LeBrun: Bringing in upper echelon goalie is "pretty big priority" for Leafs.

[Rec T]

Gibson's a real wildcard for me.

He seems to have this "aura" that he's a good goalie on a bad team... but his numbers have been atrocious for the laset 2, and were below average for the 3 years prior to that. Still 3 years left at $6.4m.

One has to ask a couple of questions:

1. If Gibson was available for free (from an asset standpoint), would another team take him? I suspect the answer would probably be yes, but it would be a team like Chicago, or Columbus, or San Jose -- somebody who figures that he might be better than what they have, and aren't worried about him burdening their cap for the next couple years.

Would a good team in need of goaltending like Toronto or New Jersey do so? I don't know... it screams terrible idea given that if he faulters, he loses all of the aura "of good goalie on bad team", and then he's a lot more difficult to move with 2 years @ $6.4m left.

It's also worth considering that if he returns to something close to "2018-19 form"... which is far from a guarantee, it's not like he's all of a suddent a top 5-goalie in the league. He'd prbably be in / around the 7-12 range... with him currently being the 5th highest paid goalie in the league.

2. Would Anaheim retain on him to generate a decent return?

At $4m, Gibson certainly has the potential to turn into a steal of a contract, in a fairly ideal contract window (3 years) for a contending team. If you're a team like the Leafs, I think the potential of getting "old John Gibson" at $4m outweighs the risks, and of course it'd be a lot easier to dump him if he didn't work out.

Gibson's numbers ... are what they are. An argument can be made that he had a historically bad team in front of him, regularly facing 50 or more shots per game. However he also started most every season looking like an all star goalie once again. He'd be on fire until the team crapped the bed enough that they once again weren't going anywhere that year (generally Nov/Dec). Then he'd just give up and stop giving a crap (or so it seemed). Individual games tended to be the same, start of really well but then when the team collapsed & got behind by a few goals...he'd stop caring too. And you can't completely fault him for giving up when he was being hung out to dry night after night after night. But giving up like that also destroyed his stats/trade potential.

A change of scenery would probably do him a world of good. But his fairly solid NMC will potentially gum up any deal that he's not fully behind. Then toss in the media circus of Toronto (or say Montreal) and if he's not consistently great right from the start, it could get ugly.

I'm sure that Anaheim would retain on him, even up to 50%. But as that's closing in on $10 million (3.2x3), they'd want something fairly significant above & beyond the player himself to do so.

In a way he's kind of like Marner. It probably would be best to move on from him, but he holds a lot of power with the NMC, so the team is dealing from a position of weakness. They don't want to/aren't going to give him up for nothing (most likely) & yet the totality of the situation leans towards them not getting a great deal. So it may be that both of them are with their respective teams this coming year. Time will tell

 

[Majorityof1]

Binnington and Parayko for Marner…
12.5 combined compared to 12.5 Marner will get…
takes care of goaltending and defense in one shot. done

Why would the Blues do this though? Its one year of Marner. We'd trade our best D, our only defensive D and our starting goalie who was damn good this year for one year on a winger? An elite winger, sure, but one year. That would be a fire-able mistake bu our GM given where the Blues are now and what our needs are.

I'm serious. How do you justify this for the Blues who were 4th worst in the NHL at xGA and only 15th worst in actual GA because of our goaltending? Are we going to compete for the cup next year with our one year of Marner and a 2nd year goaltender and no defense? What is the thought process that makes this seem reasonable?

 

[seanlinden]

Gibson's numbers ... are what they are. An argument can be made that he had a historically bad team in front of him, regularly facing 50 or more shots per game. However he also started most every season looking like an all star goalie once again. He'd be on fire until the team crapped the bed enough that they once again weren't going anywhere that year (generally Nov/Dec). Then he'd just give up and stop giving a crap (or so it seemed). Individual games tended to be the same, start of really well but then when the team collapsed & got behind by a few goals...he'd stop caring too. And you can't completely fault him for giving up when he was being hung out to dry night after night after night. But giving up like that also destroyed his stats/trade potential.

A change of scenery would probably do him a world of good. But his fairly solid NMC will potentially gum up any deal that he's not fully behind. Then toss in the media circus of Toronto (or say Montreal) and if he's not consistently great right from the start, it could get ugly.

I'm sure that Anaheim would retain on him, even up to 50%. But as that's closing in on $10 million (3.2x3), they'd want something fairly significant above & beyond the player himself to do so.

In a way he's kind of like Marner. It probably would be best to move on from him, but he holds a lot of power with the NMC, so the team is dealing from a position of weakness. They don't want to/aren't going to give him up for nothing (most likely) & yet the totality of the situation leans towards them not getting a great deal. So it may be that both of them are with their respective teams this coming year. Time will tell

I would agree with you that a change of scenery will probably do him well...with an emphasis on probably. The challenge is -- if it doesn't... its' a fairly big risk for a team to take without retention.

From a NTC standpoint, I've gotta believe that he'd want out of Anaheim at this point, and that there might be a little bit of "beggars can't be choosers", and that he would want a chance to play in the playoffs.

How many playoff, or borderline playoff teams are actually looking for a goalie right now? Toronto, New Jersey, & Detroit are really the only candidates in the East.

In the West, maybe Colorado or Edmonton make a move. The Kings will need a goalie... you're talking about probably 4, maybe 6 opportunities. Sure, Nashville could move Saros and Boston could move Ullmark; but those would almost certainly be to one of those 5 teams.

As for the retention, certainly a big pill to swallow, and I'm not sure it needs to be all $3.2m... but something to get his number down to $4 or $4.5m would probably make him a whole bunch more attractive when you can potentially get Ullmark or Saros at $5m this year, and Calgary has expressed a willingness to retain on Markstrom.

I guess the challenge is... being able to asses it as "it's not what we're retaining that we have to worry about, but what we're saving." Retaining $2.4m on his deal costs them $7.2m in retention over 3 years, but saves them $12m in salary.

Then a matter of whether you want to "do right by him" versus just being a little ruthless.

 

[TopShelfWaterBottle]

The same topic year after year

 

[BB88]

You do understand that the Leafs goalie tandem included Samsonov right?

Binnington would be a MASSIVE upgrade

Please go ahead

Bring him as the upper echelon goalie..
I’d love to see him behind Torontos defense

 

[13pacheco31]

Why would the Blues do this though? Its one year of Marner. We'd trade our best D, our only defensive D and our starting goalie who was damn good this year for one year on a winger? An elite winger, sure, but one year. That would be a fire-able mistake bu our GM given where the Blues are now and what our needs are.

I'm serious. How do you justify this for the Blues who were 4th worst in the NHL at xGA and only 15th worst in actual GA because of our goaltending? Are we going to compete for the cup next year with our one year of Marner and a 2nd year goaltender and no defense? What is the thought process that makes this seem reasonable?

Trading those two for marner is absolutely absurd but if they ever decided to do a rebuild, they would be top candidates for trade bait

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Is Freddy Andersen available?

why so he can choke every elimination game and lose his job to Jack Campbell?

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Please go ahead

Bring him as the upper echelon goalie..
I’d love to see him behind Torontos defense

their D wasn't even the issue, not scoring goals was

 

[paragon]

Ulmark might be great for Toronto. If he wants to win it's his best shot, unless Carolina and Boston work out a Andersen and a pick for Ulmark swap.

 

[Isles72]

Husso could be a decent idea to platoon with Woll . He has 1 year left @ around 4.7 and shouldnt cost the leafs too much in assets to aquire

Cossa had a solid AHL season and could share the crease with Alex Lyon for his first taste in the nhl allowing Detroit the flex to trade Ville

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Please go ahead

Bring him as the upper echelon goalie..
I’d love to see him behind Torontos defense

You don't know what Toronto's defense is going to look like next season unless you legitimately think there is going to be ZERO changes to it, which is impossible

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Husso could be a decent idea to platoon with Woll . He has 1 year left @ around 4.7 and shouldnt cost the leafs too much in assets to aquire

Cossa had a solid AHL season and could share the crease with Alex Lyon for his first taste in the nhl allowing Detroit the flex to trade Ville

Detroit wants to make the playoffs next season, Alex Lyon as the #1 goalie isn't getting it done

 

[lanceuppercut75]

Husso could be a decent idea to platoon with Woll . He has 1 year left @ around 4.7 and shouldnt cost the leafs too much in assets to aquire

Cossa had a solid AHL season and could share the crease with Alex Lyon for his first taste in the nhl allowing Detroit the flex to trade Ville

Husso to the Leafs is a bit higher or a cap hit than I would like. My ideal tandem next year would be Holl and a guy like Nedeljkovic on a 1 year deal. THAT BEING SAID, if the Leafs are determined to go out and acquire a "starter", Husso is at least very cheap to acquire, only 1 year, and under 5 million. It's close to what I want but not perfectly in line. Close enough, I'll take it.

I've seen some DET fans saying they want to go with Lyon and Cossa next year, but I think adding an upgrade on Husso on a 1 or 2 year contract is the better choice for them. Ullmark, Merzlikins (if they can dump Holl / Chiarot), Gustavsson, Vejmelka via trade, or maybe Samsonov, Hart, Talbot via UFA. Markstrom and Saros are also options, but the cost to acquire is steeper. Cossa needs to be on the team in October 2026 due to waiver eligibility, but could be an NHLer the year before possibly. This upcoming season seems a bit too early IMO. DET should let him start a huge amount of games in the AHL this year instead of starting 30 or 35 maximum in the NHL.

 

[Isles72]

yeah I can see them wanting to marinate Cossa for at least another year in the ahl too

 

[lanceuppercut75]

Just for fun :

to Carolina Hurricanes
Timothy Liljegren

to Toronto Maple Leafs
Freddy Andersen

( then CAR acquires Ullmark for a pick or Kotkaniemi if BOS wants him )

 

[Vitto79]

Markstrom makes sense with the Calgary history but he has to waive so NJ makes sense

 

[Stealth JD]

Please go ahead

Bring him as the upper echelon goalie..
I’d love to see him behind Torontos defense

Binnington was the primary reason the Blues even sniffed the playoff race this season, as their defense outside of Parayko has been shit for three years now. The Blues’ defense makes the Leafs’ defense look top-tier. This notion that Binnington would collapse behind the Leafs D or in front of the Toronto media is the height of absurdity. The guy was a rock who plays better than his numbers reflected because the team around him just was not very good.

Thomas, Binnington & Parayko have been doing a lot of heavy lifting on the Blues roster. To lose one of those guys would put the Blues in a top-8 draft pick for a few seasons. Would be very tough to lose Binnington if Armstrong truly expects his team to compete. Binny probably has another 5-years of stellar play in him considering goalies typically age well.

 

[SPV]

I’ve said this before, but something like this is a fun idea, but obviously wouldn’t happen and neither guys would probably waive.

To Chicago, John Tavares retained at 20% and Toronto’s 7th
To Chicago, Jesper Boqvist and Boston’s 2025 7th
To Boston, John Tavares retained by Chicago at 50% and the rights to Edmundson
To Toronto, Linus Ullmark

Boston gets their first line center, Toronto gets their goalie, Chicago buys a player and a few draft picks for cap space for one year. Drama ensues.

 

[seanlinden]

Markstrom makes sense with the Calgary history but he has to waive so NJ makes sense

Markstrom does make the most sense IMO; and personally, I can imagine that the relationship with Treliving would probably make him willing to waive.

The problem is -- would Calgary be willing to trade and retain him to Toronto because of the history with Tre.

 

[Vitto79]

Markstrom does make the most sense IMO; and personally, I can imagine that the relationship with Treliving would probably make him willing to waive.

The problem is -- would Calgary be willing to trade and retain him to Toronto because of the history with Tre.

I doubt Calgary retains
Markstrom at 2 yrs with his contract isn’t horrible but Salary needs to go Back

Leafs really need to get aggressive and shake up the group

They are good enough with top stars to make the playoffs . Don’t be afraid to move bodies like Lilegren , Jarnkrok , etc

 

[Takurcitee]

Saros or Binnington i guess

 

[mydnyte]

Saros or Binnington i guess

Nashville is no different than Minn with Gustavsson and Wallstedt (and MAF) ...and who plays net for St Louis if they trade Binnington?

 

[colchar]

Gibson's numbers ... are what they are. An argument can be made that he had a historically bad team in front of him, regularly facing 50 or more shots per game. However he also started most every season looking like an all star goalie once again. He'd be on fire until the team crapped the bed enough that they once again weren't going anywhere that year (generally Nov/Dec). Then he'd just give up and stop giving a crap (or so it seemed). Individual games tended to be the same, start of really well but then when the team collapsed & got behind by a few goals...he'd stop caring too. And you can't completely fault him for giving up when he was being hung out to dry night after night after night. But giving up like that also destroyed his stats/trade potential.

A change of scenery would probably do him a world of good. But his fairly solid NMC will potentially gum up any deal that he's not fully behind. Then toss in the media circus of Toronto (or say Montreal) and if he's not consistently great right from the start, it could get ugly.

I'm sure that Anaheim would retain on him, even up to 50%. But as that's closing in on $10 million (3.2x3), they'd want something fairly significant above & beyond the player himself to do so.

In a way he's kind of like Marner. It probably would be best to move on from him, but he holds a lot of power with the NMC, so the team is dealing from a position of weakness. They don't want to/aren't going to give him up for nothing (most likely) & yet the totality of the situation leans towards them not getting a great deal. So it may be that both of them are with their respective teams this coming year. Time will tell

If he cares so little you'd think he would waive his NMC. The fact that he doesn't and chooses to continue not caring calls his commitment to winning into question. Why would the Leafs want a goalie who doesn't care?

Why would the Blues do this though? Its one year of Marner. We'd trade our best D, our only defensive D and our starting goalie who was damn good this year for one year on a winger? An elite winger, sure, but one year. That would be a fire-able mistake bu our GM given where the Blues are now and what our needs are.

I'm serious. How do you justify this for the Blues who were 4th worst in the NHL at xGA and only 15th worst in actual GA because of our goaltending? Are we going to compete for the cup next year with our one year of Marner and a 2nd year goaltender and no defense? What is the thought process that makes this seem reasonable?

Expected goals against

What a pathetically stupid stat.

 

[Bond]

Markstrom does make the most sense IMO; and personally, I can imagine that the relationship with Treliving would probably make him willing to waive.

The problem is -- would Calgary be willing to trade and retain him to Toronto because of the history with Tre.

Markstrom makes sense but I bet the Flames will prefer salary coming back and I’m not sure they’d want another 24 1st or delay to the 26 draft.
I still think Markstrom ends up on the Devils for their protected 25 1st.

 

[HolyGhost]

might guess it has been said but NO SHIT REALLY the leafs will TRY to go big game hunting for a goalie