Post-Game Talk: 2023-2024 Leafs Roster/Changes/Turnovers & Replacement(s)

[Ianturnedbull]

Frankly, we shouldn't bring Matthews back if he insists on being the highest paid player in the NHL.

There's zero argument as far as I'm concerned for him to be paid more than McDavid or MacKinnon.

I don't know what to say other then Matthews is signing his contract (here or elsewhere) AFTER McKinnon/McDude. Therefore, he will likely be the highest paid player in the NHL. I think it's inevitable.

I am not arguing that he is better than the above names.

The superstar who signs after Matthews will be the next highest paid player.

 

[BallardEra]

 

[hockeywiz542]

Nick Kypreos: What the Maple Leafs can learn from Adin Hill’s Stanley Cup final run with Golden Knights

The Leafs have plenty of options in goal, but after watching Hill’s playoff run the question is: how bold does GM Brad Treliving want to be?

www.thestar.com

Change my mind

On Michael Bunting not returning to the Leafs: Some NHL teams tell me the free-agent forward could get between $4.5 million and $5 million per season on a long-term deal based on the two-year, $8.5-million deal Andreas Athanasiou got with the Blackhawks. Toronto might be priced out.

 

[ACC1224]

Nick Kypreos: What the Maple Leafs can learn from Adin Hill’s Stanley Cup final run with Golden Knights

The Leafs have plenty of options in goal, but after watching Hill’s playoff run the question is: how bold does GM Brad Treliving want to be?

www.thestar.com

Change my mind

On Michael Bunting not returning to the Leafs: Some NHL teams tell me the free-agent forward could get between $4.5 million and $5 million per season on a long-term deal based on the two-year, $8.5-million deal Andreas Athanasiou got with the Blackhawks. Toronto might be priced out.

He'll soon be forgotten.

 

[TMLAM34]

Honestly not even going to miss Bunting, he’s not good defensively, he got lucky playing alongside Matthews and Marner to pad his offensive stats but couldn’t do anything offensively when separated from them, he’s a rat that shit talks opposing players and refs but doesn’t back it up.

He’s going to be this years version of Campbell where his individual stats were inflated by playing here and a team is going to give him 5x5 and be very disappointed within the first year of the contract.

 

[ACC1224]

Honestly not even going to miss Bunting, he’s not good defensively, he got lucky playing alongside Matthews and Marner to pad his offensive stats but couldn’t do anything offensively when separated from them, he’s a rat that shit talks opposing players and refs but doesn’t back it up.

He’s going to be this years version of Campbell where his individual stats were inflated by playing here and a team is going to give him 5x5 and be very disappointed within the first year of the contract.

Agree with everything but the bold.

 

[Trapper]

He'll soon be forgotten.

Knies will be taking his spot.
For that money, we need to find a quality C that can move JT to wing.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Where do the Maple Leafs go from here with Matt Murray?

What can the Leafs do with the goalie who has one year left on his contract?

theathletic.com

1. Buy him out

First, the costs of a buyout, which the Leafs could choose to execute once the buyout window opens not long after the Stanley Cup Final comes to an end:

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Season [/TD]
[TD]Cap hit[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2023-24[/TD]
[TD]$687,500[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2024-25[/TD]
[TD]$2,000,000[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

It’s that second year, clearly, that’s most problematic.

Yes, the cap is expected to rise a fair bit by the 2024-25 season. Buying out Murray though would eat into that increase, robbing the Leafs of $2 million to play with at a time when new contracts for Auston Matthews and (maybe) William Nylander will kick in, TJ Brodie will need replacing, and Timothy Liljegren will be due a pricier deal. Who knows what the Leafs will be paying Samsonov, due a new contract this summer.

Every little bit counts.

That $2 million could simply account for the increase on Matthews’ next contract — from $11.64 million on the cap to whatever league-leading figure comes next. It might buy the Leafs a helpful third-liner or fifth defenceman.

If there’s appeal to the buyout route, it’s this: The only asset going out the door is cap space. Not great obviously in a hard cap world. However, the Leafs wouldn’t have to part with what could be a prime draft pick in any Murray trade.

The organizational supply of picks is low at the moment, especially the good ones.

Leafs' draft picks (2023-25)

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Round[/TD]
[TD]2023[/TD]
[TD]2024[/TD]
[TD]2025[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]X[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]X[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[TD]XX[/TD]
[TD]XX[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]XX[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

3. Keep him

There’s no way, right?

Samsonov is now the clear-cut No. 1 and Woll is poised to hold onto the backup job he snatched when Murray was injured late last season.

Also: Woll needs waivers to go back down to the Marlies. He could be great value on the cap, too, at $767,000.

Keeping Murray would mean either keeping all three goalies or serving Woll, who turns 25 in July, up for some other team to grab.

Not gonna happen right?

The Leafs could bring all three to camp and see how things play out. An injury to Samsonov or Woll and suddenly, Murray might be needed again. If that doesn’t happen, could they try trading him then? Teams do tend to need goalies at that time of year. But that’s dicey business — just hoping maybe someone will want Murray. That’s also, crucially, a huge chunk of cap space to throw away this offseason. The Leafs could simply bury Murray in the minors. That would save them $1.15 million in space, meaning Murray would be chewing up $3.5 million to play for the Marlies.

No bueno.

So yeah, hard to see a path that sees Murray returning.

A trade seems likeliest. Just last summer, Treliving flipped the final year of Sean Monahan’s problematic contract to Montreal at the cost of a first-round pick. He also bought out Troy Brouwer once upon a time.

What’s the move with Murray?

 

[Peace Frog]

Watching Kyper and Bourne and they mused about trading Nylander and Marner for Saros and Josi.

What do you guys think? Would you do it?

 

[ShaneFalco]

Where do the Maple Leafs go from here with Matt Murray?

What can the Leafs do with the goalie who has one year left on his contract?

theathletic.com

1. Buy him out

First, the costs of a buyout, which the Leafs could choose to execute once the buyout window opens not long after the Stanley Cup Final comes to an end:

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Season [/TD]
[TD]Cap hit[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2023-24[/TD]
[TD]$687,500[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2024-25[/TD]
[TD]$2,000,000[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

It’s that second year, clearly, that’s most problematic.

Yes, the cap is expected to rise a fair bit by the 2024-25 season. Buying out Murray though would eat into that increase, robbing the Leafs of $2 million to play with at a time when new contracts for Auston Matthews and (maybe) William Nylander will kick in, TJ Brodie will need replacing, and Timothy Liljegren will be due a pricier deal. Who knows what the Leafs will be paying Samsonov, due a new contract this summer.

Every little bit counts.

That $2 million could simply account for the increase on Matthews’ next contract — from $11.64 million on the cap to whatever league-leading figure comes next. It might buy the Leafs a helpful third-liner or fifth defenceman.

If there’s appeal to the buyout route, it’s this: The only asset going out the door is cap space. Not great obviously in a hard cap world. However, the Leafs wouldn’t have to part with what could be a prime draft pick in any Murray trade.

The organizational supply of picks is low at the moment, especially the good ones.

Leafs' draft picks (2023-25)

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Round[/TD]
[TD]2023[/TD]
[TD]2024[/TD]
[TD]2025[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]X[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]X[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[TD]XX[/TD]
[TD]XX[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]XX[/TD]
[TD]X[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

3. Keep him

There’s no way, right?

Samsonov is now the clear-cut No. 1 and Woll is poised to hold onto the backup job he snatched when Murray was injured late last season.

Also: Woll needs waivers to go back down to the Marlies. He could be great value on the cap, too, at $767,000.

Keeping Murray would mean either keeping all three goalies or serving Woll, who turns 25 in July, up for some other team to grab.

Not gonna happen right?

The Leafs could bring all three to camp and see how things play out. An injury to Samsonov or Woll and suddenly, Murray might be needed again. If that doesn’t happen, could they try trading him then? Teams do tend to need goalies at that time of year. But that’s dicey business — just hoping maybe someone will want Murray. That’s also, crucially, a huge chunk of cap space to throw away this offseason. The Leafs could simply bury Murray in the minors. That would save them $1.15 million in space, meaning Murray would be chewing up $3.5 million to play for the Marlies.

No bueno.

So yeah, hard to see a path that sees Murray returning.

A trade seems likeliest. Just last summer, Treliving flipped the final year of Sean Monahan’s problematic contract to Montreal at the cost of a first-round pick. He also bought out Troy Brouwer once upon a time.

What’s the move with Murray?

Curious how many picks we've had to give away to get rid of someone - Mrazek, Ritchie come immediately to mind. Murray may be next. But it's also the cost of acquiring these guys, and guys like Foligno, ROR, Gio, Ritiich, Hutton etc Then combine that with guys that walked

 

[Leaf Rocket]

hearing this more and more it sounds like he's a goner.

then again we already know he was a merc for hire.

 

[ToneDog]

Watching Kyper and Bourne and they mused about trading Nylander and Marner for Saros and Josi.

What do you guys think? Would you do it?

If Josi was 27, yes. He is 33.

 

[Buds17]

Watching Kyper and Bourne and they mused about trading Nylander and Marner for Saros and Josi.

What do you guys think? Would you do it?

Too many moving parts to this hypothetical trade (Nylander and Marner?), too many moving parts that would have to follow (Rielly and Samsonov, not to mention needing some offence from the wing now).

Whether directly or indirectly, Nylander for Saros might be of some interest to me.

 

[notDatsyuk]

For those interested

Even more proof (if any as needed) that Tavares is only competent because he plays with Nylander.

 

[Peace Frog]

If Josi was 27, yes. He is 33.

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking as well.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Watching Kyper and Bourne and they mused about trading Nylander and Marner for Saros and Josi.

What do you guys think? Would you do it?

Are you sure it wasn't Nylander and Murray?

 

[hockeywiz542]

Maple Leafs and Michael Bunting Have Not Held Contract Talks Since Season Ended - The Hockey News

Brad Treliving has had a lot on his to-do list since becoming general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But it appears that list, as of now, has not included engaging with pending free agent Michael Bunting.

"I have not heard from Brad Treliving or had any discussions regarding Michael Bunting as of today," agent Paul Capizzano told The Hockey News on Friday.

In his end-of-season availability with media last month, Bunting admitted there were no contract talks with the Toronto Maple Leafs about an extension at any point during the regular season.

Five days later, the man who would have been on the other side of those negotiations — Kyle Dubas — was dismissed as general manager of the club.

Although some radio silence was expected in the interim as Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan quickly went to work on finding Dubas' replacement, some clarity was expected once Treliving was officially named as the new GM of the club on May 31.

And Treliving has certainly been busy. He identified his top priority as meeting with Auston Matthews, who is eligible to sign a contract extension with the club as soon as July 1. A decision still has to be made (if it hasn't already) on head coach Sheldon Keefe, who has one more season remaining on his contract.

Treliving announced his first hire on Friday by convincing Shane Doan to leave the Arizona Coyotes, the only NHL franchise he has ever known both on and off the ice, to become a Special Advisor with the Maple Leafs.

He has reportedly engaged in talks with some of his free agents, including Luke Schenn. But the lack of discussion from Treliving and Bunting's camp is notable. Even if Treliving has only been on the job for 10 days.

Treliving was insistent during his introductory press conference on May 31 that he would not negotiate through the media and he stuck to that policy by declining to comment on the matter when reached by The Hockey News.

 

[Peace Frog]

Can’t wait until BT does something of note that we can discuss in this thread. The Shane Doan hiring is kinda cool, but I’m looking forward to the player personnel moves he makes. That and the coaching situation.

 

[andora]

I am kinda freaked out if BT trades a name player. From what i have read for the past couple weeks i think our players are getting overrated in trade expectations

BT could make a good trade but this board will explode with didnt get enoughisms for .. well.. probably for his tenure

 

[LaPlante94]

I am kinda freaked out if BT trades a name player. From what i have read for the past couple weeks i think our players are getting overrated in trade expectations

BT could make a good trade but this board will explode with didnt get enoughisms for .. well.. probably for his tenure

Yeah I went to the main boards one time and I thought Leafs fans overrate their players, but my god it's pretty much every fanbase. No wonder why most people on these forums are mad about any trade that happens.

 

[notDatsyuk]

I am kinda freaked out if BT trades a name player. From what i have read for the past couple weeks i think our players are getting overrated in trade expectations

BT could make a good trade but this board will explode with didnt get enoughisms for .. well.. probably for his tenure

The problem is not so much overrating our players, and expecting too good a return, but not understanding the detrimental effect of their cap hits.

Marner, for example, is a very good player. If he was getting $7M, there would be GMs lining up to give us good players and/or picks for him. At $9M, not so much. At $11M, he's overpaid, so his trade value drops even more.

 

[Coatsy79]

Frankly, we shouldn't bring Matthews back if he insists on being the highest paid player in the NHL.

There's zero argument as far as I'm concerned for him to be paid more than McDavid or MacKinnon.

And then complain when they fail in the playoffs or their mates on the team have to be traded because we can go longer afford them

 

[Thornbury]

The problem is not so much overrating our players, and expecting too good a return, but not understanding the detrimental effect of their cap hits.

Marner, for example, is a very good player. If he was getting $7M, there would be GMs lining up to give us good players and/or picks for him. At $9M, not so much. At $11M, he's overpaid, so his trade value drops even more.

Which is why retaining 25% of Marner's cap hit may be required to get solid value for him in a trade.

 

[andora]

The problem is not so much overrating our players, and expecting too good a return, but not understanding the detrimental effect of their cap hits.

Marner, for example, is a very good player. If he was getting $7M, there would be GMs lining up to give us good players and/or picks for him. At $9M, not so much. At $11M, he's overpaid, so his trade value drops even more.

That may be true but it wouldnt change the reaction. Being able to watch behind the scenes a negotiation of a trade involving an 11 million dollar good player would be so fascinating to me..

 

[ShaneFalco]

Maple Leafs and Michael Bunting Have Not Held Contract Talks Since Season Ended - The Hockey News

Brad Treliving has had a lot on his to-do list since becoming general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But it appears that list, as of now, has not included engaging with pending free agent Michael Bunting.

"I have not heard from Brad Treliving or had any discussions regarding Michael Bunting as of today," agent Paul Capizzano told The Hockey News on Friday.

In his end-of-season availability with media last month, Bunting admitted there were no contract talks with the Toronto Maple Leafs about an extension at any point during the regular season.

Five days later, the man who would have been on the other side of those negotiations — Kyle Dubas — was dismissed as general manager of the club.

Although some radio silence was expected in the interim as Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan quickly went to work on finding Dubas' replacement, some clarity was expected once Treliving was officially named as the new GM of the club on May 31.

And Treliving has certainly been busy. He identified his top priority as meeting with Auston Matthews, who is eligible to sign a contract extension with the club as soon as July 1. A decision still has to be made (if it hasn't already) on head coach Sheldon Keefe, who has one more season remaining on his contract.

Treliving announced his first hire on Friday by convincing Shane Doan to leave the Arizona Coyotes, the only NHL franchise he has ever known both on and off the ice, to become a Special Advisor with the Maple Leafs.

He has reportedly engaged in talks with some of his free agents, including Luke Schenn. But the lack of discussion from Treliving and Bunting's camp is notable. Even if Treliving has only been on the job for 10 days.

Treliving was insistent during his introductory press conference on May 31 that he would not negotiate through the media and he stuck to that policy by declining to comment on the matter when reached by The Hockey News.

Bunting was a nice shiny new toy for a little while but that wore off fairly quickly.