Confirmed with Link: Nick Ritchie to Toronto (2x2.5M AAV)

[Leaf Rocket]

Hopefully he plays consistently.

 

[Stephen]

No, LTIR is not a double dip. LTIR will ensure that any move at the deadline has to be 'cap hit in = cap hit out'.

Not if we're talking about Mess' scenario about activating Kase from LTIR for the playoffs.

 

[BodaciousBeefBazooka]

instead of getting one or two good forwards, Dubas is trying to get a bunch of flawed ones who have the potential to be good. I'm not sure I really agree with that approach, but we'll see how it goes. As of now there are only four forwards who you can say belong in a contending team's top 6, which is worse than last year

feels like a similar desperation attempt to fill in the blanks like last year if im not going crazy

 

[TimeZone]

How is the forward group more top heavy?

Top 4 is the same top 4, everyone else is low paid.

Hyman is significantly better than anyone we signed.

Our forward group isn't good as a whole, it's just not.

 

[Advanced stats]

If the salary cap wasn't the driving force behind these moves Leafs could have ...

Hyman -- Matthews -- Marner
Foligno -- Tavares --- Nylander
Galchenyuk -- Kerfoot -- Mikheyev

Salary cap issues or not, in a vaccum the Hyman and Foligno deals are poor and I don't think Dubas would have signed those deals anyways.
It's not a salary cap thing, it's a value thing.

You'd have to agree that there's more value in paying Bunting, Kase and Ritchie 4.5 million than having paid Hyman and Foligno almost 10 million. And that's not even considering term on Hyman.

 

[Stephen]

minus the loss of Zach Hyman for the #1LW spot filled by Ritchie now.

If the salary cap wasn't the driving force behind these moves Leafs could have ...

Hyman -- Matthews -- Marner
Foligno -- Tavares --- Nylander
Galchenyuk -- Kerfoot -- Mikheyev

(our playoff roster) & now

Ritchie -- Matthews -- Marner
Bunting -- Tavares -- Nylander
Mikeyev -- Kampf --- Kerfoot

4th line remains status quo with Spezza, Simmonds, Engval/Brooks and only missing Thornton (replaced by Gabriel).

Which top 9 would one prefer believing it gives the Leafs best chance of winning a playoff round?

I think you have to think of it as what the Core 4/Big 4 are likely to do for you and everyone else is window dressing.

 

[Cor]

From where we ended;

Kampf needs to be better than Thornton (should be easy)
Ritchie needs to be better than Foligno (should be easy)
Kase needs to be better than Engvall (a guarantee and big upgrade if Kase stays healthy - and we still have Engvall right now anyway)
Bunting needs to be better than Hyman. (massive shoes to fill. I think Bunting can match the offensive production on the top line, if he plays there. I think Kampf will replace the defensive/PK role of Hyman. - essentially filling Hyman's role by committee)

 

[Mess]

Not if we're talking about Mess' scenario about activating Kase from LTIR for the playoffs.

“Elementary, my dear Watson, precisely, the game is afoot'"

I didn't Sherlock Holmes my plan on my own, I Kucherov'd it from Tampa Bay's Cup winning tactic.

 

[zeke]

Hyman is significantly better than anyone we signed.

Our forward group isn't good as a whole, it's just not.

I wouldn't be that conclusive about it - guys like Bunting and Kase and Robertson could quite easily upgrade the forward group overall without even doing anything too surprising.

But sure, given their lack of track records, as of now we have to say the forward group looks marginally worse with the loss of Hyman.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

feels like a similar desperation attempt to fill in the blanks like last year if im not going crazy

yeah basically it's the same idea. Granted, these are all better bets than the ones he made last time. But at the same time, he's down a top 6 forward and the Leafs are in a tougher division. It probably would have been better to go with a different approach than the one that just failed

 

[NastyKnies]

I like it alot.

 

[zeke]

“Elementary, my dear Watson, precisely, the game is afoot'"

I didn't Sherlock Holmes my plan on my own, I Kucherov'd it from Tampa Bay's Cup winning tactic.

Kase' $1.25m salary doesn't need any trickery to hide.

 

[usernamezrhardtodo]

I agree with the overall premise, but I still utterly reject that Hyman was the one guy doing this for us. That's simply not true.

I would say he was the one guy besides AM that was successful at it. Kerfoot for example tries really hard in the corners but doesn't win nearly as often as Hyman. I stand by the perception of fans seeing Hyman as a really unique player that possess skills at board battles that nobody else does. He was good for the first 3yrs...I would laugh has he would win a 1-3 board battle...but after his injuries he started to lose them way more often.

Who would you say on the leafs was nearly as good as AM and Hyman for puck battle wins?

 

[123offtheglass]

Hyman is significantly better than anyone we signed.

Our forward group isn't good as a whole, it's just not.

Hyman will be missed, I've always felt he's been underrated here; he'll thrive in Edmonton.

One big plus though is Jumbo is not in the lineup. Forward lines aren't as good as they were last playoffs but I think they are better than last year when the season started. Definitely have better depth this year but Hyman is obviously missing.

 

[zeke]

yeah basically it's the same idea. Granted, these are all better bets than the ones he made last time. But at the same time, he's down a top 6 forward and the Leafs are in a tougher division. It probably would have been better to go with a different approach than the one that just failed

1. The biggest weakness on the team last year was Fred's .895. He addressed that.

2. Sure looks like a different approach - signed four 25yr olds this year, including a defensive C. Looks like the bottom of the roster is relatively open for the kids to make a play for a spot this time too.

 

[zeke]

. Forward lines aren't as good as they were last playoffs but I think they are better than last year when the season started.

Well the playoff lines didn't include Tavares, and the clearly injured foligno played only half the games.

 

[TimeZone]

I wouldn't be that conclusive about it - guys like Bunting and Kase and Robertson could quite easily upgrade the forward group overall without even doing anything too surprising.

But sure, given their lack of track records, as of now we have to say the forward group looks marginally worse with the loss of Hyman.

Those are guys who will need to prove their worth throughout next Season who I don't have a ton of confidence in at this point. I think Robertson will be a very good player for us down the line, but I'm confident he's ready for significant contributions this season. Kase? Five concussions and the last couple I've seen looking like harmless plays, a mere 88 games played in his last three Seasons. Kase is good when he's healthy, unfortunately I think he's just about toast. I'm more worried about seeing him get another concussion than anything. Bunting is probably the guy I have the most faith in becoming a 15-20 goal middle sixer, but I'm not ready to bank on him coming in and scoring 25 goals and becoming a legitimate top sixer, though I do think he has the best odds of accomplishing that of the guys we signed.

 

[123offtheglass]

Well the playoff lines didn't include Tavares, and the clearly injured foligno played only half the games.

Yeah that really sucked to have a crippled Foligno, I was kind of thinking of with Tavares in the minutes we had him :/

 

[mydnyte]

If you hated Hyman playing with 16 and 34, I'm thinking you are going to hate who ever plays with them this year even more.

Not, unless they hang onto the puck like Hyman did and dont pass it ever

 

[Mickey Marner]

feels like a similar desperation attempt to fill in the blanks like last year if im not going crazy

These guys actually have some upside though. Thornton, Vesey and Simmonds had no upside. Best case scenario was they wouldn't sewer us when they were on the ice. Now, Bunting might have been a flash in the pan, Kase could get his brains scrambled and Ritchie could be fat and lazy, but each could also be competent top-six forward. I don't think these additions are enough, but I don't really have any complaints about them.

 

[TimeZone]

From where we ended;

Kampf needs to be better than Thornton (should be easy)
Ritchie needs to be better than Foligno (should be easy)
Kase needs to be better than Engvall (a guarantee and big upgrade if Kase stays healthy - and we still have Engvall right now anyway)
Bunting needs to be better than Hyman. (massive shoes to fill. I think Bunting can match the offensive production on the top line, if he plays there. I think Kampf will replace the defensive/PK role of Hyman. - essentially filling Hyman's role by committee)

You think Bunting can match Hymans 25-30 goal 55 point pace next Season?

Wow, I mean, I'd love to see that happen but that's quite the stretch.

 

[rumman]

Maybe Ritchie didn't want to be there ?

Not always the teams decision.

Boston ended the relationship.

 

[123offtheglass]

Trash.

lottery pick incoming this season.

 

[ottomaddox]

No, because they play a very different game and arent currently injured.

Thornton was an offensive playmaker that was never fast, overly physical or great defensively. Vesey was always 10 ply charmin soft and had some offensive flare that obviously didnt work here, and Foligno was injured so we never got the Foligno we paid for.

Bunting if he fails offensively still is an agitating pest that can be moved down to the bottom 6. Ritchie, even though Im not a huge fan, has been a quality NHLer and will play that physical game and Kampf is what he is, an offensive black hole who will PK and win some faceoffs.

The expectations arent unreasonable for any of the 3 and they just have a much higher floor than any of the previously mentioned players.

And so their previous teams never recognized their higher floor at cheap contracts? Come-on!

 

[Wafflewhipper]

This is a good signing. Top six left winger. I hope he comes in in great shape. This guy has never lost a scrap. He can score as much as Hyman but adds that other something that players won’t want to mess with.
Glad he signed with us, we needed him.