Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (4 years, $3.5M AAV)

[Jmo89]

Considering what Edmonson and Lyubushkin got, the signing isn't even that bad in isolation. The problem for me is it barely moves the needle overall for the Leafs defence.

At minimum OEL should be replacing Liljegren (and yes I know he's an LD.) Bringing OEL in for 3.5 along with Liljegren at 3 is a recipe for failure.

They should be unloading Liljegren and Kampf for another solid RD but there's no one left.

Vanilla move for a vanilla team.

 

[LeafGrief]

I don’t hate it. He just won the cup and can generally move the puck. He’s going to be counted on as a 2nd or 3rd pairing guy for most of this. We won’t be counting on him for a big role, I think he’ll be fine.

And if we can give Liljegren 3m, I’ll give 3.5m to a guy who gave 18 minutes a night on the cup winner all day.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

As Daisy alluded to, maybe Roy didn’t want to come here.

Sure, but that doesn't justify the money for me.

 

[Advanced stats]

OEL definitely adds offense and skating, but he's not a 20 minute defenseman unless he really plays a lot better than he has over the last few years.

He'll likely be a 16-18 minute defenseman with a lot of PP time.

He's always been a 20+ guy unt this past year when he played on what was probably the deepest and best defensive team in the league.

 

[Apex Predator]

Leafs needed a puck mover and there it is.

 

[Eye of Ra]

You know he wasn't a top 4 D for the Panthers right? He had sheltered minutes.

He was good enough to play on 3d pair on the the team that won the cup. But somehow he is not good enough to play for the Leafs.

 

[Skullz]

Still not thrilled, but feel better after seeing the outrageous deals guys like edmundson and lyub got

 

[Daisy Jane]

As Daisy alluded to, maybe Roy didn’t want to come here.

it was flat out stated he didn't want to play in Canada

 

[NJG]

He was good enough to play on 3d pair on the the team that won the cup. But somehow he is not good enough to play for the Leafs.

Yeah good enough for a stanley cup winning team but not good enough for the Leafs lol...

 

[Canada4Gold]

The Leafs needed a defensive D to play with Rielly and an offensive D to play with McCabe. Somehow they thought going for guys at the end of their careers for lots of term was the way to go.

I don't mind Tanev because I think he's a perfect fit with Rielly and when things go south for him it'll likely be injuries and LTIR, fingers crossed. That structure of that deal is gross though. As for OEL we did need more offense from the backend so something like Zadarov would have been very dumb. LD, defensive, expensive. Exactly the opposite of what we needed. I feel like we needed to aim higher than OEL though. He's also a LD so I guess McCabe plays the right. But a guy that feels like he's been on the downswing for a while just reeks of Klingberg which was a deal I didn't mind too much because it was only a 1 year gamble. This one needs to work out. I sure hope it does because this revamping of the backend offseason has just been signing old guys to scary term.

 

[crump]

Production from the back end has been an issue in both regular season and playoffs for sure. Other than Rielly, nobody has scored more than 30 points since Barrie and Gardiner. They were horrific defensively. Muzzin uninjured was a 30-40 point man. Need someone to run the power play. I feel just like I did about the Klingberg signing. It would be nice if Liljegren steps up this year too.

 

[Al14]

This isn't going to go well.

Will he get that Murphy treatment ???

 

[ruaware41]

He was good enough to play on 3d pair on the the team that won the cup. But somehow he is not good enough to play for the Leafs.

useless logic. give maroon a 7m contract

 

[Burnie97]

It's not amazing but I'm fine with it.

Him and Tanev are good pickups overall. Just not big on the term but I think the cap is going to shoot way up. In a few years these won't be all that big a deal.

We needed a guy that can put up some points and move the puck.

 

[Al14]

Were rebuilding the D boys.

Tanev, OEL, Danford - all big adds to the talent pool.

Will Danford even make our Leafs before the Core 5 are already retired ???

 

[Roo]

Surprised to see some backlash here. But yeah, leaf fans.

Good defenseman who will play in our top 4. Puck mover, size, can qb the pp. We got better today. Reasonable contract.

 

[thewave]

Surprised to see some backlash here. But yeah, leaf fans.

Door defenseman who will play in our top 4. Puck mover, size, can qb the pp. We got better today. Reasonable contract.

Its fine but Boston got even better

 

[shaner8989]

Honestly Tanev and OEL for a total of $8 mill is extremely valuable. I love it.

The length of the contrasts are the issue

 

[keonsbitterness]

Will Danford even make our Leafs before the Core 5 are already retired ???

He should if his development curve is at least average.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Oh good, giving mid-30s players term again. And overpaying bottom pairing defensemen again!
I guess this is Treliving's attempt at fixing the blueline. Underwhelming, to say the least.

 

[Its not your fault]

What is happening?

Leafs have trouble clearing the crease, so Brad trades for Edmundson and Lyubushkin. Both play well.

Brad then lets them walk and signs OEL.


What are we doing here?

Probably based on how easy it is to acquire those types at the deadline. Last time I checked one of them we have had twice.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Probably based on how easy it is to acquire those types at the deadline. Last time I checked one of them we have had twice.

I mean fair but wouldnt we want to play the $3M+ players? And weren't we just complaining about bleeding picks?

It's a strategy I guess. I'm not sure it's a good one, but I've been wrong before.

 

[Roo]

Rielly - Tanev
OEL - McCabe
Benoit - Liljegren

Much better than

Rielly - Boosh
Benoit - McCabe
Ed - Liljegren

OEL pushes Benoit down in depth, which is key.

 

[CabanaBoy5]

Anyone who thinks the Leafs haven't improved the team that finished the year is on crack. Tanev is a warrior, great rep in the playoffs. OEL is the puck mover we've been lacking for years now, and Stolarz had a 925 SV% with the Stanley Cup winners.

 

[namttebih]

Shuffling the deck chairs outside of the core again. I like it.