Salary Cap: Cap Problems next season?

[Avec Fromage*]

One thing I think the Leafs have to consider with the way Raymond has played this year, is if they can do better with him than Joffrey Lupul.

Presumably, he could fetch a pretty good defenceman in return, and that $5.25m would free up a lot of cap space, while Raymond would probably come in around 1/2 of that.

That is an interest point, but both are having an anomaly of a season and Raymond's best is still worse than Lupul's worst (same points, but Raymond has played 9 more games). I also think Raymond has been cheating on defence a bit, trying to score more to earn more on his next contract.

Top-six is all signed for next year (I'm including Clarkson in this because that was, in my opinion, clearly Nonis' intention). Our bottom-6 provides very little offence and Carlyle prefers the checking line style anyway (28 goals between Kulemin, Bolland, Holland, Smith, McClement, Bodie, Ashton, Broll, and Orr) so I think it may be best for the Leafs to employ cheaper, grinding wingers for the third line UNLESS they intend to give Kulemin a full-time spot on the third line like he deserves.

 

[seanlinden]

That is an interest point, but both are having an anomaly of a season and Raymond's best is still worse than Lupul's worst (same points, but Raymond has played 9 more games). I also think Raymond has been cheating on defence a bit, trying to score more to earn more on his next contract.

Top-six is all signed for next year (I'm including Clarkson in this because that was, in my opinion, clearly Nonis' intention). Our bottom-6 provides very little offence and Carlyle prefers the checking line style anyway (28 goals between Kulemin, Bolland, Holland, Smith, McClement, Bodie, Ashton, Broll, and Orr) so I think it may be best for the Leafs to employ cheaper, grinding wingers for the third line UNLESS they intend to give Kulemin a full-time spot on the third line like he deserves.

I wouldn't neccessarily call either of their respective seasons an anomaly. Maybe slightly outside the norm, but a high 20 goal pace has to be considered reasonable for Lupul (while he's been healthier this year than usual), and a low-20 goal pace for Raymond is also around his career average (while also being healthier than usual this year).

If we assume that the team has decided they're keeping Bolland. The decision could possibly be broken down to the choice of Lupul & Leivo in the lineup full time next year, or Raymond & Kulemin (with Leivo as a callup), as I'd expect their cap hits to probably add up to the same. I think you could make the case for the latter, plus whatever trade value Joffrey Lupul has.

 

[The Podium]

One thing I think the Leafs have to consider with the way Raymond has played this year, is if they can do better with him than Joffrey Lupul.

Presumably, he could fetch a pretty good defenceman in return, and that $5.25m would free up a lot of cap space, while Raymond would probably come in around 1/2 of that.

They both have their flaws but I really don't like Raymond's game. He's too selfish with the puck and doesn't use his line mates to capitalize on golden opportunities.

 

[seanlinden]

They both have their flaws but I really don't like Raymond's game. He's too selfish with the puck and doesn't use his line mates to capitalize on golden opportunities.

A fair point, and if we're talking Raymond vs. Lupul, Lupul's the fairly obvious choice 95% of the time.

However, it's not a 1-to-1 comparison. The difference in salaries between these two could quite easily be the difference between Nikolai Kulemin & an AHLer on the team.

The Leafs have some issues which need to be addressed next year, and doing so would likely cost them both Kulemin & Raymond because of the cap.

Then you consider Lupul's trade value... let's say the Leafs went a little bonkers and traded Lupul, Kadri & Franson to Vancouver for Kesler & Bieksa. $9.6m in, $10.25 out, plus the $1-2m raise that Franson was going to be looking at.

All of a sudden, you're looking at a group like this:
JvR-Bozak-Kessel
Raymond-Kesler-Clarkson
_____-Holland-Kulemin
Bodie-McClement-_____

Gunnarsson-Phaneuf
Gardiner-Bieksa
Gleason-Rielly

Another option, would be going the Stastny route, and using Kadri/Lupul as trade bait for a REALLY good defenceman.

Based on my mental math, that group should also have a fair bit of money to spend. If the Leafs are committed to getting value out of the Clarkson contract, realizing that for whatever reason, he doesn't work with Lupul may be the way to do that.