HF Habs: Out of Town Thread: 2025 Playoff edition

[Reimannsum1988]

Slafkovsky will be as good if not better than Knies.

That's absolutely a debatable point; however I vastly prefer the style of game, as I said, played by Knies than that of Slafkovsky, even though he was among our best, most consistent players against Washington.

 

[Team_Spirit]

*Marner is gently pushed*

marner;

 

[Adam Michaels]

And a broken-down, aged Pacioretty continues his strong play. Another player whom we disparaged constantly for no reason whatsoever - the reason we can't have good things (he said, likely hypocritically given how I speak of Slafkovksy).

The Max we see playing in these playoffs was not the playoff performer Habs had. He wasn't heavy on the forecheck. He wasn't laying the body. He was basically waiting for other to do that and he'd wait to fire that wicked shot he had.

But in fairness to Max, when Habs had him, he was basically the only goal scoring threat. So the other team just had to shut him down and the Habs didn't have others who can score. With the Leafs, he's not the go-to guy. While the opponents have to focus on others, Max is less attended.

 

[Miller Time]

Why would I watch an inferior sport?

Why would you cheer for an inferior franchise?

 

[TRG]

I'm annoyed

 

[Adam Michaels]

And given that it was his first playoffs, Slafkovksy did play what I would deem the best hockey of his career.

Yup. And the hope is that he learns to play a little more physical, but that area of his game is still developing.

Remember Nick's tying goal in Game 1? The one he was patient and waited for Thompson to slide out of his crease. Slaf was right in front of the net causing havoc, allowing Nick to get that opportunity. Didn't get a point, but he played a role on that goal.

 

[McGees]

Is Ketchup injured or what. Hasn’t been relevant

 

[CaptainKirk]

Why would you cheer for an inferior franchise?

I want them to lose in the final vs either the Jets or Oilers. It won’t happen, but that’s my wish.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Can they sign Knies to 9 million?

Wyatt Johnston is younger & put up better statistics. He signed for $8.4m. There's no way Knies is getting $9m.

Slafkovsky is at $7.6m. Knies at $7.7m gives him a slight upgrade on that. Knies had 7 more points than Slaf while playing mostly with Marner, who is a 100 pt scorer. Knies had more goals. Slafkovsky more assists.

Slafkovsky is 2 years younger and was more productive than Knies the year prior (50 pts to 35 pts for Knies for 2023-2024).

Imo, he lands between $7.6m and $8.5m max. The Leafs can still manage $8.5m especially if it's on an 8 year contract.

 

[Team_Spirit]

Is Ketchup injured or what. Hasn’t been relevant

The Ketchups hurt themselves at the 4 nations trying to be thugs and never recovered

gg no re

 

[garce]

Dumb

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Good god, I wish that we had drafted Knies. Everything that we could dream of Slafkovsky becoming in terms of style of play that allows him to elevate his game in the playoffs. Stud.

Edit: Autocorrect does not like Knies.

At Slafkovsky's age, Knies was playing for the University of Minnesota. He wasn't expected to be the #1 stud on a NHL first line.

 

[Quatre Vingt Treize]

They can. They have $27.7m. All their D & goalies are already signed for next year.

However, they only have 7 forwards signed.

Marner is at a $10.9m cap hit. He goes to $12m. They have $15.7m. Knies gets 7.7m. That leaves $8m. They sign 2 more forwards for an average of $2m leaving $6m.

Tavares has to sign for $5.25m leaving $750k in cap room.

They can go higher on Knies, but Marner & Knies are the priority not Tavares. He either signs a hometown discount or they don't sign him. Tavares is 35 soon. He's 7 years older than Marner and 12 years older than Knies. You don't prioritize an aging player like that.

A big offer sheet to Knies would cripple Toronto

 

[Redux91]

Yeah it’s the Leafs year. We won’t hear the end of it.

Lol dude.. they ain't beatin Dallas.

 

[CzarDemidov]

A big offer sheet to Knies would cripple Toronto

Marner leaving or JT leaving means they’re fine to keep him.

 

[sampollock]

Fla is sucking

 

[TeacherMan]

Wyatt Johnston is younger & put up better statistics. He signed for $8.4m. There's no way Knies is getting $9m.

Slafkovsky is at $7.6m. Knies at $7.7m gives him a slight upgrade on that. Knies had 7 more points than Slaf while playing mostly with Marner, who is a 100 pt scorer. Knies had more goals. Slafkovsky more assists.

Slafkovsky is 2 years younger and was more productive than Knies the year prior (50 pts to 35 pts for Knies for 2023-2024).

Imo, he lands between $7.6m and $8.5m max. The Leafs can still manage $8.5m especially if it's on an 8 year contract.

Then maybe we should force them into paying 9.1m by offer-sheeting him?

 

[Ozmodiar]

Seth Jones sucks.

Bump.

 

[Erika]

Wyatt Johnston is younger & put up better statistics. He signed for $8.4m. There's no way Knies is getting $9m.

Slafkovsky is at $7.6m. Knies at $7.7m gives him a slight upgrade on that. Knies had 7 more points than Slaf while playing mostly with Marner, who is a 100 pt scorer. Knies had more goals. Slafkovsky more assists.

Slafkovsky is 2 years younger and was more productive than Knies the year prior (50 pts to 35 pts for Knies for 2023-2024).

Imo, he lands between $7.6m and $8.5m max. The Leafs can still manage $8.5m especially if it's on an 8 year contract.

100% well said.
Knies is kind of overrated all of a sudden.
People forget that he plays with Matthews and Marner, which is superior by a fair margin to Suzuki and Caufield (no disrespects to those two habs players).

Like I said, Slafkovsky will be as good if not better than Knies once he reaches 24-25 years old.

There's no way Knies gets 9 millions, nobody will pay 9 millions/year for a complementary player.
If Knies get 9 millions, Leafs or whoever team that will sign him will be in trouble.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

A big offer sheet to Knies would cripple Toronto

I can't see anyone offering Knies that big of a contract. Besides, Knies has already said he isn't interested in offer sheets. He wants to stay in Toronto. He's a key player for Toronto. There's no reason for them not to get it done.

Holloway was a middle 6 player for Oilers. Broberg was in & out of the line-up. Oilers were more willing to let them go.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Then maybe we should force them into paying 9.1m by offer-sheeting him?

$9.1m is two 1sts, a 2nd & a 3rd. I don't think so.

 

[OldCraig71]

This year's Leafs don't look tentative at all.

 

[Whitesnake]

Really? Who?

As a poster that was bullish on JKO long after it was more popular to bash him, I don't think I ever saw or read anyone arguing what you suggest...

I was wrong about JKO figuring it out by now, and it looks unlikely he'll put it all together (though, not impossible)... But Zadina is literally out of the NHL with a career best year of 24pts, despite playing on two bottom feeder teams desperate for scoring.

Habs had a brutal development program in place when JKO was drafted. Was the RedWings development program as bad? I'm not so sure, but either way, Zadina, like JKO, certainly didn't suffer from not getting a shot.

Wait I'm not sure I get your point. No matter how Zadina left the league, Kids was pencilled to be a top pick from start to finish. Had stats in junior that corresponds to a top end pick. Had qualities that also saw him as a top end pick. Sure, he had icetime when he started. He surely had more icetime than JK....but what does it have to do with anything?

What is getting a shot for you? What if he wasn't ready to get a shot? What if he wasn't paired with the right guys? What if he wasn't send the right message? What is a development issue for you? Only icetime?

How do you evaluate bad drafting from bad development? Habs had a bad development team because...Galchy, McCarron, Scherbak, Juulsen....but if so, how about Veleno and Berggren from the same Zadina draft. 3 picks in the top 33. Rasmussen, Lindstrom year before, Or Cholowski, Svechnkov, Sheahan Mantha...etc. As late the picks were for Wings and Habs, they couldn't develop anything too.

So what in the usage make Zadina a not-developmen issue vs JK. And frankly...you prove my point when I saw that people who says JK was development, Zadina wasn't...you seem to agree with that unless I'm mistaken.

I know something...one guy was in the top 5 for the whole year. While another one jumped from 20 to 5 mostly because of 2 things...U-18 and the WELL KNOWN FACT that the Habs wanted a C.

 

[sheed36]

This Figs/Florida series really doesn't have much of a playoff feel to it to me.

Guys like Tkachuk, Reinhart, and Verhaeghe plus that Florida defense have to show up in this series really soon here or this will be over in 4. Bennett was a menace in game 1 but pretty much MIA and a non factor since then.

 

[Andrei79]

This Figs/Florida series really doesn't have much of a playoff feel to it to me.

Guys like Tkachuk, Reinhart, and Verhaeghe plus that Florida defense have to show up in this series really soon here or this will be over in 4. Bennett was a menace in game 1 but pretty much MIA and a non factor since then.

Florida has played a lot of physical hockey the last 3 years. They might be running out of steam. Toronto also plays way, way tighter defensively than they used to. Remember that game against us at the end of the season ? That had nothing to do with the Keefe Leafs.