Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (4 years, $3.5M AAV)

[namttebih]

That's fine

Anyone who thinks the Leafs haven't improved the team that finished the year is on crack. Tanev is a warrior, great rep in the playoffs. OEL is the puck mover we've been lacking for years now, and Stolarz had a 925 SV% with the Stanley Cup winners.

That's fine. Two very nice d-men. To think that it moves the needle would be dishonest. Even Tre would tell you that I believe.

 

[Ports]

He played great for Florida in the playoffs and should replace Rielly on PP1. Only 32 which is not old for a dman and comes pretty cheap. Without moving Marner, Treliving doesn’t have the cap space to sign $6M+ players and I think he’s done a great job of plugging some holes. He’s improved the Leafs defense and goaltending and still has Marner as a possible major trade piece. If not, they’ll have a lot of money to spend next offseason to continue to improve the team. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

Last season

https://x.com/i/web/status/1807824060086211032

 

[Ports]

Rielly’s ter

He's a better PP quarterback than Montour. Still not better than Rielly though.

Rielly’s a terrible PP quarterback though so OEL is an improvement.

 

[PanniniClaus]

Massive - and Chief won't have the same allegiance to Rielly as Keefe had.

Rielly’s ter

Rielly’s a terrible PP quarterback though so OEL is an improvement.

 

[Ports]

I don't mind this signing on it's own. My only concern is that both our D signings are aged vets that could drop off soon and we would be in trouble.

The Leafs have a four year window and it’s not unreasonable to expect both will remain effective for that long. They’ll also have more money to spend next offseason to continue to improve their top four and top six.

 

[Ports]

Did you w

You know he wasn't a top 4 D for the Panthers right? He had sheltered minutes.

Which is what he’ll play here plus PP1. Without Marner’s $11M off the books. Treliving had to find lower cost dmen and he’s done a good job.

 

[OVO16]

He surprisingly had 105 hits last season.

Maybe I'm underrating this signing

 

[Ports]

My issue with this is for less than a few million more, you could get someone like Roy.

If he even wanted to play in Toronto. A lot of players don’t want to.

 

[Ports]

Sure, but that doesn't justify the money for me.

That’s the price. Edmondson and Lyubushkin got similar contracts and OEL’s a more well rounded defenseman.

 

[1specter]

Anyone who thinks the Leafs haven't improved the team that finished the year is on crack. Tanev is a warrior, great rep in the playoffs. OEL is the puck mover we've been lacking for years now, and Stolarz had a 925 SV% with the Stanley Cup winners.

They might be better than last year, but IMO they are worse than the squads we had going into 2022 and 2023 playoffs.

 

[Ports]

He surprisingly had 105 hits last season.

Maybe I'm underrating this signing

I watched him in Pheonix for years. He’s physical and happy to mix it up. As long as he plays lower down the lineup and isn’t expected to be a top pairing guy he’ll be fine and an improvement over Rielly on PP1.

 

[LeafsFan89]

In comparison to what Boosh and Edmunson got, I like the cap hit of OEL. He also brings a dimension that is sorely lacking - offence and PP capability. Hopefully the latter pans out.

We have enough bruisers, especially with Hakanpaa for a cheap 1.5M x 2.

 

[Ports]

The Leafs needed a defensive D to play with Rielly and an offensive D to play with McCabe. Somehow they thought going for guys at the end of their careers for lots of term was the way to go.

I don't mind Tanev because I think he's a perfect fit with Rielly and when things go south for him it'll likely be injuries and LTIR, fingers crossed. That structure of that deal is gross though. As for OEL we did need more offense from the backend so something like Zadarov would have been very dumb. LD, defensive, expensive. Exactly the opposite of what we needed. I feel like we needed to aim higher than OEL though. He's also a LD so I guess McCabe plays the right. But a guy that feels like he's been on the downswing for a while just reeks of Klingberg which was a deal I didn't mind too much because it was only a 1 year gamble. This one needs to work out. I sure hope it does because this revamping of the backend offseason has just been signing old guys to scary term.

Did you even watch him play for Florida in the playoffs ? He was solid, physical, moved the puck and took over PP1 from Montour.

 

[HockeyVirus]

What is happening?

Leafs have trouble clearing the crease, so Brad trades for Edmundson and Lyubushkin. Both play well.

Brad then lets them walk and signs OEL.


What are we doing here?

we couldn't move the puck at all so he is finding a balance of crease clearers with puck movers

 

[Commander Clueless]

we couldn't move the puck at all so he is finding a balance of crease clearers with puck movers

It makes a lot more sense with Hakanpaa in the fold, though we can still only use 6D....

...Berube a fan of the 11-7?

 

[baton elevated]

Here to mentor Lilly??

 

[capfit9]

rather have Sean Walker @ $3.6m

 

[HarryLime]

I've been wrong before but this old man is not going to help us

 

[Shooter2x]

His incoming 120+ shots on net will have a nice effect. Look for us to get some more tips, crash the net and "dirty" goals with OEL in the lineup.

He may be used in a manner the over / under for shots can be set at 150

 

[CabanaBoy5]

That's fine

That's fine. Two very nice d-men. To think that it moves the needle would be dishonest. Even Tre would tell you that I believe.

It definitely moves the needle, the question is does it move it enough to be serious Stanley Cup contenders. Let's see what else Treliving does before training camp. He was fairly limited in what he could do. Those who think Matt Roy, Zadorov or Brett Pesce would have moved the needle more are being a bit naive.

 

[CabanaBoy5]

rather have Sean Walker @ $3.6m

Walker is 5'11" 191 lbs, OEL is 6'2" 192 lbs. I'll take the taller guy with the Championship ring.

 

[baton elevated]

Tre has his ties with OEL from back in the Phoenix days. He knows what he's getting. Pros and cons.

 

[Morgs]

Probably my favourite signing of the day. AAV is reasonable, and provides what we need. Potential PP1, PK2, and can drive a pairing. I'd like to see him and Liljegren play hockey together. Him and McCabe would look good too.

 

[Anthrax442]

#Blackhawks agree to terms with TJ Brodie: 2 years x $3.75 million.


The deal keeps looking better