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Opera_Phantom · 04-22-2022, 10:16 AM

Getting into the Season 61 Simulation Hockey League entry draft, Jay Cue was really excited about where he was going to land. Obviously, as a late create, he knew very well that it was really hard to break the Top 10, even top 15, as the TPE just was not there, if compared to some other users. Also, there were a few recreates available, joined by a fair amount of new players (old in other leagues) that took the league by storm, in activity and TPE, which made Cue's journey an interesting one, trying to rise his draft stock through the ranks. Like any other user, he had a couple of teams where he hoped to land in, but to be fair, he was cool with going to at least 50% of teams in the league.

He had a fairly successful career with the SMJHL team Maine Timber, after deciding to sign for them when he joined the league with his player. Even though they were not a great team skill wise and did not enjoy a lot of success that season, as the 20 wins, 42 losses and 4 overtime losses show, good for only 10th place out of 12 teams in the league, he still managed to get a fairly respectable 22 points, courtesy of 8 goals and 14 assists through 60 games with the team. Even though Maine had an appalling record, they snuck into the playoffs due to being on a "every team makes the playoffs" North East Division, putting them up against the Anaheim Outlaws in the first round, who had a 32 win 34 (29 regular, 5 OT) losses, that got them 2nd place in the South West division. A tough opponent to face considering all factors.
But surprisingly, or not, Maine beat the Outlaws on an epic game 7, that ended 1 - 0 in OT. Unfortunately, their happiness would not last very long, as they were absolutely destroyed by the eventual championship winners, the Newfoundland Berserkers, 0 - 4, ending their season.

This finally brought us to the draft day. After a few sure picks were off the board, Cue was eventually picked at number 16 OA, by the Hamilton Steelhawks, even without a lot of scouting time taken by their front office and scouting team. The Steelhawks, the, or at least one of the, strongest team ever to grace the SHL, decided to take a shot on Cue to be a part of their future, so that when star league players Mitchell van der Heijden and Aaron Wilson (among a lot of other players) decided to retire, he would be ready to step in and dominate, with the team staying on top. This also meant that Cue would have to spend 3 more seasons with the Maine Timber, as most of the Steelhawks players were still on the top of their game.

The next season was not "easy times" for Maine, as they entered somewhat of a rebuilding phase, that saw them miss the SMJHL playoffs on season 61, due to their 29 win 37 losses season, good for 8th overall on the league, but only 4th on the 4 team Wollker Division. Cue managed to improve his numbers though, with 10 goals and 33 assists, good for 43 points. He showed some good hockey, a decent growth on his game, something that left everyone in the league very happy.

Season 62 was really the breakout season for Cue. His numbers sky rocketed, with 27 goals and 40 assists for 67 points, and while very far from the top, it earned him the 8th place in the entire league in points. Maine was helped tremendously with these stats, putting them in 6th place on the league with 39 wins and 27 losses, good for 3rd in the Ciarelli division, 1 win behind the Kelowna Knights and 7 wins behind the Anchorage Armada. Playoff wise, some kind of deja-vu, beating the Anaheim Outlaws, this time 4 - 2 and then getting destroyed on the second round by the Newfoundland Berserkers, 0 - 4.

Season 63, Jay Cue's last with Maine before the highly expected call up to play in the majors, was considered the all-in season for everyone. And Maine did great, getting to the 2nd place in the league with a 50 - 16 season, behind the Berserkers, who finished with a 58 - 8 record. Cue's numbers dropped slightly, with 19 goals and 42 assists, good for 61 points. Due to their regular season, on the playoffs Maine got a first round bye and faced the Quebec City Citadelles on the 2nd round. Quebec City had a 27 - 39 regular season record and surprisingly had beaten the Colorado Raptors (35 - 31 record) 4 - 2 on the first round. This proved not to be a fluke, as the Citadelles were a hard bone to chew for the Timber only managing to beat them in game 7, on a 4 - 3 OT nail biter, after being down 2 - 3 on the series. Incredible comeback by them to go through and heartbreak for the Quebec City Citadelles.
But, again, the Timber faced the Newfoundland Berserkers, this time on the semi final. But the result went as expected, with another Berserkers sweep, where Maine had, once again, no answer to their superior game.

After these 4 seasons spent on the minors, it was time to see how Cue would fare in the majors. And credit to him, in a season he started in Hamilton (who would finish 10th with a 37 - 29 record) and ended with the Montreal Patriotes (15th, 23 - 43 record), he had a pretty decent showing. He would go on to finish with a pretty respectable 40 points, 9 goals and 31 assists, which does not seem to be that bad for a rookie.

Team wise (and more on that in a few), he interestingly ended up facing Hamilton on the playoffs while playing for the Patriotes. Inevitably, when he loses a playoff series, it has to be a sweep apparently. Montreal did not manage to steal a single game out of the Steelhawks, ending their season.

And this brings this article to were it was intended. Getting back to the SHL Draft, Jay Cue signed, not before a lot of talk about a possible mishap by the Steelhawks that had him almost getting a 7 million dollar contract with the Manhattan Rage, a 3 year contract worth 6.5 million. This meant he was under contract with Hamilton until the end of season 64, where he would be called up only in his last year of contract.
Coming out of winning yet another ring, during the season it was evident that the Steelhawks were not the powerhouse they once were. While this is something that can still be proved wrong, as they are now tied 1 - 1 with the Buffalo Stampede in the second round of the playoffs, so they can still could very much go and win it all again, there is evidence that the team was/is preparing a rebuild. This idea saw them trade a lot of their younger players for future draft picks, to help with exactly that idea.
Front Office approached Cue with this information, and not wanting to go into a lot of detail or airing dirty laundry about the past (while it is no secret, so i do not mind sharing the entire information with anyone who requests that), it was decided that Cue would try to reach an agreement with a team for a trade arranged by the general managers, so that he would not just leave the team in free agency and got them something in return. This was a bit more complicated than expected, but after a few days, he eventually he made his way to the Montreal Patriotes, as reported above in this piece.

Cue had pretty much set in his mind he would test free agency at the end of this season, even after he got traded to Montreal. The leverage a free agent active player who earns consistently its interesting, so he just wants to try and get the best contract possible, while also being in control of choosing where he wants to play. So the fact he will be indeed going into next season as a free agent is in no way a shot at the Montreal Patriotes and its locker room, as i saw first hand how great they are as team mates and the plan they have in place to be more competitive in the future.

Now speaking freely about free agency and Jay Cue's wants and needs. What would be the ideal place for Cue regarding the team? A contender. A team that can get Cue decent playing time and stats as a center. Cue wishes to be at the very top of his position when the TPE allows, so he wants to rack up some goals and assists. Does this mean he will not entertain an offer coming from a team in a rebuild? It does not. Cue is willing to listen to any team that feels like he could be a good fit for the future and then he will make his decision taking in all the factors involved.

What else is he looking for? A decent contract. It is possible, almost certain, that when Cue decides on the team he wants to sign for in the next few weeks, he will never be changing his colors again. So while he understands the need for team friendly contracts, he also made 6.5M in the last 3 seasons, which definitely is not a lot. And equipment is expensive. Looking at season 61 players around the league, Cue is making less money than a lot of them, some of which have a lot less TPE than he has. Is he looking for the biggest contract ever in league history? Well, yeah, who is not? Does he think he will get it? Obviously not. But at least put him on par with guys around the same TPE levels. As we speak, Cue sits at 1082 TPE (if you find i left some behind, please let me know), including the TPE still not updated. You will get a max earning player, so you should definitely think about getting him a contract accordingly.

And speaking of contracts, he is a fan of player options and tamperable clauses. So if that can be included, even better.

What about the locker room? A couple years ago Cue would have told you he want an active locker room, with people talking a lot, having fun, telling stories etc. Nowadays? As long as people get along, he is ok with it. No need to talk every minute, as long as tasks are shared and eventually we tell a few jokes and come back the next day, he is ok with it. And regarding this, i can also help with the locker room environment, as he has been told before he is "very quirky", that he "brings a lot to the table" and last but not least, "shut up damn it!". With this info, what more do you need to know? He is incredible.

What else does he need to say... Yeah, he is now around Top 10ish in TPE in his class, depending on the amount of fellow draftees close to his TPE have claimed all their tasks as of this moment, so no doubt a fine addition to your team, not only for now, but also when looking into the not so distant future.

To finish this off, please be advised that the season is not over yet, meaning that Cue is still not a free agent at the moment. So do not go and incur on some tampering punishment simply because you want to get ahead of yourself, when there is plenty of time to talk during the off season. When the time comes, you can definitely find him on discord.

If after reading this no team wants to sign Jay Cue, no worries, we can still remain friends. And good luck to every player and team on the playoffs.

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2037 words

**brickwall35** · 04-22-2022, 10:23 AM

Enjoyed sharing the MTL LR with you!

***Wally*** · 04-22-2022, 11:12 AM

Go Neptune!

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