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

[Garthinater]

Nope, just history has showed us when you pay players like Hyman, Ladd, Clarkson, Lucic big money it comes back to bite you in the ass. Any logical fan can see that. Players like that slow down and the game gets faster and they are no longer worth their value two to three years later.

You misunderstood me.

I wouldn't have signed hyman for 5 mil either.

But the way some are talking about hyman is hilarious. The guy will not be easy to replace, especially using the discount bin.

But dubas getting rid of hyman means that his fan club are free to devalue Zach.

 

[LeafChief]

Agreed, all the rest is simply “Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” as the core 4 combined cap hits is the Iceberg and there is no way around it.

Every year as more and more player contracts come up and are due the middle is cut out and new deck chairs at cheaper prices are brought in as the next season sets sail.

Rinse and repeat... This year its Ritchie, Bunting, Kämpf, Gabriel, Menell, Kase, Mrazek IN and Hyman, Foligno, Galchenyuk, Thornton and Bogosian, Andersen out.

Last year it was Spezza, Simmonds, Thornton, TJ Brodie, Bogisian, Kerfoot, Clifford IN and Kapanen, Johnsson, Kadri, Moore Barrie, Ceci, Out.

Every year Leafs are tinkering around the edges trying to find cheaper contracts to replace the departed contracts which no longer fit under the cap in an effort to find that magic combination to surround the core 4 that those big 4 will carry the team to success.

This year we get to see what Ritchie, Bunting playing alongside the core 4 in the top 6 can achieve, but mostly come playoff time will it be the missing pieces to secure playoff round advancement?.

Mess just discovered that teams have turnover in the offseason.

 

[Garthinater]

You’re right. Hyman did improve. He is an elite fore checker and developed his knack around the net. He was always a scorer in college. He just finally adjusted and translated it to the NHL. He will be hard to replace. He came back too soon from that leg injury and his knees have a lot of miles on them, and that contract...just wasn’t going to happen with us. People seem to need to ease the pain of loosing a key piece by trying to devalue him. But let’s not mince words here, that top four core are even more hard to replace so the choice is easy.

Well said.

I wouldn't keep Hyman at 5+ mil either.

But some are acting like he is just an average 3rd liner when that is far from the truth.

Anytime dubas trades for someone, its a "smart move".

When ever Kyle gets rid of someone, its "we didn't need them".

Maybe use your own brain and evaluate the transaction? Instead they just adore everything Kyle does.

 

[LeafChief]

Well said.

I wouldn't keep Hyman at 5+ mil either.

But some are acting like he is just an average 3rd liner when that is far from the truth.

Hyman is a solid player. He was also acquired for Greg McKegg. The thought that another Hyman can't be acquired/developed is kind of crazy.

I love Hyman and he will be missed for sure. His body won't last the 7 year term. If's funny hoq quickly people forget the summer of Lucic, Ladd, Eriksson.

 

[kb]

Wasn't Jim Plunkett the QB the last time the Raiders won the SB?

Jeebus.....he's 73 now. LOL

 

[kb]

Mess just discovered that teams have turnover in the offseason.

He's still stuck playing the Kase on LTIR for the season card.

 

[Garthinater]

Hyman is a solid player. He was also acquired for Greg McKegg. The thought that another Hyman can't be acquired/developed is kind of crazy.

I love Hyman and he will be missed for sure. His body won't last the 7 year term. If's funny hoq quickly people forget the summer of Lucic, Ladd, Eriksson.

The odds of acquiring and another player like Hyman for peanuts are not high.

We couldn't afford Hyman even if we wanted too. But there's no need to devalue him just because he's no longer on the team.

 

[LeafChief]

The odds of acquiring and another player like Hyman for peanuts are not high.

We couldn't afford Hyman even if we wanted too. But there's no need to devalue him just because he's no longer on the team.

I didn't devalue him, though.

People absolutely hated Hyman on here during his first season. It's almost as if people on HFboards don't have a clue of what they're talking about and just like to be loud.

 

[TimeZone]

Sometimes I think this "Top Line" vs "Middle Six" labeling gets a little bit hard to keep track of.

A top line winger would mean they rank in the top 32 in the league (by points, impact, etc).

Ice time and line mates have alot to do with these designations and it becomes cause and effect. Last year Ritchie finished 33rd in goals and 46th in points for LW. So he is Top 6 by both measures.

However, he wasn't on the Perfection Line in Boston...but what if he played with Matthews and Marner, or Tavares and Nylander here...we don't see his numbers ticking up? Like say, Hyman's did?

I am not saying Ritchie is Top Line or Top 6...what I am saying is that we need 2 wingers that round out our Core 4. Ritchie, Kerfoot, Robertson, Bunting, Kase and Mikheyev give us enough viable options once we see who has chemistry with each other.

When you have the Core 4 we do, you don't worry about needing a Core 6... you expect the boys getting the big bucks bring others a long with them

He wasn't on the perfection line with Boston but he did play on their top PP unit and racked 5 of his 15 goals and 9 of his 25 points there.

Hyman finished top 20 in terms of PPG among LW's in 2019-2020, he was on pace for 55 points and 31 goals.

That's legitimate top line production, no matter where he ranks among Left Wings.

Nick Ritchie has hit 30 points once in his career, and he's also extremely lazy and takes moronic penalties. There's more to being a legitimate top line player than looking at statistics, I think most would agree Human's primary contributions didn't necessarily show up on the score sheet.

 

[MakeTheIronSing]

When I think of a top line player, I definitely think of Nick Ritchie.

So what if he doesn’t score a lot, or skate fast, or have great playoff stats? At that cap hit, he’ll be a star here for all 60-something games he plays a year.

 

[Stonehands1990]

I didn't devalue him, though.

People absolutely hated Hyman on here during his first season. It's almost as if people on HFboards don't have a clue of what they're talking about and just like to be loud.

Even though his hands were bricks I loved Hyman from day 1. I personally model my game after the lunch pail types hence the user name

 

[LeafChief]

Even though his hands were bricks I loved Hyman from day 1. I personally model my game after the lunch pail types hence the user name

Don't get me wrong. I love Hyman. Would love to have a Hyman on each line if we could.

 

[TimeZone]

Hyman was a great soldier for the team, but I doubt the top six production will be impacted one bit by his absence. Matthews won the Rocket playing a bunch of 5v5 minutes with Thornton this season.

Having Ritchie,, Bunting or Kerfoot (or a mystery players still to be traded for?) Among the consistent LWers on the top two lines will likely see excellent returns on production from those lines



Problem is two years in row Hyman hasn't been healthy come playoff time. Even having him under contract isn't a guarantee that he's able to play at that level

I didn't want Hyman back at his asking price, I wanted another player capable of replacing his offense on the top line.

Saad, Tatar were two guys I would've been all over.

We got Kampf, a 25 year old with five concussions and Nick Ritchie who only plays when he feels like it instead.

Yeah, I'm not thrilled.

 

[Stonehands1990]

Don't get me wrong. I love Hyman. Would love to have a Hyman on each line if we could.

Agreed 100% though. He’s the perfect compliment to a scoring line or perfect for a checking line. But at 5.5 not so much

 

[BertCorbeau]

Agreed 100% though. He’s the perfect compliment to a scoring line or perfect for a checking line. But at 5.5 not so much

And 7 years starting at age 29 with some knee injury history. Big big risk.

 

[Garthinater]

I didn't devalue him, though.

People absolutely hated Hyman on here during his first season. It's almost as if people on HFboards don't have a clue of what they're talking about and just like to be loud.

My apologies, I didn't mean to insinuate that you were devaluing hyman. But others seem to be.

You are correct, Zach received a lot of hate his first year. Amazing how he became a fan favourite.

 

[Stonehands1990]

And 7 years starting at age 29 with some knee injury history. Big big risk.

Yeah Edmonton can have fun with that. We just added Ritchie, Kampf & Bunting for 4.9. I’ll take that over Hyman any day

 

[conFABulator]

He wasn't on the perfection line with Boston but he did play on their top PP unit and racked 5 of his 15 goals and 9 of his 25 points there.

Hyman finished top 20 in terms of PPG among LW's in 2019-2020, he was on pace for 55 points and 31 goals.

That's legitimate top line production, no matter where he ranks among Left Wings.

Nick Ritchie has hit 30 points once in his career, and he's also extremely lazy and takes moronic penalties. There's more to being a legitimate top line player than looking at statistics, I think most would agree Human's primary contributions didn't necessarily show up on the score sheet.

Thanks and I agree with you on most of it. My post wasn't meant to be anti-Hyman in any way...I think he has had a much better career and brings value beyond the stat sheet.

My point was that we don't need established Top 6 wingers on our top two lines. Our Core 4 needs to make their LWers better.

From a purely offensive performance perspective it looks to me like Ritchie is ahead of where Hyman was at his age (goals and points wise)...let's see if Ritchie takes a step playing with a Matthews or Tavares (plus PP time). He also can bring elements not measured on the score sheet (physicality, intimidation, protection). I am not saying he is as good as Hyman, but I would say it is possible the next seven years of his career are better than what Zach puts up.

 

[Isaac Nootin]

I didn't want Hyman back at his asking price, I wanted another player capable of replacing his offense on the top line.

Saad, Tatar were two guys I would've been all over.

We got Kampf, a 25 year old with five concussions and Nick Ritchie who only plays when he feels like it instead.

Yeah, I'm not thrilled.

You're not thrilled, yet signing Tatar would make you happy, who was healthy scratched in the playoffs. Makes sense.

 

[Torontonian]

You misunderstood me.

I wouldn't have signed hyman for 5 mil either.

But the way some are talking about hyman is hilarious. The guy will not be easy to replace, especially using the discount bin.

But dubas getting rid of hyman means that his fan club are free to devalue Zach.

Oh, my bad then. Hyman was the heart and soul of the leafs. He battled and never took a night off when in the lineup. I don't think he's going to be super hard to replace him but there will be some nights were they will indeed miss him but as you said, at 5.5m a season it's just simply not worth it to keep him.

On this forum, its either Dubas can do no wrong, or every move he makes is a mistake. He has made his fair share of good moves and has also made some bad moves as a GM.

 

[al secord]

We are now intimidating

He gave him the Wendel 2 punch while on his back. Vicious. Love it.

 

[TimeZone]

You're not thrilled, yet signing Tatar would make you happy, who was healthy scratched in the playoffs. Makes sense.

You seem to be under the impression that were playing back in the North Division next Season.

Reality check : Were back with Tampa Bay, Florida and Boston next season. You're going to need contribution during the regular season as well, just to make the playoffs.

PS : With the way Hyman played during the last three postseason series' he was apart of he might as well have been a healthy scratch himself.

Sorry to break it to you, with our cap situation we were never getting a star winger up there, but we certainly could've gotten better than what we ended up with.

 

[makbeer]

Dubas seems to be making regular season signings.

 

[Bellzy]

I didn't want Hyman back at his asking price, I wanted another player capable of replacing his offense on the top line.

Saad, Tatar were two guys I would've been all over.

We got Kampf, a 25 year old with five concussions and Nick Ritchie who only plays when he feels like it instead.

Yeah, I'm not thrilled.

You forgot our new goalie

 

[TimeZone]

Well said.

I wouldn't keep Hyman at 5+ mil either.

But some are acting like he is just an average 3rd liner when that is far from the truth.

Anytime dubas trades for someone, its a "smart move".

When ever Kyle gets rid of someone, its "we didn't need them".

Maybe use your own brain and evaluate the transaction? Instead they just adore everything Kyle does.

These are the same posters who mindlessly defend the team to the end no matter how bleak things are.

Maybe another 17 years without a single playoff playoff round win will they change some of their minds...then again