Confirmed with Link: Leafs go 4-4-1 in expansion, Dermott, Kerfoot, McCann, exposed

[TheBeastCoast]

There was no need to go 4 and 4.

None of Kerfoot, Dermott or Holl are such good players that losing them will make our team worse due to not having internal replacements

Kerfoot is replaced easily via UFA or directly by McCann himself if we want to have him at 3C
Holl is replaced by Lilijgren, Dermott(if kept), UFA RHD
Dermott is replaced by Sandin

None of these guys are key supporting players and all are expandable. The best option would have been to let them take one of those three and work with what is left afterwards.

I mean...that is still the case today though. Going 4 and 4 doesn't change that at all.

 

[rumman]

Big 'f*** you!' from front office to the fans.

don't break a ankle jumping on the fire Dubas wagon...........

 

[FraumBallard]

Holl is arguably more important to our team in a vacuum. Given the context of our D it's completely understandable

Middle 6 forwards on OK contracts are never that important.

Sure.
If you think Holl is any good at all.
He’s not.
And our middle six forwards are bad as well.

 

[TheDoldrums]

Here's the thing about the people saying we can't afford to lose Holl: why would Seattle want him? His best attribute is that he's cheap, something they're probably not too concerned about. Why would they want him over Dermott (analytics darling, young with upside) or Kerfoot (their staff seems to love him if rumours are correct)?

I really think Holl was staying regardless of our protection choices. Like Dylan DeMelo is basically Holl but much better and they might not even take him (Jets writers seem to think it'll be Appleton)

 

[saffronleaf]

I could have cared less if we lost Kerfoot during the regular season, but he was a standout in the playoffs, under less than ideal circumstances, moving into the 2 hole.

that whole line, gally - kerfoot - willy, was solid in the playoffs. the one bright spot.

 

[taurine330]

You do realize Pittsburgh was going to expose Mccann as well right? That is the entire reason they traded him to us for pennies on the dollar. The fact people don't realize this was an insurance move yet absolutely blows my mind.

Same. There's 20 pages of discussion here and plethora of angry folk over Twitter. I don't understand why people don't see it .

 

[PromisedLand]

We shutout the #1 and #2 scorers in the league 3 games in a row this year. We had solid team defense this year. The oilers aren't the Bruins or Bolts but we made a guy who was on a freak 153 pt pace this year a complete non factor.

Brodie has always been a solid defender and top pair guy. If anything Rielly is the one that would bring the pair down.

I would argue in the set up we had last season it would have been easier to adapt because you play the same team many times; it might not be the case when we return to atlantic division and the teams in atlantic/metro divisions employ different tactics and have strengths in different regions.

to be seen of course.

 

[FraumBallard]

Holl plays well with Muzzin & is on a decent contract. It would cost more to replace him & he is serviceable. The McCann deal insures they move forward with someone who could conceivably play 3C.

There is no side deal in my opinion. If Seattle takes Dermott then one of McCann or Kerfoot plays wing. If they take McCann or Kerfoot than the other plays 3C. Dubas put himself in a no lose situation for a much lower cost than Seattle would demand.

Ya.
Wonder Boy is a genius.
Trade for a good young player, just to lose him right away.
Holl is no good and Wonder Boy is an idiot.

 

[IPS]

Here's the thing about the people saying we can't afford to lose Holl: why would Seattle want him? His best attribute is that he's cheap, something they're probably not too concerned about. Why would they want him over Dermott (analytics darling, young with upside) or Kerfoot (their staff seems to love him if rumours are correct)?

I really think Holl was staying regardless of our protection choices.

The expansion list is loaded with defensemen who are way better than Holl. Why we wasted a protection spot on him is beyond me.

 

[FraumBallard]

Same. There's 20 pages of discussion here and plethora of angry folk over Twitter. I don't understand why people don't see it .

Probably because you are wrong.
Ever think of that?

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Leafs were one of the better defensive teams in the league last year, and have been ever since Holl jumped into the top 4 midway through the prior year.

not to mention the playoffs, where the Leafs have given up the 3rd fewest goals against over the last 2 years. Holl getting 22 minutes per game is a big reason for it

 

[Kiwi]

So we should have spent assets to get them to take Kerfoot....rather then spend Hallander and a 7th....and that is it. You do know that we can still trade Kerfoot later in the off season if we want to right? It is just confusing to me how there is a actually scenario where we walk out of this expansion draft having lost absolutely nothing from our roster, and people are livid about it. We may also end up with both Kerfoot and McCann and they take Dermott anyways lol.

We should have done nothing and let them take either Dermott or Kerfoot, neither is any great loss

Or better yet grabbed more forwards while they were cheap and went 7-3-1 instead and filled the #4D hole in UFA if Holl was grabbed

You presume people want to trade for a 35 point 3.5M maybe center, please form an orderly line getting some of that action

Instead we gave up assets to give Seattle a 25 year old on a 60 point pace making 600K less option instead

Genius

 

[zeke]

thats precisely my point. stop throwing away assets to support the core that goes into a shell during crunch time. let the core show that they can produce when there is tight checking or netural zone is clogged.

every ottawa game we had last season pretty much most of the game the neutral zone was clogged and we had problem getting through it. even in some games against hte habs that happened and we saw what happened in the playoffs.

similar story against he cbj.

now that hyman is not gonna be a leaf anymore; it will be interesting to seee how matthews/marner perform against top defensive pairings when there is no hyman type going to get the puck for them.

we have enough evidence to show that....

galchenyuk-mattews-marner
jumbo-matthews-marner
vesy-matthews-marner

etc...

matthews-marner struggled tremendously without hyman IMO.

Matthews-Marner

W/Hyman: 72.4gf%, 64.9xgf%
W/Jumbo: 71.7gf%, 64.1xgf%
W/Foligno: 100.0gf%, 62.8xgf%
W/Galchenyuk: 45.4gf%, 60.6xgf%

 

[TheBeastCoast]

We should have done nothing and let them take either Dermott or Kerfoot, neither is any great loss

Or better yet grabbed more forwards while they were cheap and went 7-3-1 instead and filled the #4D hole in UFA if Holl was grabbed

You presume people want to trade for a 35 point 3.5M maybe center, please form an orderly line getting some of that action

Instead we gave up assets to give Seattle a 25 year old on a 60 point pace making 600K less option instead

Genius

Again you do realize Seattle was going to have him available from Pittsburgh. Aslong as you realize that you are crying about us losing....nothing in the expansion draft. Then carry on I guess lol.

 

[exporta]

1. Matthews
2. Tavares
3. Nylander
4. Marner
5. Kerfoot
6. Simmonds
7. McCann/Spezza

Expose Mikheyev

Defense:

1. Rielly
2. Brodie
3. Muzzin

Risk losing dermott though

Holl is the player you lose in that scenario.

 

[zeke]

Here's the thing about the people saying we can't afford to lose Holl: why would Seattle want him? His best attribute is that he's cheap, something they're probably not too concerned about. Why would they want him over Dermott (analytics darling, young with upside) or Kerfoot (their staff seems to love him if rumours are correct)?

I really think Holl was staying regardless of our protection choices. Like Dylan DeMelo is basically Holl but much better and they might not even take him (Jets writers seem to think it'll be Appleton)

Because Holl is better than the players you mentioned.

 

[FraumBallard]

Except the bottom pair Dman is a top 4 Dman on this roster. All comes down to asset management and how can the team put its best group on the ice.

Wonder Boy clearly is awful with asset mgt.
Check our record when it counts.
Holl is like a decent #8.
Maybe.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Why the Leafs exposed Alex Kerfoot and Jared McCann to Seattle in the expansion draft - The Athletic

As expected, Kyle Dubas’ Leafs protected eight skaters and one goaltender. Justin Holl was protected while both Alex Kerfoot and the newly acquired Jared McCann were exposed to the Kraken.

The Leafs knew coming in they were bound to lose Kerfoot and decided to prepare themselves for that inevitability by dealing for insurance in McCann. Now, they leave it up to Seattle GM Ron Francis to decide if Kerfoot is still his guy or whether he prefers the younger McCann instead.

Either way, the Leafs will have as many useful forwards on the roster as they did prior to the weekend.

Francis might have come away with players both had the Leafs not nabbed McCann away from the Penguins on Saturday.

Is it possible the Leafs will work out a side trade with Seattle to ensure that Kerfoot is their pick? Maybe, though increasingly it seems unlikely. The Kraken have set a very high price in trades of that kind.

Rather, it sounds like the Leafs are comfortable, now that they have McCann, living with whatever Francis decides.

If Seattle takes Kerfoot, then the Leafs have insured themselves with McCann, who could be their third-line centre next season. If Francis opts for McCann, the Leafs still have Kerfoot (though I’d argue he belongs on the wing moving forward and at centre only in the case of injury).

It may seem odd to trade for McCann, only to then leave him exposed. But it’s not as if the Leafs paid a high price to acquire him.

The cost: A pick in the last round of the draft two years from now (2023) and Filip Hållander, who was unlikely to play for the Leafs next year and probably maxes out as a third liner in the NHL.

While there was some thought that maybe McCann’s acquisition would lead the Leafs to the 7-3-1 protection model, in the end, Holl’s value won out. The front office knew it wouldn’t have been possible to find a 20-minute-a-night No. 4 defenceman making $2 million or less if Holl was exposed and claimed by Seattle.

David Savard and Alec Martinez, for instance, will likely draw double that price in free agency later this month.

Does Jake Muzzin make Holl better, helping him survive against the toughest competition in the league? Absolutely. That’s part of why the Leafs pay Muzzin what they do. But it’s not as if they could stick anyone in that spot and expect similar results.

 

[exporta]

OMG that moron protected holl over dermott?

Dubas just keeps pissing me off

Dermott wont be the pick. Its Kerfoot or McCann

 

[The CyNick]

Lmao. You are really going all in on pretending the Canadian division wasn't nhl worthy.

It was NHL worthy, but the worst division in the league by a lot.

 

[zeke]

It was NHL worthy, but the worst division in the league by a lot.

Evidence for this is what, exactly?

 

[Puckstuff]

Some major underrating of Holl. He was a monster for the first 40 games of the year, looking like a #2 d-man who's a 6'4 RD. He regressed towards the end of the year but he wasn't as bad as some people are saying. At his contract you just can't leave him exposed with his upside to return back to form.

 

[zeke]

How weird is it that the same people who were pooping on mccann yesterday are now engaged that he was left unprotected?

 

[exporta]

You do realize we will still only lose one player right? If we don't trade for Mccann and they take Kerfott we have a hole in the lineup that we have to fill(Mccann). If they take Mccann then we keep Kerfoot and don't have that hole in our lineup. It is like basic critical thinking here people.

I get the scenario, I just like McCann over Kerfoot personally and comes a bit cheaper.

 

[IPS]

Some major underrating of Holl. He was a monster for the first 40 games of the year, looking like a #2 d-man who's a 6'4 RD. He regressed towards the end of the year but he wasn't as bad as some people are saying. At his contract you just can't leave him exposed with his upside to return back to form.

Where does Justin Holl fit on a legitimate contending team?