Login

White Cornerback · 09-29-2018, 04:50 PM

Sources close to the Buffalo Stampede camp have rumored that S38 Irish center Dermot Lavelle might be on his way out of Buffalo in the near future. Reportedly a combination of issues have complicated this matter further and for Buffalo front office, may have finally been the straw to break the camels back.

Despite the off ice tensions between the franchise and Lavelle, on the ice everything looks to be going perfectly. Buffalo sits 3rd in their conference with a 22-15-4 record, ahead of them are the 24-16-1 Minnesota Chiefs and the 25-15-1 Hamilton Steelhawks. As a team Buffalo has consistently improved season to season with very little turnover in terms of consistent top liners. The key to building a successful dynasty in the SHL is to keep a strong roster together, full of similar LR guys and with the exception of a few bad apples in Buffalo, they've done this to a large extent. Just how Lavelle's departure from Buffalo will affect the locker room is for the most, up in the airs.

Lavelle has spent the bulk of his time on the Buffalo second line alongside TJ Bayley & fellow draft class teammate Kevin Hamilton as he aims to continuing developing into a solid prospect throughout his career. Lavelle is tied 2nd on the Stampede in scoring with 35 points (16-19) in 41 games this season. Just behind Charles Walker who leads with 36 (13-23) and tied with Alexis Metzler on 35 points (8-27).

A number of issues have supposedly forced Lavelle's hand and forced him to make a decision in the near future regarding his SHL future despite signing a big 8 year/$48,000,000 contract prior to the beginning of S43. Despite this big money extension, Lavelle's supposedly looking from an exit from the under performing franchise that is the Stampede. Lavelle's camp has refused to comment on the speculation but our sources within the Stampede LR can confirm that there have been a number of circumstances that have all attributed to Lavelle's departure from Buffalo.

These include Lavelle languishing on the second line while weaker, older players enjoy the bulk of the minutes despite the clear talent disparity between Lavelle and the other Stampede first liners. Lavelle also publicly displayed disappointment with his contract negotiations with Buffalo's front office over social media, citing that he felt he "wasn't getting paid" what he was worth with his 8yr/48 million dollar contract. Lavelle is signed as far as S50 with the Stampede and with such a large contract, it's very unlikely his exit will be to anywhere that isn't an existing dumpster fire of a franchise. Real contenders will be unable to cater to his demands and large contract size.

Lavelle spent 4 seasons in the SMJHL with the St. Louis Scarecrows which culminated in a four star cup title, the first for the Scarecrows in close to ten seasons. Apparently the ongoing tension between Buffalo teammates and former St. Louis alumni is making Lavelle's position in Buffalo untenable. The front office of Buffalo is known to be quite abrasive, especially the Current GM. "When your general manager is catering to the needs of his friends/family instead of the players he manages, that's just not good". Lavelle is obviously referring to GM WannabeFinn's decision to start unproven and raw prospect Tatu Makela on the 1st line for Buffalo. Even with Metzler, McZehrl and Koenig being better options for the top line. It seems that nepotism in the simulation hockey universe is real and Buffalo might be about to pay the ultimate price.

Lavelle has given no clues about preferred destinations but if we were to guess about possible dumpster fires he could land at, Toronto and Seattle both spring to mind as ideal. Just whether a trade occurs between the two parties, and an fair deal for both sides his made is unknown. At the same time, Lavelle might not want to play on teams worse than his current one, despite all the problems close to home.

Ontop of all this, it's reported that earlier this week, Lavelle's teammate Viktor Vorkämpfer has an incredibly poor sense of hygiene. An unnamed source in the LR has confirmed that Vorkämpfer can often be seen chewing his toenails in the locker room pre game. Often if he's not in his usual spot chomping at his incredibly disgusting toenails, he's hidden in the bathroom stalls at Buffalo HQ eating a homemade personal stew that he holds in his bellybutton. Yes ladies and gents, Viktor Vorkampfer eats his bellybutton lint. Many teammates have said they are "appalled" at front office's decision to keep Viktor on the Buffalo Stampede roster.

While ideally you'd never want to hear a player entering his prime debating this decision, retirement is a real possibility for the young center. Lavelle is supposedly feeling the "aches and pains" despite only being in his 3rd season in the SHL, although he did spend 4 seasons applying his craft for the Scarecrows in the SMJHL. While not a player that actively searches for contact, being a talented young center in the SHL naturally attracts enforcers and opponents willing to lay the lumber on the undersized Irishman who only stands at 6'0 weighing 168lbs.

Lavelle is also noted as being interested in other sports leagues such as being "flattered" by the interest of a possible career in the NSFL. That's the National Simulation Football League for any of you non sim league snakes who only frequent the superior league, ie the SHL. Saying this, if Lavelle's looking to avoid CTE and bodily injuries a career in the NSFL is not a wise choice. Alternatively Lavelle could look to the SBA, especially considering he has in the past played basketball at a collegiate level with the Arizona Wildcats in the NCAA.

We will continue to monitor this dicey situation going forward and updates will be posted as soon as they become public. From everybody here including myself, this is Melvin Mushing signing off and a goodbye to all.