Waived: Nick Ritchie on Waivers (Cleared)

[Habs Halifax]

Yea because the leafs had 4 forwards out last night. So Him, Seney, and Clifford were all called up.

Not 100% sure but I think it's a taxi squad strategy. You can put them on waivers and if they clear, you can call them up and as long as they don't play a certain amount of games, they stay "Taxi Squad" protected and don't have to keep putting them on waivers to send them back to the taxi squad. I recall the Habs doing that last year on a few players.

 

[Habs Halifax]

He probably won’t get bought out. He can be buried next year and only cost 1.3 million against the cap.

it saves nothing really to but him out. If anything they would probably just take a 1 way minor deal for a worse player to save cap hit.

It's more complicated than that. Leafs need every penny of their cap.

If they are able to move Mrazek and not take salary back, they have 14 players signed with about $10M in cap space. Need to sign about 9 guys and one of them is Campbell. Lets say he gets $4.5M (wild guess). That's 15 players signed with $5.5M in cap space left to sign 8 guys. That's not even the league min/player.

No doubt in my mind that Dubas will try to move out Ritchie, Mrazek, and probably Kerfoot too. Need to replace these guys with cheaper options. That was the cost to extending Rielly

 

[Legion34]

It's more complicated than that. Leafs need every penny of their cap.

If they are able to move Mrazek and not take salary back, they have 14 players signed with about $10M in cap space. Need to sign about 9 guys and one of them is Campbell. Lets say he gets $4.5M (wild guess). That's 15 players signed with $5.5M in cap space left to sign 8 guys. That's not even the league min/player.

No doubt in my mind that Dubas will try to move out Ritchie, Mrazek, and probably Kerfoot too. Need to replace these guys with cheaper options. That was the cost to extending Rielly

its not really more complicated though. If you buy out Ritchie you are saving 1 million cap next year and adding 1.1 the next.

that year they have bunting kampf and potentially sandin Lilly etc to sign. It doesn’t really make anything easier. Just ties you in to a buyout.

its easier to just try to find an absolutely buried player with money or waive him and try to get rid of him near the deadline when he is owed like 20% of his salary.

buyout would be silly. Marries you to dead cap for 2 yrs

 

[Habs Halifax]

its not really more complicated though. If you buy out Ritchie you are saving 1 million cap next year and adding 1.1 the next.

that year they have bunting kampf and potentially sandin Lilly etc to sign. It doesn’t really make anything easier. Just ties you in to a buyout.

its easier to just try to find an absolutely buried player with money or waive him and try to get rid of him near the deadline when he is owed like 20% of his salary.

buyout would be silly. Marries you to dead cap for 2 yrs

Do the math on the 22/23 man roster. Leafs might be forced to buy him out but if they do, that's basically a lateral move. Buy him out to replace him with a guy making $1M and then add 1.1M the following year? I think you're looking at Ritchie only and not the overall cap picture. They are going to be tight to the cap more now that they extended Rielly. There is going to be 8-10 players near the league min.

Best strategy for them is to try to trade futures for improvements (1st rounder for rental) but off load a contract like Ritchie or Mrazek (or both)

I can see them trying something like this... Will it work?
* Leafs 1st
* Ritchie
* Mrazek
* Possible other futures
for
* Deadline rental
* Back-up goalie contract that expires this year

 

[seanlinden]

Do the math on the 22/23 man roster. Leafs might be forced to buy him out but if they do, that's basically a lateral move. Buy him out to replace him with a guy making $1M and then add 1.1M the following year? I think you're looking at Ritchie only and not the overall cap picture. They are going to be tight to the cap more now that they extended Rielly. There is going to be 8-10 players near the league min.

Best strategy for them is to try to trade futures for improvements (1st rounder for rental) but off load a contract like Ritchie or Mrazek (or both)

I can see them trying something like this... Will it work?
* Leafs 1st
* Ritchie
* Mrazek
* Possible other futures
for
* Deadline rental
* Back-up contract that expires this year

This.

Sure, you save $1.1m next year if you buy him out, but then you spend ~$800k replacing him... and get dinged for $1.1m the following year. You're better off to bury him than you are to buy him out.

That being said, you are also correct on the most likely scenario for him. The Leafs have 0 cap space. Assuming they want to add, barring somebody on LTIR like last year, it will need to be money-in <-> money out. Whomever they're adding from is probably not going to be a great team, and may look at Ritchie with 1 year left as not the end of the world.

 

[Habs Halifax]

This.

Sure, you save $1.1m next year if you buy him out, but then you spend ~$800k replacing him... and get dinged for $1.1m the following year. You're better off to bury him than you are to buy him out.

That being said, you are also correct on the most likely scenario for him. The Leafs have 0 cap space. Assuming they want to add, barring somebody on LTIR like last year, it will need to be money-in <-> money out. Whomever they're adding from is probably not going to be a great team, and may look at Ritchie with 1 year left as not the end of the world.

If the Leafs decide to trade their 1st and other futures, it's the best strategy to get a piece of value for the playoffs and to off load a contract that extends past this year in the same process. I believe Dubas tries this. Ritchie and Mrazek come to mind as contracts they prefer to offload. Basically take salary back but it expires this season.

 

[seanlinden]

If the Leafs decide to trade their 1st and other futures, it's the best strategy to get a piece of value for the playoffs and to off load a contract that extends past this year in the same process. I believe Dubas tries this. Ritchie and Mrazek come to mind as contracts they prefer to offload. Basically take salary back but it expires this season.

I don't think the Leafs are moving their first this year, personally. They had a very light draft in 2021, and only have 3 picks this year. MAYBE they do a deal where the 1st goes and a 3rd comes back, but I'd think that Dubas would have a) learned his lesson re: Nick Foligno, and b) would have to be a pretty significant piece.

I also don't believe they're going to offload Mrazek until the offseason. With 2 years left on his deal at $3.8m, he's more a guy that a team struggling for goaltending will look to build as a piece, rather than "something they can facilitate". It's much easier for a team to "absorb" a forward that may not be ideal for their situation, than it is a goaltender, simply because there are 12 forwards in a lineup and 2 goalies.

Ultimately, the first decision will need to be -- what do the Leafs want to add?
- Is it a left winger that might bump Bunting down to the 3rd line? With the way Mikheyev is playing right now, I'm not so sure.
- Is it a top 4 defenceman that bumps Holl down or out? Maybe... but if that's the case, it wouldn't suprise me to see Holl, Dermott, or Liljegren as a significant part of the deal going the other way, simply because there's nothing left for Liljegren to learn in the AHL.

Beyond that, it's really depth moves, but would need to be guys that have cleared waivers, and those guys dont trade for 1st round picks.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I don't think the Leafs are moving their first this year, personally. They had a very light draft in 2021, and only have 3 picks this year. MAYBE they do a deal where the 1st goes and a 3rd comes back, but I'd think that Dubas would have a) learned his lesson re: Nick Foligno, and b) would have to be a pretty significant piece.

I also don't believe they're going to offload Mrazek until the offseason. With 2 years left on his deal at $3.8m, he's more a guy that a team struggling for goaltending will look to build as a piece, rather than "something they can facilitate". It's much easier for a team to "absorb" a forward that may not be ideal for their situation, than it is a goaltender, simply because there are 12 forwards in a lineup and 2 goalies.

Ultimately, the first decision will need to be -- what do the Leafs want to add?
- Is it a left winger that might bump Bunting down to the 3rd line? With the way Mikheyev is playing right now, I'm not so sure.
- Is it a top 4 defenceman that bumps Holl down or out? Maybe... but if that's the case, it wouldn't suprise me to see Holl, Dermott, or Liljegren go the other way, simply because there's nothing left for Liljegren to learn in the AHL.

Beyond that, it's really depth moves, but would need to be guys that have cleared waivers, and those guys dont trade for 1st round picks.

I think the Leafs are in a tough spot with that cap. Trading futures has affected the ability to fill holes with prospects to some degree and it spans a few years now. Got to hope Robertson is ready next year right?

 

[seanlinden]

I think the Leafs are in a tough spot with that cap. Trading futures has affected the ability to fill holes with prospects to some degree and it spans a few years now. Got to hope Robertson is ready next year right?

Yeah, they've gone more towards gambling on UFAs vs relying on prospects.... but that's not really their downfall by any stretch of the imagination. You look at what they've gotten from Bunting & Kase this year; and it's realistically a lot better / more than what they could have expected from Robertson, or really, any draft pick that they've traded away.

- Tobias Bjornfot (the Muzzin 1st round pick) and Sean Durzi been players for Los Angeles, but haven't contributed all that much yet.
- Alexander Volkov (pick rights traded to Tampa for Boyle) was a player as well, but really a 4th liner, and now found his way to Russia.
- Even Dominik Bokk (who was drafted with Toronto's pick when they traded down for Sandin) hasn't played a game yet.

The downside to relying on this approach of course, is that while you'll usually get players better than rookies -- they are what they are (which is middle-6 forwards). You lose the upside of what the rookies might develop into, and potentially help make a guy like Marner, Brodie, Muzzin, Rielly, expendable.

With respect to Robertson, I honestly don't believe he factors into the Leafs plans all that strongly going forward. Bunting's got another year left. They're likely to hang onto Kerfoot simply because while Kampf is excellent defensively, they cannot put him in a top 6 role should one of Matthews or Tavares get hurt. I'd suspect they find a way to resign Kase. In an ideal world they'd probably want Robertson to grab a top 9 wing position next year (likely vacated by Mikheyev), but I can also see them going back to the bargain bin and trying to find a guy who's more of an ideal fit on a 3rd line with Kampf & Kase like Mikheyev is.

It wouldn't suprise me to see Robertson on the move at the deadline if there was a significant player being added. He's a difficult guy to "integrate" on a team that already has a ton of skill and is trying to contend.

 

[BobClarkesfrontteeth]

He probably won’t get bought out. He can be buried next year and only cost 1.3 million against the cap.

it saves nothing really to but him out. If anything they would probably just take a 1 way minor deal for a worse player to save cap hit.

Buying him out gives you 2.2 million in space compared to 1.25 million. It might be needed

 

[TML1967]

I still think he will take something going the other way or taking a bad contract coming back to make it work.

Wonder if we can find someone who is playing like trash who also has 1 more year remaining, but that we can bury to save the other team cash.

Trying to absorb Ritchies deal might be hard, but if we are essentially giving them 1.25m in cash it could be much easier to swallow.

Or maybe someone on the LTIR whos contract wasn't insured?

The situation that peaks my interest the most is the NYI.

Hickey and Panik?

• Hickey ($2.5m) is a big cap hit in the minors, but doing nothing for the Islanders. It expires this year, so this would be more of a cash dump.
• Panik is making $1.375 in the AHL (was 2.75 but Red Wings retained 50%) and Hickey is making the same next year this year. So if he stays in the AHL next year, its a 150k ish cap hit in the NHL.
• Doesnt help this year other than adding some decent AHL players, but gets the contract off the books for next year.
• Would Lou like a Ritchie type? He seems to play his kind of style, maybe they can rebuild him?Maybe you can get Dal Colle as well depending on how negative Hickey and Paniks value is seen? We have seen Lou do 5 for 1 deals before to get a guy who wasnt great.