How aggressive should the Leafs be at the deadline? Whimper or All In?

[francis246]

How on earth will the Leafs afford the cost of acquiring hin to begin with and then also paying for double retention for so much cap hit?

Rantanen is already retained currently by Chicago. So Carolina would just be retaining.

CJ said Rantanen’s value around the league is lower than what it was to originally acquire him. CJ asked a GM if he believed Carolina could acquire a player of similar elk to Necas for Rantanen and the GM said no.

Carolina took a huge gamble and it looks like they are gonna catch an L on this one.

 

[LaPlante94]

As far as I recall, Treliving is known for not spending at the deadline - which makes me think that the Leafs will not be splurging.

Another thing that comes to mind, has there been a Stanley Cup winning team, that really went for it at the deadline in the year they won?

LA Kings in 2014 when they traded for Gaborik is the only one I can think of at the top of my head.

 

[francis246]

LA Kings in 2014 when they traded for Gaborik is the only one I can think of at the top of my head.

Vegas did, they brought in barbashev and another guy.

Tampa spent two first round picks on depth guys as well.

 

[LaPlante94]

Yeah a lot of teams make moves but I was trying to think of guys who were targeted to be a top 6 forward and produced a lot during their cup run. Barbashev is another that I forgot about more recently.

 

[Macallan18]

unless it is for a stud young dman like Dobson

exactly. No more mediocre centres on their last legs, or tough dmen for depth.
Get somethiing that matters.

Yeah a lot of teams make moves but I was trying to think of guys who were targeted to be a top 6 forward and produced a lot during their cup run. Barbashev is another that I forgot about more recently.

Butch Goring

 

[kevsh]

Mitch, Matty and Willie are what they are, they are not going to start playing like Bennett.

Oh, we definitely know that by now! And that is my entire point. They are what they are and therefore we are where we are, only dreaming of what it would be like to support a winning team.

But funny you point out Bennett as an example because there's a guy that completely re-invented himself into a nasty piece of business and that, in part, both helped his team win a Stanley Cup and his country a 4 Nations title.

 

[Jojalu]

I certainly don't want to see them overpay for Schenn.

I don't see how he helps with the lack of scoring they seem to have every playoffs.

 

[Sypher04]

I certainly don't want to see them overpay for Schenn.

I don't see how he helps with the lack of scoring they seem to have every playoffs.

I think it clearly would help, but it is a matter of asking price. Given cap hit and age of the player, Doug Armstrong needs to join the real world

 

[Duffman955]

If Matthews can get to 100% health wise, I think you go all in.

If you doubt Matthews health this season is a throwaway

 

[robertmac43]

If Rantanen is available - make it happen. Guy is a stud come playoff time.

 

[notDatsyuk]

"Whimper or All In?" Interestingly biased subtitle.

"Learn From the Past or All In to Try to Draw to an Inside Straight?" might be more accurate.

 

[notDatsyuk]

As far as I recall, Treliving is known for not spending at the deadline - which makes me think that the Leafs will not be splurging.

Another thing that comes to mind, has there been a Stanley Cup winning team, that really went for it at the deadline in the year they won?

New York Islanders in 1980 when they got Butch Goring?

 

[Jojalu]

I think it clearly would help, but it is a matter of asking price. Given cap hit and age of the player, Doug Armstrong needs to join the real world

I think Schenn would help too. But the price seems absurd for a 33 year old at 6.5 with 12 goals.

 

[Ports]

Needs are obvious. I’d be prepared to trade their 2026 first, 2025 second, a couple of late round picks and one of their three top prospects for a 2/3C and a top four RD. Centre needs to have some snarl and some offensive ability. RD should have size, toughness, be good in his own end and be able to support Rielly or OEL. No rentals.

 

[Ports]

We have to be realistic here. Our prospect pool is bottom 5 and we have no first this year and likely no 2nd after the TDL. Our window is realistically 3 years after this as Matthews is walking after that.

All our D are signed for their prime years being these years and likely boat anchors after.
We have no prospects who are close to a star who impacts the roster.

In 3-4 years this team is headed for a long rebuild whether they want it or not. Hopefully they don't start trading unprotected firsts again trying to pretend they aren't a bottom feeder.

So with all that said, go all in on pieces in their primes for the next 3-4 years. If we lose Marner, we get closer to being a bottom feeder even faster which to me makes this year the year.

Leafs aren’t going to be a bottom feeder if they lose Marner. That $13-14M can be used to build a deeper team that is tougher to play against come playoff time. Being dependant on a few star players to carry them to a cup has been their problem. Continuing that is not the solution to their problems.

 

[ULF_55]

In light of recent events ... One Last TIme all in.

It is possible there aren't more than a couple years left for a Toronto team to win.

Just not enough power to stay in the game.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Leafs aren’t going to be a bottom feeder if they lose Marner. That $13-14M can be used to build a deeper team that is tougher to play against come playoff time. Being dependant on a few star players to carry them to a cup has been their problem. Continuing that is not the solution to their problems.

Sorry, I don't buy it. I've lived through what this looks like under the Burke / Nonis years of the salary cap era. Treliving is another one of them. He's going to hand out albatross contracts to players who used to be what we need but haven't been in years. It might already be starting if we trade a lot for 33 year old Brayden Schenn.

I also didn't say losing Marner makes us a bottom feeder. It gets us there faster though. Whatever window we had is closed and the team IMO is less likely to win divisional spots. I think the biggest thing that scares me is if Marner walks the org is in damage control and is ready to spend 14M or whatever Marner gets on players... Whether those players are worth those deals or not.

 

[ULF_55]

Sorry, I don't buy it. I've lived through what this looks like under the Burke / Nonis years of the salary cap era. Treliving is another one of them. He's going to hand out albatross contracts to players who used to be what we need but haven't been in years. It might already be starting if we trade a lot for 33 year old Brayden Schenn.

I also didn't say losing Marner makes us a bottom feeder. It gets us there faster though. Whatever window we had is closed and the team IMO is less likely to win divisional spots. I think the biggest thing that scares me is if Marner walks the org is in damage control and is ready to spend 14M or whatever Marner gets on players... Whether those players are worth those deals or not.

It would be nice to keep the best players, however keep in mind other teams have done better without those players.

What that $14mm is used on is the important issue.

Not a lot of UFA players, but it does open up trades without trying to fit the player into the Cap.

 

[HockeyVirus]

It would be nice to keep the best players, however keep in mind other teams have done better without those players.

What that $14mm is used on is the important issue.

Not a lot of UFA players, but it does open up trades without trying to fit the player into the Cap.

I would rather keep Marner at 14M than Tavares at 7M. Especially if we add a center at the TDL who has term