Please Grade Dubas on today's Free Agent Pickups.

[Aashir]

D
Mrazek is an upgrade of Andersen, but that doesn’t say much. However Andersen is also much better in the playoffs

Kampf is overpaid

Bunting is a meh signing

pretty much is forcing Liljegren out of a chance to even play, signs and brings multiple dman instead of seeing what we actually have

Need a top 6 LW

there is no way dubas can do better than last year, he made almost perfect moves, with hindsight maybe perry, and dealing dermott and Johnson for the reported weegar(not sure if this is true, have a memory of it being a thread). If that team failed as hard as it did, I can’t see this one being any better. If the stars don’t show up, we lose. We don’t have the depth to bring anyone in to help them because the stars took their money.

Imagine kerfoot - Kampf - Mikheyev as a line….
We might legitimately see 3 sub 20 point players on our 3rd, not 4th, but 3rd line. Our 4th line might outproduce them. Kerfoot will become useless because kampf and mikheyev are the definition of offensive killers.

I can see Marner scoring more PP goals than this whole line if it happens

 

[Brown Dog]

Kind of thought we might see some creativity from the front office today, but what we got was highly uninspired.

Bunting sounds like a good, low-risk add, but I am puzzled by the Mrazek signing. Would rather have run with Campbell as a clear 1A penciled in for ~55 starts and sign a Halak/Rittich type to handle the balance. What if Campbell runs away with the top job? Next year we'll have to figure out a way to fit him into the cap around our $3.8 million backup? Yuck.

 

[The CyNick]

Run it back!

 

[Torontonian]

Went with D, not a fan of the off season so far anyways. Thought the front office would have found creative ways to bolster our forward group but did not.

1) Don't mind the Mrazek contract, 3.8 is a little pricey but seeing all the other contracts the other goalies got and for what the Leafs needed I am fine with it.
2) Liked the Bunting signing could finally be one of the buy low with a good reward coming back
3) Not sure where they are penciling Kampf in, if its 4th line 1.5m is too expensive and if its the 3rd line C he's not good enough to play 3c.
4) Gabriel doesn't move the needle for us, not sure in the point of signing him.

As it stands so far, this is the lineup:

Robertson - Matthews - Nylander
Bunting - Tavares - Nylander
Engvall - Kerfoot - Mikavey
Spezza - Kamph - Simmonds
Gabriel

Not quite sure what they want from the bottom six of the lineup, doesn't look like they will be able to score much if that's what it turns out to be. Not sure what they do if Robertson isn't ready for the NHL this season, move Kerfoot to the wing, Put Engvall as 3c, and then have Gabriel on the 4th line? Doesn't seem like a good plan to me.

 

[Lauro]

C. We didn't need much. 1B goalie, Bunting, Kampf seem ok. The rest has to come from our big 4 and internal improvement.
Seems like we need to wait for our prospects to step in for more improvement. Liljegren, Sandin, Robertson. Then Amirov, the Finns, Abruzzese, Abramov.
Free Agency won't be that important for us for a few years.

 

[ponder]

I gave him a D, but considered an F. We need better depth and … it got significantly worse. Lost Hyman, lost Bogo, probably lost Galchenyuk, replaced Freddy with Mrazek (lateral move), gained very little of value.

Forwards 5-12 are:

• Kerfoot
• Spezza
• Mikheyev
• Simmonds
• Robertson
• Bunting
• Kampf
• Engvall

Unbelievably bad forward depth. That list should contain:

• 2 legit 2nd liners
• 3 legit 3rd liners
• 3 legit 4th liners

Instead it contains:

• 1 legit 3rd liner (Kerfoot)
• 2 legit 4th liners (Spezza and Mikheyev)
• 5 borderline 4th liners/AHLers

If this is the plan, it’s gonna be another early playoff exit. Yeah, our top 4 forwards are elite, but when the bottom 8 are trash, it doesn’t work. Is there a team with a worse bottom 8 forwards?

We need to trade one of Marner or Tavares, full stop. We cannot win when we’re this top heavy. But I’ve seen no indication that Dubas will do it - he’s the one that gave out these terrible contracts in the first place, and seems unwilling to fix his mistakes.

 

[Dreakmur]

C

He didn't have cap space to accomplish much, and he didn't. Lookin at the roster, we're worse than last year, but that's due to UFAs pricing themselves out.

 

[Antropovsky]

Ho Sang is most intriguing for obvious reasons.... in highlights he looks like a Marner/Nylander hybrid in terms of skill...BUT it's the person that matters most and that's what is questionable with him. What might work in our favor is Lou and Trotz have very short ropes and maybe the wrong approach. Then again... hard to argue with their success vs ours.

 

[Stonehands1990]

D
Mrazek is an upgrade of Andersen, but that doesn’t say much. However Andersen is also much better in the playoffs

Kampf is overpaid

Bunting is a meh signing

pretty much is forcing Liljegren out of a chance to even play, signs and brings multiple dman instead of seeing what we actually have

Need a top 6 LW

there is no way dubas can do better than last year, he made almost perfect moves, with hindsight maybe perry, and dealing dermott and Johnson for the reported weegar(not sure if this is true, have a memory of it being a thread). If that team failed as hard as it did, I can’t see this one being any better. If the stars don’t show up, we lose. We don’t have the depth to bring anyone in to help them because the stars took their money.

Imagine kerfoot - Kampf - Mikheyev as a line….
We might legitimately see 3 sub 20 point players on our 3rd, not 4th, but 3rd line. Our 4th line might outproduce them. Kerfoot will become useless because kampf and mikheyev are the definition of offensive killers.

I can see Marner scoring more PP goals than this whole line if it happens

Kerfoot is gonna be the top 6 LW
Engvall-Kampf-Mikeyhev

And yes that’s a brutal 3rd line. Literally zero offence

 

[binop7]

What the hell were people expecting today? The exercise is grade him on his work today. I don’t see how this doesn’t fall into a c-b range. No home run, no strikeout either.

Mrazek deal is horrawful. He's not a good goalie. And he's certainly not going to live up to that contract. I'm willing to eat my words on this, but it feels desperate.

 

[Maplebeasts]

Kerfoot is gonna be the top 6 LW
Engvall-Kampf-Mikeyhev

And yes that’s a brutal 3rd line. Literally zero offence

I mean by the time the game mean anything, there is a very good chance Robertson is on the third line, and maybe even the second. I still think this team makes a major trade for a legit top 6 left wing before the season. I see something like this being the forward line-up assuming no more moves:

Bunting-Matthews-Marner
Kerfoot-JT-Nylander
Robertson--Kampf-Ho-Sang
Mikheyev-Spezza-Anderson
Engvall

 

[Stonehands1990]

I mean by the time the game mean anything, there is a very good chance Robertson is on the third line, and maybe even the second. I still think this team makes a major trade for a legit top 6 left wing before the season.

I’d like to see Robertson in the lineup from camp but if that line is seeing heavy usage need to shelter the kid.

 

[binop7]

I’d like to see Robertson in the lineup from camp but if that line is seeing heavy usage need to shelter the kid.

It's very likely he'll get a shot in the top 6 don't see who else we can sign for 3.5M

 

[Maplebeasts]

I’d like to see Robertson in the lineup from camp but if that line is seeing heavy usage need to shelter the kid.

Me too. I think he'll make it by virtue of being one of the only forwards with meaningful offensive upside out of the top 6. With any luck, he'll turn out to be a legitimate top 6 option by the time the regular season ends.

 

[stickty111]

Mrazek deal is horrawful. He's not a good goalie. And he's certainly not going to live up to that contract. I'm willing to eat my words on this, but it feels desperate.

The stats and the performance disagree

 

[binop7]

The stats and the performance disagree

Unless you dig into Expected Goals Saved, etc. His stats are bad and the term of the contract is bad. Internal competition is good, but you can't pay a backup 4M for 3 years.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I gave him a D, but considered an F. We need better depth and … it got significantly worse. Lost Hyman, lost Bogo, probably lost Galchenyuk, replaced Freddy with Mrazek (lateral move), gained very little of value.

Forwards 5-12 are:

• Kerfoot
• Spezza
• Mikheyev
• Simmonds
• Robertson
• Bunting
• Kampf
• Engvall

Unbelievably bad forward depth. That list should contain:

• 2 legit 2nd liners
• 3 legit 3rd liners
• 3 legit 4th liners

Instead it contains:

• 1 legit 3rd liner (Kerfoot)
• 2 legit 4th liners (Spezza and Mikheyev)
• 5 borderline 4th liners/AHLers

If this is the plan, it’s gonna be another early playoff exit. Yeah, our top 4 forwards are elite, but when the bottom 8 are trash, it doesn’t work. Is there a team with a worse bottom 8 forwards?

We need to trade one of Marner or Tavares, full stop. We cannot win when we’re this top heavy. But I’ve seen no indication that Dubas will do it - he’s the one that gave out these terrible contracts in the first place, and seems unwilling to fix his mistakes.

Bunting - Matthews - Nylander
3.5 mill UFA - Tavares - Marner
Kerfoot - Kampf - Anderson
Mikheyev - Semyonov - Spezza

Realistically, the Leafs are counting on 4 guys to outplay their projections.

1LW -> Bunting. Need him to be productive over a long stretch, but he is going to get every opportunity to do so and will be playing with high end players. He plays an offensive style of game which should allow him to succeed similarly to Hyman, and he has succeeded (albeit in only a 21 game sample) in this role back in ARI... With far worse players than Matthews and Nylander.

3C -> Kampf. He played 3C minutes this past year and has success as a defensive specialist. I guess the Leafs are counting on his offensive game translating a little bit more so he can become a perfect 3C on a bargain. He is 25 right now and he had a terrible shooting percentage, so there could be some upside there. We are also not really asking him to make a huge leap from what he was last year.

3RW -> Anderson (or whoever else wins that job). High end teams need to count on young guys on cheap/ELC deals to step up and fill roles. We should be able to consistently count on internal options to fill these holes if we want success. Anderson is at the point where he should be ready to make that kind of leap to the NHL and be the 25-30 point guy that Coleman and Hyman were in their first years in the NHL as 3rd line wingers. He is one of our top prospects and this is the kind of progression he should be making as a 23 year old complimentary winger.

4C -> Semyonov. He was a high end shutdown center in the KHL. He needs to bring that into a 4C role. It's really not asking for that much, and it is should not be that hard for someone to step up and be a legit 4C after they were a 1C in the KHL. Worst case, you are turning to Brooks and Amadio, who are also solid options to fill that hole.

So by my count, we are asking for two somewhat major leaps: Bunting to be a 1LW over a full season and Anderson to be a 3RW. There are obviously risks in doing so, but a lot of the concerns that seem to get thrown around is that there are no pricey proven brand name guys filling our roster and that we have to turn to unproven options to win. Unproven does not mean garbage or unqualified though. The Leafs have a bunch of guys who are qualified to fill these roles, and we now just need to have one of them step up and perform... Which is no different than every other successful team in this league.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Unless you dig into Expected Goals Saved, etc. His stats are bad and the term of the contract is bad. Internal competition is good, but you can't pay a backup 4M for 3 years.

Past 3 years for goalies with a minimum of 1500 ES minutes (71 qualified goalies):
92 game sample size for Mrazek.
SVV%: .925 (T-19th with 4 others)
HDSV%: .847 (T-9th with 3 others)
GAA: 2.08 (8th)
xGAA: 2.22 (T-29th lowest with 1 other)
GSAA/60: 0.16 (27th)
HDGSAA/60: 0.18 (T-9th with 3 others)

Past 3 years for goalies with a minimum of 125 PK minutes (75 qualified goalies):
SVV%: .855 (52nd)
HDSV%: .757 (48th)
GAA: 6.35 (23rd)
xGAA: 6.14 (23rd lowest with 1 other)
GSAA/60: -0.45 (52nd)
HDGSAA/60: -0.37 (50th)

He is good at ES, struggles on the PK... Especially 3 years ago. The past two years he hasn't been too bad on the PK.

Is it a great deal? Meh. It is still better than the vast majority handed out today and we have a guy who is more than a backup. He is a guy with a proven track record of 40-55 games each of the past 6 years except for last year and will realistically play 35-40 for us this year I imagine. This is the price for those kinds of goalies.

Boston just paid 5 mill to a guy who has never played more than 37 games in a season (where he put up a .905 save percentage), has had injury issues, and is now going to be tasked to replace one of the better goalies in the league in Tuukka Rask, who has consistently played close to double that for much of his career if you include playoffs.

 

[binop7]

Past 3 years for goalies with a minimum of 1500 ES minutes (71 qualified goalies):
92 game sample size for Mrazek.
SVV%: .925 (T-19th with 4 others)
HDSV%: .847 (T-9th with 3 others)
GAA: 2.08 (8th)
xGAA: 2.22 (T-29th lowest with 1 other)
GSAA/60: 0.16 (27th)
HDGSAA/60: 0.18 (T-9th with 3 others)

Past 3 years for goalies with a minimum of 125 PK minutes (75 qualified goalies):
SVV%: .855 (52nd)
HDSV%: .757 (48th)
GAA: 6.35 (23rd)
xGAA: 6.14 (23rd lowest with 1 other)
GSAA/60: -0.45 (52nd)
HDGSAA/60: -0.37 (50th)

He is good at ES, struggles on the PK... Especially 3 years ago. The past two years he hasn't been too bad on the PK.

Is it a great deal? Meh. It is still better than the vast majority handed out today and we have a guy who is more than a backup. He is a guy with a proven track record of 40-55 games each of the past 6 years except for last year and will realistically play 35-40 for us this year I imagine. This is the price for those kinds of goalies.

Boston just paid 5 mill to a guy who has never played more than 37 games in a season (where he put up a .905 save percentage), has had injury issues, and is now going to be tasked to replace one of the better goalies in the league in Tuukka Rask, who has consistently played close to double that for much of his career if you include playoffs.

We'll see, but I don't like the money or term at all.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

We'll see, but I don't like the money or term at all.

TBH I don't either, but I don't think it is egregious. He was one of the best options on the market besides the guys who got 5+ mill on longer term deals and I don't think there really is a deal out there that is much better bang-for-buck. Maybe Raanta, but injuries are a major concern with him.

Then look at what Colorado had to pay for Kuemper. Kuemper is a better goalie, but not significantly better and certainly not worth paying Timmons + a 1st short of having literally no other option.

 

[Beaszt519]

Bunting - Love it.

Kampf - I am intrigued but compared to similar players it seems like he could of been had pretty easily for half a million less (not a massive deal)

Mrazek - I hate it, wouldn't of really cared if it was a 1 year deal.

I love the trade with Minny.

Gave him a C for yesterday.

 

[sittler rules!!!]

Not too many A votes. Where are his fans today?

They are studying the EA Sports ratings on each of the signings

 

[sittler rules!!!]

F

You have to take context when grading these. Today's picks are based on the cap space available and the actions taken previously. One cannot just this as an absolute So he gets an F

well said

 

[sittler rules!!!]

I'd say whoever gave him a C and above. Mrazek nor Soup are saving this version of Dubas' team. Epic fail with the ED, entry draft and today.

Dubey has not got a clue what he is doing, and never has.

 

[sparxx87]

Goaltending got worse.

Defense got worse.

Forward group is still tbd but it looks worse to me, and now they overpaid another 4th liner when they’re already paying fringe player Pierre Engvall twice what he’s worth.

Like virtually every other day, Dubas is a failure. On the bright side, though, one more year of this and he’ll be out of the league for good… so there is a silver lining.