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Nick Ritchie discussion - clears waivers

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WayneTrain said:
If we can't move him and he goes on a little run with the Marlies ..
There is zero harm in trying him again on the 4LW spot
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I don’t know that they can clear enough room without a trade to be able to bring him up and use his full cap hit.
The reason he’s down is because they needed the room to keep liljegren up and have 7D on the roster on game day otherwise he’d just rotate in as the 13th F.
 
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Lets see if he can lose da weight and add a bit more speed to his game .. February March April is enough time to get job done - 20 lbs .. then he will come back up to team for playoffs and play when required
 
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PromisedLand said:
Ritchie off to a good start with the marlies. Upping his trade value :laugh:

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It's such a tough place to be in for the Leafs. Sell him at a loss, or try and convince him to find his potential and keep him for the playoffs?

I personally would prefer the latter, but, only if I was close to him and convinced of his commitment. He is theoretically what Leafs (and all teams) need for the playoffs. It would seem those close to them don't support him or believe he is committed. Much of his play that I have seen, has sadly supported such an opinion.
 
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Nylanderthal said:
I don’t know that they can clear enough room without a trade to be able to bring him up and use his full cap hit.
The reason he’s down is because they needed the room to keep liljegren up and have 7D on the roster on game day otherwise he’d just rotate in as the 13th F.
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Rumor has it (TB)
No cap in the playoffs
 
Leafsfan74 said:
It's such a tough place to be in for the Leafs. Sell him at a loss, or try and convince him to find his potential and keep him for the playoffs?

I personally would prefer the latter, but, only if I was close to him and convinced of his commitment. He is theoretically what Leafs (and all teams) need for the playoffs. It would seem those close to them don't support him or believe he is committed. Much of his play that I have seen, has sadly supported such an opinion.
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Too slow
Too many bad penalties
Waste of a roster spot
 
My wish and goal for the Leafs 4th line roster construction is:
A centre that can PK and potentially play 3rd line centre in the event of an injury
And 2 PK bangers with some size that keep scoring chances to a minimum, play low event hockey, and can create some momentum with their energy.
 
What’s Nick Ritchie’s status with the Toronto Maple Leafs? It’s complicated | The Star

Nick Ritchie was clearly uncomfortable and unhappy answering questions about his new life as a Toronto Marlie.

“It’s hockey, so it is what it is, and it’s just nice to get out and play,” said Ritchie, who scored in his Marlies debut on Wednesday. “They’ve got some good guys here and good coaching staff, so it’s good that way.”

The words were fine, but the body language said otherwise as he was asked what he thought went wrong with him and the Maple Leafs. “There’s a number of things. Probably won’t have enough time to get into that.”

His answers were short. The shortest being a simple “no” when asked if he was looking for a fresh start with another NHL team. He answered as he walked away.

And he shouldn’t be happy. This is not how he mapped out the next step in his career when he signed a two-year, $2.5-million (U.S.) contract to play with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. The once highly-touted first-round pick from Orangeville was getting his chance with his hometown team, who’d courted him and considered him their prized free agent signing of the summer, a cheaper version of Zach Hyman with more offensive upside.

.............................

And now his journey back to the NHL could become more complicated pending the fate of Adam Brooks, who is clearly a Sheldon Keefe favourite. The Maple Leafs re-acquired Brooks off waivers on Wednesday and put him right back on waivers on Thursday, hoping he clears, so he can be sent to the minors until called upon in the playoffs.

Buying out Ritchie is unlikely, since the cap savings are negligible. Finding a trade partner is the more likely route, with Calgary and Anaheim said to be interested, though the Leafs might need to throw in a sweetener, like a prospect or draft pick and/or retaining some of Ritchie’s salary.

In one light, keeping the underachieving Ritchie around for the first half of the season has come with more costs than just the salary cap space he consumes. Not only did the Leafs initially lose Brooks to waivers (he went to Montreal, then to Vegas) because there was no room on the Leaf roster, but they also lost Michael Amadio to waivers (he went to Vegas and signed an extension) and then allowed Kirill Semyonov to return to Russia (he’s on Russia’s Olympic team at the moment).

All three centres would have given Keefe more roster flexibility, but the investment in Ritchie was too high to give up on him too soon.
 
He showed some real character in that vid. Very likeable. I don't know this guy at all. I all I know is he threw two open ice hits, were epic..

But, as great as those hits were.... Six or eight would see him still up here.,

I dunno, playing tough, seems "tough" on a lot of these supposed tough guys.

He is not good enough, to fill a spot, on just ability. Just is not

But these tough big guys, just aren't built tough.

Man I miss Neely and Lindros.

Both kinda big and both liked the taste of blood

We had a kid who kinda liked the taste of wild beef as well, kid was a marchment and..... ooops, better shut up.

Guess I better not post any more vids of Kadri's wedding.
 
hockeywiz542 said:
What’s Nick Ritchie’s status with the Toronto Maple Leafs? It’s complicated | The Star

Nick Ritchie was clearly uncomfortable and unhappy answering questions about his new life as a Toronto Marlie.

“It’s hockey, so it is what it is, and it’s just nice to get out and play,” said Ritchie, who scored in his Marlies debut on Wednesday. “They’ve got some good guys here and good coaching staff, so it’s good that way.”

The words were fine, but the body language said otherwise as he was asked what he thought went wrong with him and the Maple Leafs. “There’s a number of things. Probably won’t have enough time to get into that.”

His answers were short. The shortest being a simple “no” when asked if he was looking for a fresh start with another NHL team. He answered as he walked away.

And he shouldn’t be happy. This is not how he mapped out the next step in his career when he signed a two-year, $2.5-million (U.S.) contract to play with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. The once highly-touted first-round pick from Orangeville was getting his chance with his hometown team, who’d courted him and considered him their prized free agent signing of the summer, a cheaper version of Zach Hyman with more offensive upside.

.............................

And now his journey back to the NHL could become more complicated pending the fate of Adam Brooks, who is clearly a Sheldon Keefe favourite. The Maple Leafs re-acquired Brooks off waivers on Wednesday and put him right back on waivers on Thursday, hoping he clears, so he can be sent to the minors until called upon in the playoffs.

Buying out Ritchie is unlikely, since the cap savings are negligible. Finding a trade partner is the more likely route, with Calgary and Anaheim said to be interested, though the Leafs might need to throw in a sweetener, like a prospect or draft pick and/or retaining some of Ritchie’s salary.

In one light, keeping the underachieving Ritchie around for the first half of the season has come with more costs than just the salary cap space he consumes. Not only did the Leafs initially lose Brooks to waivers (he went to Montreal, then to Vegas) because there was no room on the Leaf roster, but they also lost Michael Amadio to waivers (he went to Vegas and signed an extension) and then allowed Kirill Semyonov to return to Russia (he’s on Russia’s Olympic team at the moment).

All three centres would have given Keefe more roster flexibility, but the investment in Ritchie was too high to give up on him too soon.
Click to expand...

So I wasn't completely crazy suggesting that Calgary could be interested in him.

Although I imagine with acquiring Toffoli, they are probably less interested now.
 
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hockeywiz542 said:
What’s Nick Ritchie’s status with the Toronto Maple Leafs? It’s complicated | The Star

Nick Ritchie was clearly uncomfortable and unhappy answering questions about his new life as a Toronto Marlie.

“It’s hockey, so it is what it is, and it’s just nice to get out and play,” said Ritchie, who scored in his Marlies debut on Wednesday. “They’ve got some good guys here and good coaching staff, so it’s good that way.”

The words were fine, but the body language said otherwise as he was asked what he thought went wrong with him and the Maple Leafs. “There’s a number of things. Probably won’t have enough time to get into that.”

His answers were short. The shortest being a simple “no” when asked if he was looking for a fresh start with another NHL team. He answered as he walked away.

And he shouldn’t be happy. This is not how he mapped out the next step in his career when he signed a two-year, $2.5-million (U.S.) contract to play with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. The once highly-touted first-round pick from Orangeville was getting his chance with his hometown team, who’d courted him and considered him their prized free agent signing of the summer, a cheaper version of Zach Hyman with more offensive upside.

.............................

And now his journey back to the NHL could become more complicated pending the fate of Adam Brooks, who is clearly a Sheldon Keefe favourite. The Maple Leafs re-acquired Brooks off waivers on Wednesday and put him right back on waivers on Thursday, hoping he clears, so he can be sent to the minors until called upon in the playoffs.

Buying out Ritchie is unlikely, since the cap savings are negligible. Finding a trade partner is the more likely route, with Calgary and Anaheim said to be interested, though the Leafs might need to throw in a sweetener, like a prospect or draft pick and/or retaining some of Ritchie’s salary.

In one light, keeping the underachieving Ritchie around for the first half of the season has come with more costs than just the salary cap space he consumes. Not only did the Leafs initially lose Brooks to waivers (he went to Montreal, then to Vegas) because there was no room on the Leaf roster, but they also lost Michael Amadio to waivers (he went to Vegas and signed an extension) and then allowed Kirill Semyonov to return to Russia (he’s on Russia’s Olympic team at the moment).

All three centres would have given Keefe more roster flexibility, but the investment in Ritchie was too high to give up on him too soon.
Click to expand...
Balls he was terrible and uninspired
 
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Nick Ritchie isn't happy. Can the Maple Leafs find him a new home? - The Athletic

Even with Ritchie’s salary now only counting for only $1.375 against the cap with him stashed in the AHL, every day that passes with him playing for the Marlies is another day that the Leafs are losing out on accumulating cap space. His daily cap hit, per CapFriendly, is $6,875. The sooner the Leafs can move on from Ritchie, the sooner they will be able to make the necessary additions to their blue line, or even add some secondary scoring, ahead of the playoffs.

A buyout remains an option for the Leafs but only in the offseason. It would cost the Leafs $300,000 against the cap next season, but then another $1.1-million in 2023-24. Not ideal for a team that, in 2023-24, already have over $58-million accounted for against the cap, spread out across seven players.

It’s been reported that the Leafs are trying to move Ritchie and that there’s been some interest around the league.

But what sort of sweetener would it take from the Leafs to make that happen?

Their third-round pick in 2023 feels like a reasonable offer but would that be enough? Would the Leafs go as high as their second-round pick in 2022, leaving them with just two picks in the upcoming draft?

Would one of their mid-tier prospects such as Roni Hirvonen or Nick Abruzzese be tantalizing enough? Even then, that would involve the Leafs moving on from a prospect with NHL upside at a time when they’ll need contributions from players on entry-level contracts.

It’s not an ideal place for the Leafs to be bargaining from, given that it’s abundantly clear the team wants to move on from him and is in need of doing so in the next month.

It benefits no one to have Ritchie playing in the AHL, never mind the valuable cap space that’s being tied up with his assignment. He could conceivably be logging NHL time with a non-contending team in an effort to get his career back on track. And by playing in the Marlies’ top six, as he did on Wednesday night, he’s also taking valuable playing time away from some younger Marlies who need that time to continue their development.

Then there is the delicate matter of a clearly frustrated player coming into a dressing room full of young, impressionable players. After two difficult seasons, the Marlies have rebounded and sit second in the North Division in points percentage. They’ve done so, in part, by handing over the keys to a number of young prospects who have logged heavy minutes.

Marlies head coach Greg Moore insists Ritchie has been a positive addition to his team.

“He’s a mature guy who handles himself very well, behind our doors and on the ice in the game,” said Moore. “He’s worked hard. He’s been a great teammate to the group. And we’ve benefited from his presence and his experience here.”

Nevertheless, Ritchie playing in the AHL is an untenable situation.
 
I definitely thought Ritchie would turn out better than he did. But hearing him sulk about it all makes me want to see him buried in the AHL for the rest of his career. f*** you, dude. You were given every opportunity.
 
TheProspector said:
I definitely thought Ritchie would turn out better than he did. But hearing him sulk about it all makes me want to see him buried in the AHL for the rest of his career. f*** you, dude. You were given every opportunity.
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kind of similar response I posted to in the prospects thread. Why do we as fans think we are entitled to anything more than what he provided? I rather him be honest and be himself then sit up there and lie and pretend that he’s happy to be there. He’s an NHLer, he’s pissed, he doesn’t have to put on a happy face if that’s not how he truly feels or give long winded answers that are pretty much bullshit. He didn’t say anything negative about the team or even the Marlies, so not sure why there’s so much hostility.

i hope they move him and we can get assets for him. But again not sure what more fans want or expecting out of his press conference. It’s just a major overreaction, being in the AHL sucks dick. It’s no secret, especially when you’ve already tasted the NHL.
 
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Confucius said:
Most of the guys get pretty big after their playing days. I'd guess there are way more odogs out there than Salmings. It just must be their nature.
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has a lot to do with calorie intake. They are still consuming as much food as they were while playing but now without the exercise portion/burning of calories. It’s hard to break a specific eating routine especially when it’s been very structured in your life for 10-20 years in terms of the volume of food you have been consuming daily.
 
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francis246 said:
has a lot to do with calorie intake. They are still consuming as much food as they were while playing but now without the exercise portion/burning of calories. It’s hard to break a specific eating routine especially when it’s been very structured in your life for 10-20 years in terms of the volume of food you have been consuming daily.
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Absolutely and even moreso when you get older, a person over 60 does not need very much food at all, it is surprising. Thats why almost all old guys have pots.
 
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Confucius said:
Absolutely and even moreso when you get older, a person over 60 does not need very much food at all, it is surprising. Thats why almost all old guys have pots.
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O’Dog is just ridiculous though haha. He needs to ask Hayes what he did to lose some weight because he should not be wheeling around at that weight.
 
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francis246 said:
kind of similar response I posted to in the prospects thread. Why do we as fans think we are entitled to anything more than what he provided? I rather him be honest and be himself then sit up there and lie and pretend that he’s happy to be there. He’s an NHLer, he’s pissed, he doesn’t have to put on a happy face if that’s not how he truly feels or give long winded answers that are pretty much bullshit. He didn’t say anything negative about the team or even the Marlies, so not sure why there’s so much hostility.

i hope they move him and we can get assets for him. But again not sure what more fans want or expecting out of his press conference. It’s just a major overreaction, being in the AHL sucks dick. It’s no secret, especially when you’ve already tasted the NHL.
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He's not an NHLer.
 
It really wouldn’t take much to move him, retain him to 2 or ship him with a 2023 4th for a 2022 7th or whatever.

He can go f*** himself, that pissy attitude.
 
I don't feel too bad for him. You were handed a top 6 spot beside 2 super stars and you didn't perform. You were as a result demoted in the lineup and still weren't very good.
He can only blame himself.
 
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