Friedman: Nikita Zaitsev has requested a trade from Toronto

[justafan22]

This makes a ton of sense. They can include Gauthier or Petan as well depending on what type of guy they want. A 6'5 C who has shown a strong defensive game, or a 5'10 W who has offensive skills but hasn't performed yet.
Edit: I think people sometimes forget that taking back 2 guys who make your team means cutting a different NHLer, so Scevior doesn't add 1.2m to the cap, just the difference between him and who he'd be replacing

Zaitsev and Brown for Reimer and Pysyk is more realistic

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Zaitsev and Brown for Reimer and Pysyk is more realistic

Yes, I’m sure Reimer would welcome a trade back to the team whose fan base sent his wife hundreds of death threats.

 

[kp61c]

looks like a con to dump him on some dupe. good luck with that.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

I sometimes wish other fanbases would stop being obsessed with us, OR that leafs fans could see a dumb comment and leave it alone.

But here you are feeding the ogre...

 

[Spazkat]

I think losing a #4 RHD is a big enough loss for us. No need to take salary back unless there is some quality in the asset..

Except he's not a 4D. His salary is, but his on ice production is not. He's a bottom pairing guy- his single redeeming quality is that he happens to be a right shot.

 

[The Moose is Loose]

I don't think a team will take on a #5 dman with 5 years term getting paid 4.5 million.

He's been eaten alive in the playoffs as well as providing 0 offense. 27 points combined in the past 2 seasons.

Either the leafs have to add a nice piece, retain some on his contract, or the guy they are taking back is also a millionish overpaid.

 

[MyBudJT]

Except he's not a 4D. His salary is, but his on ice production is not. He's a bottom pairing guy- his single redeeming quality is that he happens to be a right shot.

Except he wasn't played like a bottom pairing guy. Zaitsev can handle himself fine against top quality competition.

 

[Nervousbreakdown]

But here you are feeding the ogre...

Nobody's perfect.

 

[Spazkat]

Except he wasn't played like a bottom pairing guy. Zaitsev can handle himself fine against top quality competition.

The fact that he "wasn't played that way" is more poor judgement and lack of viable alternative than because he was good at it lol. He's an"offensive" defenseman without a ton of actual offense. His defense is mediocre at best and transition/zone exits are terribad.

 

[paulhiggins]

...He's been eaten alive in the playoffs...

You haven't been watching carefully.

 

[The Moose is Loose]

You haven't been watching carefully.

I didn't miss a single second of that series. Leaf fans keep trying to push he played shutdown defense and I didn't see it at all. He was a weak link on their pair who were just trying to keep their heads above water.

Not to mention providing literally 0 offense.

 

[McSuper]

Lucic for zaitsev

Lucic 2 million retained + Manning for Zaitsev + Marleau . TML adds some toughness for the playoffs and open up over 4 million in cap space more if the AHL Manning ass (5.5 million)

 

[Revelation]

The fact that he "wasn't played that way" is more poor judgement and lack of viable alternative than because he was good at it lol. He's an"offensive" defenseman without a ton of actual offense. His defense is mediocre at best and transition/zone exits are terribad.

He's a two way offensives leaning defenseman who was forced to play above his abilities in a role that didn't suit him. Not unlike Schultz and Petry being completely different players in a different environment. He has two way skill and defensive ability which he has demonstrated at worlds, which would shine through if he was a trash defenseman. If you look at his plays a lot of the goals blamed on him involve his partners being completely out of position which cascades into him being forced to do too much and overwhelmed.

I'm not a Leafs fan but if a team with a good RD in front of him and a solid LD to put next to him got him (Anaheim, Florida, Edmonton if Larsson regained his form but unlikely, still he'd be a solid add on the ice over Russell) he'd most likely look like a different player. Babcock not being particularly adept at playing a austen that gets the most out of his players doesn't help either

 

[Spazkat]

He's a two way offensives leaning defenseman who was forced to play above his abilities in a role that didn't suit him. Not unlike Schultz and Petry being completely different players in a different environment. He has two way skill and defensive ability which he has demonstrated at worlds, which would shine through if he was a trash defenseman. If you look at his plays a lot of the goals blamed on him involve his partners being completely out of position which cascades into him being forced to do too much and overwhelmed.

I'm not a Leafs fan but if a team with a good RD in front of him and a solid LD to put next to him got him (Anaheim, Florida, Edmonton if Larsson regained his form but unlikely, still he'd be a solid add on the ice over Russell) he'd most likely look like a different player. Babcock not being particularly adept at playing a austen that gets the most out of his players doesn't help either

A player with 14 freaking points is your idea of an offensive leaning defenseman? Seriously? He's 140th in defenseman points- tied with noted offensive powerhouses Forbert and Maata. Josh Manson managed 16 on the offensively challenged Ducks team (and makes less).

"Good at worlds" means squat when he can't demonstrate that ability at the NHL level. I'll go with what we've seen in his 223 game NHL career over a random good 10 game stretch at worlds against sub-par players. And what he's shown at the NHL level is nowhere near a >4M a year cap hit

 

[ChaoticOrange]

He's a two way offensives leaning defenseman who was forced to play above his abilities in a role that didn't suit him. Not unlike Schultz and Petry being completely different players in a different environment. He has two way skill and defensive ability which he has demonstrated at worlds, which would shine through if he was a trash defenseman. If you look at his plays a lot of the goals blamed on him involve his partners being completely out of position which cascades into him being forced to do too much and overwhelmed.

I'm not a Leafs fan but if a team with a good RD in front of him and a solid LD to put next to him got him (Anaheim, Florida, Edmonton if Larsson regained his form but unlikely, still he'd be a solid add on the ice over Russell) he'd most likely look like a different player. Babcock not being particularly adept at playing a austen that gets the most out of his players doesn't help either

Zaitsev is the absolute last thing we need in Edmonton.

His one decent year offensively he got scored on at will and still saw much heavier defensive zonestarts. It’s looking more and more that it was nothing but a flash in the pan

Look at him and Russell statistically and from an advanced stat perspective - they are the same player, damn near identical usage and results. Heck Russell had a couple decent offensive seasons too.

Zaitsev had 14 points, man. Nobody is trading for him expecting any two way offense at all.

 

[ASC]

Vancouver
Tanev (50% retained) + Schaller + Goldobin

Toronto
Zaitsev + Kapanen + Conditional 2020 2nd (becomes 2020 1st if either Tanev resigns or Leafs win the cup)

A trade I think is fair for both sides as Toronto gets a top 4 defenceman at a very reasonable cap hit allowing them to resign Hainsey on a 1-year contract. Additionally, they receive Goldobin who I believe could perform better with a change of scenery and the potential opportunities in Toronto. Vancouver downgrades their RD with Zaitsev but gains a top 6 winger that can play with Horvat on the 2nd line and a higher pick in next year's draft (chose to have it be 2020 pick as I don't see Toronto trading their 2nd this year as they don't own their 1st).

 

[Revelation]

A player with 14 freaking points is your idea of an offensive leaning defenseman? Seriously? He's 140th in defenseman points- tied with noted offensive powerhouses Forbert and Maata. Josh Manson managed 16 on the offensively challenged Ducks team (and makes less).

"Good at worlds" means squat when he can't demonstrate that ability at the NHL level. I'll go with what we've seen in his 223 game NHL career over a random good 10 game stretch at worlds against sub-par players. And what he's shown at the NHL level is nowhere near a >4M a year cap hit

He's hardly an offensive powerhouse but he's competent on both sides of the puck. Jordie Benn outscored half the NHL's star offensive D at even strength this year - is that a good indicator of his offensive ability? He didn't just show his ability at worlds, him showing it at the NHL level got him his contract in the first place. Worlds just shows that he still has his skating, defensive and puck handling abilities and can potentially bring them out in a different system/situation. Whereas someone like Lucic would probably flouder there since his former abilities are gone.

He hasn't exceeded his contract but up until this year he's been worth it. Even this year despite struggling he did reasonably well effectively being the Leafs' designated DFD. It doesn't sound like their management wants to move him as much as him wanting out since he's fallen into the big market whipping boy vortex that's almost impossible to get out of.

I don't think he explodes elsewhere like Justin Schultz but I'm willing to bet whatever team he ends up on won't be complaining about his cap hit

 

[Revelation]

Zaitsev is the absolute last thing we need in Edmonton.

His one decent year offensively he got scored on at will and still saw much heavier defensive zonestarts. It’s looking more and more that it was nothing but a flash in the pan

Look at him and Russell statistically and from an advanced stat perspective - they are the same player, damn near identical usage and results. Heck Russell had a couple decent offensive seasons too.

Zaitsev had 14 points, man. Nobody is trading for him expecting any two way offense at all.

Zaitsev is more mobile than Russell and could probably form a good complimentary two way pairing with Nurse as a result IF Larsson was a much better D and could reliably play top minutes. That said I don't think he's someone Edmonton should go for since they need to add either impact players or penny pinch with smart Chiasson like acquisitions to get a deep roster.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Zaitsev is more mobile than Russell and could probably form a good complimentary two way pairing with Nurse as a result IF Larsson was a much better D and could reliably play top minutes. That said I don't think he's someone Edmonton should go for since they need to add either impact players or penny pinch with smart Chiasson like acquisitions to get a deep roster.

You know possibly the best thing about Russell is that he’s a very good skater, yes? Mobility is not his issue at all.

 

[Revelation]

You know possibly the best thing about Russell is that he’s a very good skater, yes? Mobility is not his issue at all.

Is he still? I was under the impression that he started out like that and transitioned into a less mobile shot blocker over the years

He's also always seemed to be comfortable on the left rather than the right.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Is he still? I was under the impression that he started out like that and transitioned into a less mobile shot blocker over the years

He's also always seemed to be comfortable on the left rather than the right.

He’s still a very good skater, yes.

The handedness/LD/RD thing - That’s his main issue - he’s continually asked to play the right side and he’s just plain not very good at it. I forget the exact numbers but he was something like 51% CF% on the left and 44% CF% on the right.

We could definitely use another RD, but it absolutely cannot be Zaitsev. So much term and such a high cap hit for what he brings.

 

[TML1967]

Zaitsev and Brown for Reimer and Pysyk is more realistic

So that's 5.9 coming in and 6.1 going out.

 

[The Shrike]

Nikita Zaitsev for Colin Miller and David Clarkson.

 

[FerrisRox]

He's hardly an offensive powerhouse but he's competent on both sides of the puck. Jordie Benn outscored half the NHL's star offensive D at even strength this year - is that a good indicator of his offensive ability?

Well ... yeah, of course it is. It shows that he can move the puck pretty well and gets the puck up to his forwards.

 

[justafan22]

So that's 5.9 coming in and 6.1 going out.

Assuming you can move Marleau, it's fine since Pysyk is done after next year.