Berger: Leafs Working On Trade To Move D-Man

[Daisy Jane]

I really hope it's not Gardiner

unless it's for an elite piece back, Gardiner's staying put.

it wouldn't surprise me if it's more of a JVR/Schenn move, something lateral that benefits both sides.

 

[cyris]

Why would you love to trade Ranger? Have you not noticed his improved play over the last 2 games?

Leaf fans have no patience. The guy has been out of the league for 4 years, everyone should have known it would take a while for his game to come around.

 

[TootooTrain]

Dealing Gardiner provides little to no cap relief unless it's for picks which won't happen. So it's not gonna be him. Gotta be Liles. And if that's Berger's claim, then no **** shirlock. Nonis has been working on moving him for a while now.

 

[Daisy Jane]

Leaf fans have no patience. The guy has been out of the league for 4 years, everyone should have known it would take a while for his game to come around.

thank you.
and he has been getting better. i bet you by November he'll be fully settled in.

 

[LeafsNation149]

Ranger has been good the past few games idk what people expect from a guy who's been out of the league for so long and is paid 1 mil to be a 3rd line defencemen

 

[Hurt]

3 team trade?? Flip Yakupov for some one else.

Seth Jones!

Doubt NSH wants Yak though. Jones is going to be great.

 

[Kyle Doobas*]

Hopefully Liles, but probably Gunnar or Gardiner.

If it's to clear cap space, it's definitely Liles.

 

[KPower]

maybe Liles + Fraser for something?

Carlyle loves Fraser, it won't be him.

 

[613Leafer]

Hope its not Gunnarsson. He's still one of our most reliable Dmen, and his style of dmen tend to be underrated and not receive a ton in trade value. Id move one of the offensive guys before moving him, especially considering Rielly is the guy theyre trying to make room for.

 

[Pi]

Seth Jones!

Doubt NSH wants Yak though. Jones is going to be great.

Yes! We need a player like Seth Jones...that would be tremendous.

What we really need is a top pairing D or a #1C. Only reason I acquire Yakupov is to flip him for something we want.

 

[Raging Bull]

Only Dion plays more at even strength and no one plays more short handed. Carlyle seems to like Gunnar more than most Leaf fans, i really doubt he is being moved.

I'm just eliminating possibilities. If the move is to clear cap space and a roster spot, it would have to be someone with a significant cap-hit and someone that is currently playing in the top 6. Obviously Phaneuf is out of the question, Fraser and Gardiner don't make enough to get that much cap relief. Ranger has a NTC.

Gardiner would probably garner the biggest return.

 

[Mitchy]

Seth Jones!

Doubt NSH wants Yak though. Jones is going to be great.

Nashville gets the scoring they need and we get a future superstar and everyone lives happily ever after.

 

[Raging Bull]

If it's to clear cap space, it's definitely Liles.

Doesn't help create a roster spot for Rielly when Fraser is healthy.

 

[Hurt]

Nashville gets the scoring they need and we get a future superstar and everyone lives happily ever after.

So exciting!

 

[hotpaws]

I can understand clearing a spot for Fraser but we don't need to clear cap space to keep Rielly .

Maybe he's found a sucker I mean a team that will take JML .

 

[Duke Silver]

Why would you love to trade Ranger? Have you not noticed his improved play over the last 2 games?

The guy's been hating on Ranger since pre-season. It will take a herculean effort by Ranger to change Kingstonian's opinion of him.

You are right that he has improved recently. He's just getting familiarized at the moment.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Hard to believe Berger with his track record with rumours, I think this is pretty much a known fact Leafs would move Liles. And Gardiner has already been mentioned last week.

#it'sberger

 

[TootooTrain]

Doesn't help create a roster spot for Rielly when Fraser is healthy.

The comment from Berger was about creating cap space for him. If they want, they can fit him on the roster. Depending on how much cash is cleared, we'd be able to carry 7 dmen again.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Skimmed Berger Bytes.

Can't say it is worth much, some of the blog entries are downright awful.

 

[Sergei Berezin]

Might be in the best interest of the Leafs to call up Liles and show that he's a capable NHL defender for a little bit while we've got these injuries.

Would certainly raise his stock if he played well enough.

 

[bobermay]

Its going to be really interesting to see what moves Nonis makes this season, especially on the back-end.

Most Leafs fans seem to agree that we're a little weak on the back-end, despite having 9+ NHL caliber defenders right now:
Phaneuf
Franson
Gardiner
Rielly
Fraser
Ranger
Gunnarsson
Liles
Brennan

Only Franson has a Right Handed Shot...

The way I see it, we have the need and the assets to acquire a top pairing defenseman to play along side Phaneuf:

Phaneuf-
Fraser/Rielly/Gardiner/Gunnarsson/Brennan/Liles-Franson
Fraser/Rielly/Gardiner/Gunnarsson/Brennan/Liles-Ranger

Obviously, Liles would be the first to go if we could get rid of him and his cap hit. But what we're truly lacking is another go-to defensive minded defenseman.

A lot of people want to ship out Gunnarsson too, but he's the kind of player that we're really lacking in my opinion...

Exciting times in LeafsNation! Thats for sure!

 

[Kibago]

hopefully we've found someone to take Liles. that solves our cap crunch for the year, gives our roster a lot more flexibility. I'd give up a mid-round pick to make that happen.

 

[Havoc]

Hope its not Gunnarsson. He's still one of our most reliable Dmen, and his style of dmen tend to be underrated and not receive a ton in trade value. Id move one of the offensive guys before moving him, especially considering Rielly is the guy theyre trying to make room for.

What games do you watch? Gunnar is brutal

 

[Duke Silver]

What games do you watch? Gunnar is brutal

Gunnarsson was our best D-man in the Edmonton game.

 

[Magic Man]

The Leafs don't need to move a defenseman off their roster to make room, they only have 7 at the NHL level currently. They also don't need to clear cap space for him to fit. They were under the cap with a 22-man roster to start the season.

It would be nice to move Liles, though. Obviously, as there would be more flexibility for call-ups and a possibility for other additions throughout the year. More flexibility going into next season as well with lots of players needing new contracts.