Cleveland Barons

The Cleveland Barons are a fantasy ice hockey team in The Conn Smythe Corner (CSC). They are one of the original 16 teams that joined the league.

Franchise history
During the lockout of the 2012-13 NHL season, eventually the inaugural season of the CSC, Cleveland was granted a CSC franchise by by tsar commissioner Steve Lyberopoulos.

2012-13 Season
The 2012-13 season was a successful one for Cleveland, as the Barons won their division with a 7-4 record, clinching a playoff berth in the process. On January 16th, 2013, the first draft in the league's history was held, with Cleveland making Jonathan Quick the franchise's first ever draft pick. A few weeks later, the Barons would make their first trade, sending Sami Salo and Vincent Lecavalier to the Montreal Wanderers in exchange for Joe Thornton and Brian Cambpell. Their biggest trade of the season involved sending Chris Stewart, Luca Sbisa, Ales Hemsky, and a 9th round pick to the Cal Golden Seals in exchange for Jeff Carter, Ryan Callahan, Nicklas Kronwall, and a 14th round pick. In the quarterfinals, Cleveland advanced past the Brooklyn Americans to set up a semifinal matchup against the 7th-seeded Montreal Wanderers. The Wanderers would defeat the Barons, continuing a cinderella run that would lead Montreal to their first ever Cam Ward Cup. The Barons would go on to win the 3rd-place matchup against the St. Louis Eagles.

Key waiver pickups throughout the season include Nazem Kadri, who had a tremendous season, and Jonathan Bernier. Both would be kept for the 2013-14 season.

2013-14 Season
Cleveland entered the 2013-14 season with stars such as Erik Karlsson, Patrice Bergeron, and Carey Price in tow after the draft. Partway through the season, the Barons made one of the biggest trades in their history: acquiring superstar Alexander Ovechkin, Evander Kane, and a 9th round draft pick from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for the aforementioned Bergeron, Patrick Marleau and a 6th round draft pick. The Barons would go on to make the playoffs with a 14-8 record after having made the most moves in the league (59). The 4th-seeded Barons would advance past the Minnesota North Stars (who would later relocate and become the Seattle Metropolitans) in the quarterfinals, only to fall short in the semifinals once again, this time to the eventual champion Atlanta Thrashers.

Cleveland's 3rd place matchup against the Montreal Wanderers would have the closest finish in CSC history. After the Barons built an 8 point lead to close the week, stat corrections would bring the match to a 417-417 stalemate. Because the Wanderers had defeated Cleveland in their regular season matchup (391-385), the Wanderers owned the tiebreaker, and thus won the 3rd-place game.

Cleveland added defenceman Radko Gudas from the waiver wire early in the season. Gudas responded with a solid season, and was kept as a result.

2014-15 Season
The 2014-15 season was a tumultuous one for the Barons, feeling the sting of trading several high draft picks during the 2013 season. Despite a hot start, the Barons wavered during the midway point of the season. Determined to make the playoffs for the third consecutive season, general manager Matthew Taddeo once again traded multiple draft picks for talented players in the weeks headed towards the trade deadline. One trade involved, among other things, sending a 4th round draft pick to the Montreal Maroons for Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist would go on to sustain an injury just days after the trade, causing him to miss the remainder of the 2014 CSC regular season.

Also gearing up for a playoff push were the Cornwall Aces, who also traded several high picks for elite talent. What resulted was the CSC's most significant regular season matchup to date: Cleveland would face Cornwall on the final week of the 2014 season, with the winner earning a playoff berth. Cornwall would win a hard-fought matchup to clinch the first playoff berth in Aces history as Cleveland fell to 11-10.

That offseason, the Barons would acquire perhaps the most traded player in the CSC's history, Alex Galchenyuk. Galchenyuk would be kept for, and traded partway through, the 2015 season.

2015-16 Season
2015-16 proved to be a difficult season for Cleveland. Armed with superstar goaltender Carey Price, the Barons hoped to recreate the success they enjoyed in 2013. The season looked promising, with the Barons opening with a 5-3 record. In November, however, Price sustained a knee injury and was forced to spend the rest of the season on injured reserve.

During Week 8, in a matchup against QC Athletic Club, the Barons found themselves down 258-335.75 going into the final day of the week. Cleveland mounted a historic comeback, scoring 90.25 points against QC's 5.75, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. This has been unofficially credited as the biggest single-day comeback in CSC history.

Despite beginning the year with a 5-3 record, the Barons dropped the next 5 straight matches and 6 of their next 8 games, forcing them to sell for the first time. And sell they did - the mass exodus of talent included stars Anze Kopitar, Henrik Lundqvist, and Drew Doughty, as well as Patric Hornqvist, Loui Eriksson, Anton Stralman, Alex Goligoski, and JT Miller. Journeyman Phil Kessel was also dealt mere hours before the trade deadline. Despite winning that very week, the Barons lost three straight matches afterwards. Still, Cleveland's season ended on a high note, as the team defeated the Atlanta Flames by just 0.75 points. For the first time in Barons history, their season ended with a victory.

The acquisition of many draft pick upgrades led to an eventful offseason for the Barons: GM Matthew Taddeo aggressively pursued several trades, which resulted in a keeper crop including Mark Stone, Roman Josi, Ryan Johansen, and Nathan MacKinnon - none of which had played for Cleveland during the 2016 season.

2016-17 Season
The Barons began 2016-17 armed to the teeth after selling during the previous year. Erik Karlsson returned for his fourth stint in Cleveland after being selected tenth overall, and would lead the CSC in fantasy points per game. The Barons also welcomed back Rick Nash, Zdeno Chara, David Savard, Patric Hornqvist, Jarome Iginla, and Damon Severson through the draft. The season began with a matchup against Cleveland's nemesis: the Montreal Wanderers. Against fate itself, the Barons would secure their first victory against the Wanderers, cementing the hope in the city that this season would be different. The Barons opened the season with a 6-1 record, though their 1.25 point loss against the Hartford Whalers in Week 3 was controversial due to a stat correction coming in late - the Barons were to be awarded 2.25 points, which would have sealed their win. Cleveland would only lose two more matchups through the course of the season: one against the Wanderers in Week 8, and another against the Springfield Indians in Week 13. Their 17-3 record tied the record for wins set by the SEA Metropolitans the previous year, and Cleveland finished in first place for the first time in franchise history.

Cleveland completed four trades during this season, all in February. Their acquisitions included Derek Forbort, Corey Crawford, Alex Pietrangelo, and former Barons John Tavares and Anze Kopitar. Notable waiver pickups during the season included Anthony Mantha, Patrick Eaves, Jake Guentzel and Justin Shultz.

The playoffs saw Cleveland face the St. Louis Eagles in the first round. Despite an incredible 8-1 start to the season by St. Louis, the Barons would defeat them in the first round, dealing the Eagles their tenth loss in their previous twelve games. The next round would see Cleveland face an opponent nobody in the city wanted to see again: The Montreal Wanderers.

In a matchup for the ages, the teams would trade the lead three times, and despite going into the weekend down forty points, the Barons climbed to within 2.75 on Saturday night. What unfolded on Sunday was perhaps the most improbable series of events in a league matchup since the 2013 matchup between these two teams: the Wanderers finished ahead by a mere 0.5 points after a stat correction, as is tradition. This lead was given at the very last play of the week, which saw Kevin Hayes fire the puck in from centre ice, forcing Jonathan Bernier to make a save, and giving the Wanderers an extra 0.5 points. The Wanderers would go on to win the Cam Ward Cup - the third time in five seasons Cleveland would lose to the eventual champions in the playoffs. Once again, the season ended in heartbreak for the Cleveland Barons, and once again, it was at the hands of the Montreal Wanderers.

The Barons would then lose the 3rd place game against the Colorado Rockies by 3.75 points after losing Karlsson, Ryan McDonagh, Anthony Mantha, and John Tavares to injury - a loss that, relatively speaking, should have been heartbreaking. The win against Cleveland would be the first in Colorado's history.

Despite having the best season in franchise history, the Cleveland Barons were again left searching for answers.

2017-18 Season
The Barons looked to improve upon the success and remedy the tragedy of the 2016-17 season, which saw Cleveland tie the CSC record for wins. At the draft, Jamie Benn was made a first-time Baron with the fourth overall pick. Returning Barons included David Savard, Corey Crawford, Brent Seabrook, and captain Henrik Zetterberg. Cleveland roared out of the gate with a 9-2 record, sweeping the season series against their longtime rival Montreal Wanderers by a combined 151.75 points along the way. For the second consecutive season, electricity filled the air in Cleveland - the winds of change were blowing. The Barons would attempt to build on this start by obtaining Minnesota Wild captain Mikko Koivu for David Savard in early December.

Cleveland's season would hit a snag in late December, as starting goaltender Corey Crawford was mysteriously placed on injured reserve. He would not play again during the 2017-18 season. This, combined with tough bye week scheduling and an underperforming Scott Darling, sparked a three-week losing streak. The Barons were suddenly 9-5, and with the addition of Filip Forsberg and Johnny Boychuk to the injured reserve list, the team looked to be in a free fall.

However, partway through this hiccup, the first savior arrived: Marc-André Fleury was acquired alongside Jack Eichel in exchange for Scott Darling, Ondrej Kase, and the swapping of draft picks. This trade would prove fruitful despite an Eichel injury later in the season, as Fleury would start 32 games the rest of the way compared to Darling's 14. Between Weeks 15 and 20, the Barons would only lose one more matchup.

The week of the trade deadline was a busy one for Cleveland. Three trades were made: alongside the exchange of draft picks, Antti Raanta, Tyler Myers, and Mike Hoffman would be acquired for Will Butcher, Brent Seabrook, and Carter Hutton. Cleveland's most significant deal of the deadline was negotiated with the Wanderers - the first deal between the clubs in over five years. In it, Cleveland would send promising keeper Jake Guentzel to the Montreal Wanderers in exchange for the Barons' second savior: Connor McDavid.

The trade would shift the tides of Cleveland's season like none before it could. As a Baron, McDavid would score 16 goals and 33 points in 20 games. Cleveland ended the season with a 14-6-0 record, good for 3rd place in the CSC. Between sweeping the season series and the McDavid move, there was a hope that, perhaps, the Barons would reverse the Wanderers curse that haunted them the previous five seasons.

Cleveland would play the Montreal Maroons in the first round of the playoffs. Like all their first round matchups, the Barons would win, but victory came at a steep cost: Antti Raanta and Brock Boeser were injured on the first day of the matchup, and the latter would not return that season. To add to their misery, the Barons could not acquire Raanta's backup, as he was part of an ever-growing harem of goalies owned by the Los Angeles Sharks. These injuries, alongside a matchup with the red-hot Vancouver Blazers in the semifinals, looked to spell semifinal disappointment in Cleveland yet again.

Fate, though, had more in store for Cleveland this season. The Barons would score a playoff-high 578.75 points that week, knocking off the Blazers with relative ease despite a near 140 point performance by the latter on March 15th. For the first time, Cleveland found themselves in the Cam Ward Cup Finals.

Their opponent was another rival: the Atlanta Thrashers. While the teams split the season series during the regular season, the first-place Thrashers had left the draft favourites to win their third championship. With no weakness to be found in the Thrashers roster, the Barons were the clear underdogs.

Every dog has its day, however: Cleveland would defeat the Thrashers in one of the closest finals in the history of the CSC, powered by 10 points from child of destiny Connor McDavid. Called lackluster before the matchup, Raanta alone outscored Atlanta's goalies. James van Riemsdyk and keeper Justin Schultz escaped cold stretches during the playoffs (van Riemsdyk in particular scored a combined 96.25 fantasy points in the semifinals and finals) to aid Cleveland in their victory. After years of heartbreak, the Cleveland Barons were Cam Ward Cup champions.

Rivalries
The Barons have several rivals.

Atlanta Thrashers: The Barons and Thrashers had been in the same division or conference since the beginning of the CSC up until the season following their meeting in the finals, and the score between the two tend to be very close: three of their nine regular season matchups were decided by less than five points. The Barons would win the most important matchup in the rivalry's history, the 2017-18 Cam Ward Cup Finals, to claim their first championship. The Barons are 4-7 against the Thrashers all time during the regular season, and 1-1 in the playoffs.

Montreal Wanderers: The Barons have faced the Wanderers each year Cleveland has made the playoffs but one - the season the Barons took home the Cam Ward Cup. The first trade in Barons history was in fact with the Wanderers, though the teams took five years to complete a second. The bad blood between general managers Matthew Taddeo and Gerardo Discepola is said to have begun when, on January 17th, 2014, the Wanderers picked up Gustav Nyquist, who had been dropped by the Barons days prior. Nyquist went on to score 23 goals between January 20th and the end of the season. The Barons are 3-5 against the Wanderers during the regular season, with the former claiming their first victory in the rivalry in Week 1 of the 2016 season. October 24th was subsequently declared a holiday in the city of Cleveland. In the playoffs, Cleveland are 0-3 against the Wanderers.

Cornwall Aces: The Aces and Barons played in one of the most important regular season matchups to date. In a win-and-you're-in situation, the Aces broke the hearts of Cleveland fans everywhere. Former Aces general manager Brahm Hurwitz has gone on record calling Cleveland the Aces' biggest rivals. Despite this rivalry, the clubs have made several high-profile trades with each other. The Aces relocated to Toronto before the 2017-18 season and became the Toronto Arenas. The Barons were 2-4 against Cornwall all time, but at least they still exist.

The God of Stat Corrections: The interns at Yahoo! that manage stat corrections, ominously coined the "God of Stat Corrections" by Thrashers general manager Marco Scanlan, have had Cleveland in their back pockets for ages. Their first strike against Cleveland was in the 2013 3rd place matchup against the Wanderers, where the Wanderers were awarded 8 points to tie (and, due to Montreal having the tiebreaker, win) the match. The following season, this omnipotent yet severely underpaid force continued to be a nuisance to the Barons, awarding points to the Thrashers and the Vancouver Millionaires in separate matchups and causing them to defeat Cleveland by exactly 0.25 points each. In the matchup against Vancouver, an additional plus was not granted to Cleveland's Blake Comeau, causing them to lose the matchup which, ultimately, was impactful long term as Cleveland missed the playoffs by a single win that season. During the 2016-17 season, this happened again: Cleveland lost to the Hartford Whalers by just 1.25 points, while a stat correction that would give the Barons 2.25 points was only applied the following week - too late to salvage a victory for the Barons. In the same year, the Wanderers would be granted 3.25 points by the midwest-hating deity, leading to a playoff victory over the Barons. After the first week of the 2018-19 CSC Season, the Barons lost to the Millionaires by a mere 0.5 points, and a stat correction (giving PK Subban an extra plus) only came in the following week. Cleveland is winless against the God of Stat Corrections.

General managers

 * Matthew Taddeo, 2012-present

Yearly Record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pct% = Winning Percentage, PTS = Points per Week, MV = Total Moves 

First-Round Picks

 * 2012-13: G Jonathan Quick (6th overall)
 * 2013-14: D Erik Karlsson (5th overall)
 * 2014-15: C John Tavares (4th overall)
 * 2015-16: G Carey Price (9th overall)
 * 2016-17: D Erik Karlsson (10th overall)
 * 2017-18: W Jamie Benn (4th overall)

Captains

 * 2012-13: C/W Pavel Datsyuk
 * 2013-14: D Erik Karlsson
 * 2014-15: C John Tavares
 * 2015-16: C Anze Kopitar/ D Nicklas Kronwall
 * 2016-17: D Erik Karlsson
 * 2017-18: C/W Henrik Zetterberg