John Dean again being the OT hero to score and win the cup for the Sharks in a 4-0 series sweep.
It was unfortunate that Washington never got to play their actual top line against us, but they only saw the Sharks top line in games 1 and 3 this series so I think they can only blame that aspect so much, they had 2 opportunities to win games against the Sharks depth lines but still came up short. Having said that all games were very close, and Washington stayed composed to the end. They never got blown out once and were competitive the entire series. Great job Eggman and great playoff run to you guys, you were underdogs against Detroit and pulled it off, you guys had the farthest thing from a failed season.
What a season these Sharks had though, 41-4-0 in the regular season, 12-2-0 in playoffs. The only team in SP history that did better in a 45-game season was the S23 Buffalo Sabres who went 41-2-2 and won the cup as well that season. Shoutout to SedinPower, Sudzy-l92l, hypey-, bstieboydp, JayScott, MacInnis_2, ja-girard, Montoni007, Polsa_Boss_780, and Xxqc_poutine69xxx on that accomplishment.
Bartlett (twnsPepsiMax), it’s crazy that you didn’t play any other league other than SP this season lol. Your commitment to the team and dirty thumbs was what made the Sharks the team that they were. You played C most of the season and were excellent in both ends of the ice, getting you with my resign was the main reason we went all the way this season. I also appreciate you playing with COVID even though you were certain it was going to kill you. Thanks for carrying my baked potato ass to my first cup in a long time and carrying me to a rocket trophy.
Noscope (twnsDietCoke), you have the best defensive stick I have ever seen and were great at moving the puck up the ice. You carried the defensive weight on this team all season and I lucked out big time getting you with that 9th overall pick. We don’t win this cup without you. You were the best defenseman all season in my eyes and that Norris trophy should be yours. Easy Calder choice too. If you don’t win Calder, I will start a riot.
Hughsy (twnsFanta), you had a great playoff run leading d-men in scoring and were a huge factor in the Sharks success, and you did it all from playing RD (although you would rather play LD). It just goes to show why you are the most overall versatile player in this league being able to play any position (including G). It doesn’t come to a surprise to anyone that you have won 3 cups in a row. I don’t know if anyone noticed I put the ‘C’ on your jersey and took it off myself this season either lol, it should’ve come up in discussion at least once. Great season and thanks for not totally hating my guts when I play like ass.
John Dean (twnsCoke), you’re a gutless prick first and a great teammate 2nd. Jk (kind of). You’re the best defensive Center I’ve ever played with and have a great hockey sense. It’s a real talent that you can move the puck so quick without forcing anything, it’s a rare thing to find in this game. You will never catch this guy hanging onto a puck too long unless he is below the goal line trying to do his fancy flip play (it worked once bro, but don’t stop trying cause the 2nd time will be just as epic). You scored 2 big OT goals in the Stanley Cup finals with one being the goal to win at all for us. You are a well-deserved 3-peat cup champ. Congrats brother.
MrLolChico, you came up big for us against Edmonton with key breakaway saves and some cross-crease plays. I think we both would agree that series was where you made your mark as a cup champ in nets. Your numbers in the playoffs don’t reflect how well you did play as a G in the playoffs. SP now knows that you are a starter G in this league easily. I doubt you’ll ever sign-up G only again, but hopefully you don’t refuse it either for those odd games where you team may need a G lol. Congrats on the back-to-back cups and potentially the Vezina award as well. Well earned.
TwnsPepsi, you deserved more games than you got to play in these playoffs, if I wasn’t a selfish prick who wanted to play every game you would’ve easily had more. You came up clutch against Washington in game 2 that truly crushed their hopes in beating us. You were the unsung hero on this team brother and lead us to wins when it mattered to get us the cup. You’re unique gamertag also brought a lot of laughs into the discord with all the copycat twnsSoda names. Congrats on the cup homie.
Pickletickler (twnsDrPepper), you’re a god damn troll and you sell games ong. I must admit though, when you decide you want to play some legit G you are one of the better ones. You could’ve easily been the starter on this team and we still would’ve won the cup. You played some good games at LW during the season too, teams shouldn’t be waiting to the 7th round to be picking you that’s for sure. Congrats on your first cup.
PhilMorin, you teabagging slut, great job all season on D and G as well, a lot of teams wanted you in trade talks but I told them no. Who else would’ve told Bart that he’s ass, needs to finish, and remind him of where the blueline is? Also settle down on farting into the mic while holding your baby, that can’t be good for him. Thanks for signing up for the season when I asked you to randomly in the public chat, and thanks for being a part of this great season we had. We wouldn’t have won as many games as we did without you. Congrats on your first cup.
AsianLover_420 (twnsMountainDew), I’ve never met a guy who talks about his own sister the way you do, sorry we were hard on you about staying on the right side of the ice, but we didn’t want you to be sniffing Barts bum as much as you did, it is really distracting to him. You’re weird dude first, and a cup champ second. Not everyone that plays SP can say that they’re a cup champ though.
Thank you to my team for carrying me to a cup victory and snapping my playoff cold streak at 17 seasons. Hopefully I’ll never have a cold streak like that again lol. It was a fun season and looking forward to playing with most of you guys again in S45 on the PS5 or PS4 or whatever Plisk decides.
*I’ll take 42% cup odds anytime with this Sharks squad.*
Your Gutless S44 Cup Champ,
RandyMarsh2012