TSN: Cody Ceci + Hapur + Luchuk and pick for Nikita Zeitsev + Brown + Carcone

[BatherSeason]

In a vacuum, me too. Given their contract situations, I sure hope the sweetener is more maple syrup than sucralose. Bad 1 for 1 otherwise

The sweetener is the bonus the Leafs will be paying for us on Zaitsev July 1st

 

[FlyingJ]

That video - wow. How can management see a video like that and keep playing a guy night after night?

That clip of Ceci turning the puck over to a guy with no stick never gets old. It's almost as good as Schubert flubbing the breakaway and then getting buried into the net by Mike Richards.

The one that really kills me is the last one, the no-look reverse backhand pass against the Red Wings. Like, what the hell is he thinking pulling that in his own end with nobody between him and the goalie? Granted, "what the hell is he thinking" applies to a lot of those clips.

 

[TheNewEra]

I wonder if it's zaistev+brown for ceci+Condon/harpur

 

[danielpalfredsson]

after the bonus is paid, the new average for zaitsev is 3.9 million per year. That's pretty decent if he plays better than last year

Yearly real money AAV doesn't really mean a thing though because it's not like the savings we got in year 1 will have any effect on us in years 2/3/4/5 that Zaitsev. It only matters if the savings are distributed more equally through retained salary or the Leafs taking a player on a bad contract with similar term.

He's a 4.5 million dollar player under our budget, but we probably save a lot of money in the short term this year.

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

Sounds like bull**** given how high leafs are on analytics. Also why would they pay Ceci 5M+ with their cap situation?

They will not pay him.
They dump Zaitsev's salary on us, and Brown, and take back Ceci. They flip Ceci to someone else or simply use him on a bottom pair. Ceci has pretty ok zone exit numbers, and doesn't get terrified as often as Zaitsev does. This is is actually...ok for them. Not great. But fine if they keep him.

 

[Hutz]

The sweetener is the bonus the Leafs will be paying for us on Zaitsev July 1st

Oof not seet enough for me

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

The one that really kills me is the last one, the no-look reverse backhand pass against the Red Wings. Like, what the hell is he thinking pulling that in his own end with nobody between him and the goalie? Granted, "what the hell is he thinking" applies to a lot of those clips.

Yea that was brutal. How do you make that pass in front of your goalie without making sure someone on your team is there to receive it

 

[Clayonator]

I wonder if part of the potential “sweetener” is them talking Boedker and buying him out/burying him in the minors. Maybe Condon.

 

[BatherSeason]

Imagine if this is true . Not so sweet

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Imagine if this is true . Not so sweet

It's a fake twitter rumor account. I wouldn't put any stock into it.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

I wonder if part of the potential “sweetener” is them talking Boedker and buying him out/burying him in the minors. Maybe Condon.

Condon makes more sense because he would cost them about 1.4M and moving him gives the Senators 3 million.

Boedker doesn't make sense because his cap hit at 4 million (about 3 buried) would still be too large for the Leafs, and he frees up the same amount of money for the Senators (3 million).

Ceci+Condon+Harpur or Ceci+Harpur is probably the package. Leafs don't have to want Harpur. They can pay him 800k to be a top pairing D on their souped up AHL team because his full cap hit is returned to them when he is buried.

I'd guess Brown comes back to us because it makes more sense for both sides than us getting something like a B/C prosect or a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Instead of the Leafs getting a 2020 3rd or a 2021 2nd from someone for Brown, they give Brown to the Sens to save themselves from having to give us a pick in this deal. Sens probably prefer to have a winger who might play in their top 6 given the lack of top end talent that they can probably trade next year for the same pick they passed on from the Leafs. The Leafs clear cap space, and the Sens get closer to the floor via the Leafs paying Brown's bonus before the trade.

 

[inthewings]

This is stupid. I would have preferred to just not offer Ceci a QO and be rid of him. Being locked in to zaitsev long term sucks

 

[Clayonator]

Condon makes more sense because he would cost them about 1.4M and moving him gives the Senators 3 million.

Boedker doesn't make sense because his cap hit at 4 million (about 3 buried) would still be too large for the Leafs, and he frees up the same amount of money for the Senators (3 million).

Ceci+Condon+Harpur or Ceci+Harpur is probably the package. Leafs don't have to want Harpur. They can pay him 800k to be a top pairing D on their souped up AHL team because his full cap hit is returned to them when he is buried.

I'd guess Brown comes back to us because it makes more sense for both sides than us getting something like a B/C prosect or a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Instead of the Leafs getting a 2020 3rd or a 2021 2nd from someone for Brown, they give Brown to the Sens to save themselves from having to give us a pick in this deal. Sens probably prefer to have a winger who might play in their top 6 given the lack of top end talent that they can probably trade next year for the same pick they passed on from the Leafs. The Leafs clear cap space, and the Sens get closer to the floor via the Leafs paying Brown's bonus before the trade.

Isn’t Condon at 2.4 mil? Either way that’s still a 1.6 mil differential from Boedker.

 

[GrunbeldDragonKnight]

Leaf fan here. Not happy about this deal because you guys are upgrading and getting a good player. If you watch him consistently like I have for the last three seasons you will see a solid, hard working, and tough player with some offensive spark. Zaitsev was misused since he came back from a brutal injury plagued season two years ago. This year he was solid and formed a pretty formidable tandem with Muzzin, especially in the playoffs.

I don't blame the guy for wanting to leave. Don Cherry is a dick. And Leaf fans are unforgiving. He is also a fairly young and cost controlled asset. You guys made our like bandits.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Leaf fan here. Not happy about this deal because you guys are upgrading and getting a good player. If you watch him consistently like I have for the last three seasons you will see a solid, hard working, and tough player with some offensive spark. Zaitsev was misused since he came back from a brutal injury plagued season two years ago. This year he was solid and formed a pretty formidable tandem with Muzzin, especially in the playoffs.

I don't blame the guy for wanting to leave. Don Cherry is a dick. And Leaf fans are unforgiving. He is also a fairly young and cost controlled asset. You guys made our like bandits.

Let me guess, youre the one Zaitsev fan on the Leaf boards?

I mean, I hope youre right, we shall see.

 

[GrantLemons]

Leaf fan here. Not happy about this deal because you guys are upgrading and getting a good player. If you watch him consistently like I have for the last three seasons you will see a solid, hard working, and tough player with some offensive spark. Zaitsev was misused since he came back from a brutal injury plagued season two years ago. This year he was solid and formed a pretty formidable tandem with Muzzin, especially in the playoffs.

I don't blame the guy for wanting to leave. Don Cherry is a dick. And Leaf fans are unforgiving. He is also a fairly young and cost controlled asset. You guys made our like bandits.

I think the + with Zaitsev (or lack there of) will determine whether or not we made out like bandits. My hopes are not high.

 

[GrunbeldDragonKnight]

Let me guess, youre the one Zaitsev fan on the Leaf boards?

I mean, I hope youre right, we shall see.

Not a Zaitsev fan. I never get attached to players. I just saw a solid hard working player that flourished at first, was later miscast, and started putting together some consistent hockey again mid to late this year. Shrugs shoulders, if it makes you feel any better I felt the same way about Carl Gunnarson?

 

[Clayonator]

Leaf fan here. Not happy about this deal because you guys are upgrading and getting a good player. If you watch him consistently like I have for the last three seasons you will see a solid, hard working, and tough player with some offensive spark. Zaitsev was misused since he came back from a brutal injury plagued season two years ago. This year he was solid and formed a pretty formidable tandem with Muzzin, especially in the playoffs.

I don't blame the guy for wanting to leave. Don Cherry is a dick. And Leaf fans are unforgiving. He is also a fairly young and cost controlled asset. You guys made our like bandits.

What would you describe as his ideal role?

 

[milkbag]

Why are we bailing the leafs, the bosox to our yankees, out of ANOTHER contract blunder? Just...what?? Why?

 

[BondraTime]

What would you describe as his ideal role?

Pressbox

Kind of kidding, a slightly improved Ceci. Better with decisions and decision making, worse skill (I know...)

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Isn’t Condon at 2.4 mil? Either way that’s still a 1.6 mil differential from Boedker.

They get up to around 1 million back by burying a player in the minors.

Rough numbers...

They can increase their cap by 1.4M to pay us 3M. (Condon)
Or, they can increase their cap by 3M to pay us 3M. (Boedker)

Condon makes a lot more sense for both sides.

 

[GrunbeldDragonKnight]

What would you describe as his ideal role?

Tough to say, at first I thought he was a solid number 2. He demonstrated some good passing and offensive instincts and was pretty positionally sound, though not as physical in the defensive zone. Last year he wasn't the best. He had bad luck with injuries. Soon as he returned from a concussion, I believe he hurt his leg blocking a shot.

This season he was put in a position to fail. Zaitsev is decent at skating with the puck, but the Leafs play a stretch pass system that leaves their defense exposed. He has become increasingly more physical here, but I think he is disappointed with his deployment. Considering his familiarity with DJ Smith, he will be tried in more offensive roles like he did for us two years ago and like he consistently does for Russia.

I think he slots well in the 3-4 slot. He may surprise you.

 

[Cor]

Pressbox

Kind of kidding, a slightly improved Ceci. Better with decisions and decision making, worse skill (I know...)

Zaitsev’s decision making isn’t much better. Dude flings the puck down the ice for icing as soon as he senses someone within 10 feet of him.

Zaitsev and Ceci are extremely comparable players. It’s kinda funny how similar it is. When you look at RelTM stats, Ceci comes out a bit ahead, but Zaitsev does, albeit slightly, have a lower ZSR.

By the sounds of it, it comes down to the Sens finding Zaitsev, a Ceci clone signed long term at 4.5M cap hit with a decent chunk paid off already, and apparently Connor Brown, who will have 25% of his salary this year already paid, more attractive than dealing with Ceci’s process again.

Keep in mind, DJ Smith was our defensive and PK coach, and Zaitsev was our top PK d-man and top defensive zone usage guy. I think DJ Smith plays a big part here (apparently he’s been talking to Zaitsev daily the last couple of days).

But yeah, Ceci and Zaitsev is essentially the Spider-Man to Spider-Man meme. We kick in Brown for ya’ll to take the term.

We can sign Ceci, flip Ceci, go down the arbitration route and hopefully walk away.


It’ll be interesting to see what the deal turns out to be in total. All that is 100% known is Zaitsev and Ceci.

 

[h2]

I have a feeling we're going to get bent over in this trade. The extra asset coming from TO should be notable, otherwise this is awful due to the duration of Zaitsev's contract. I'm not too high on Zaitsev either, he got dropped by Paul Byron in a fight.

 

[BondraTime]

Zaitsev’s decision making isn’t much better. Dude flings the puck down the ice for icing as soon as he senses someone within 10 feet of him.

Zaitsev and Ceci are extremely comparable players. It’s kinda funny how similar it is. When you look at RelTM stats, Ceci comes out a bit ahead, but Zaitsev does, albeit slightly, have a lower ZSR.

By the sounds of it, it comes down to the Sens finding Zaitsev, a Ceci clone signed long term at 4.5M cap hit with a decent chunk paid off already, and apparently Connor Brown, who will have 25% of his salary this year already paid, more attractive than dealing with Ceci’s process again.

Keep in mind, DJ Smith was our defensive and PK coach, and Zaitsev was our top PK d-man and top defensive zone usage guy. I think DJ Smith plays a big part here (apparently he’s been talking to Zaitsev daily the last couple of days).

But yeah, Ceci and Zaitsev is essentially the Spider-Man to Spider-Man meme. We kick in Brown for ya’ll to take the term.

We can sign Ceci, flip Ceci, go down the arbitration route and hopefully walk away.


It’ll be interesting to see what the deal turns out to be in total. All that is 100% known is Zaitsev and Ceci.

Wait until you see Ceci, his decision making is 2 seconds behind in every aspect. It's unbelievable.

Don't mistake my words for anything but how bad I believe Ceci is.

It's a pure money saving deal, nothing more. We are use to it.