Roster Building/Team Building/Future Trade/Drafting thread.

[Maple Leaf]

I keep looking back the 27m we have in cap space, and the free agent list and oof, I do not have a good feeling. People will want change for the sake of change, but I am never a fan of giving up talent for less talent and depth... see COL as an example on this.

Spending stupid money on medicore players to plug into your lineup is how you kill your team.

They should sign marner without the NMC

 

[Kiwi]

They should sign marner without the NMC

If Marner resigns and that's a big if there's no way in hell he's not going to demand a NMC

Absolutely none

 

[Puckstuff]

Something that hit me yesterday - Robertson scored 15 goals last season in just 67 games while playing only 12 minutes a night. If you scale that up to 18 minutes over a full 82-game season, that’s a 28-goal pace. From a pure goal-scoring standpoint, that alone replaces Marner's goals.

Now imagine putting Robertson with a transition-driving center like Granlund or Duchene, and Nylander on the right wing—suddenly Robertson looks like a 30+ goal guy. And the best part? You free up $15 million to build a killer third line—something like a Luostarinen-Lundell-Marchand type line.

Sign Granlund or Duchene, sign Tavares to a value deal, then bring in Boeser or Marchand. That gives us "6 stars" and put 2 on each line, similar to Florida.

Top 9:

Knies – Matthews – Domi/Cowan - 90 goals
Robertson – Duchene – Nylander - 90 goals
McMann – Tavares – Boeser - 80 goals

 

[jiggy35]

Knies - Matthews - Domi
Benn - Bennett - Nylander
McMann - Tavares - Tanev
Lorentz - Laughton - Jeannot
Holmberg

See if Cowan can steal a job

 

[The Shadow]

Knies - Matthews - Domi
Benn - Bennett - Nylander
McMann - Tavares - Tanev
Lorentz - Laughton - Jeannot
Holmberg

See if Cowan can steal a job

How slow is Benn now?

They should be focused on getting bigger and as fast possible

 

[The Shadow]

Something that hit me yesterday - Robertson scored 15 goals last season in just 67 games while playing only 12 minutes a night. If you scale that up to 18 minutes over a full 82-game season, that’s a 28-goal pace. From a pure goal-scoring standpoint, that alone replaces Marner's goals.

Now imagine putting Robertson with a transition-driving center like Granlund or Duchene, and Nylander on the right wing—suddenly Robertson looks like a 30+ goal guy. And the best part? You free up $15 million to build a killer third line—something like a Luostarinen-Lundell-Marchand type line.

Sign Granlund or Duchene, sign Tavares to a value deal, then bring in Boeser or Marchand. That gives us "6 stars" and put 2 on each line, similar to Florida.

Top 9:

Knies – Matthews – Domi/Cowan - 90 goals
Robertson – Duchene – Nylander - 90 goals
McMann – Tavares – Boeser - 80 goals

We don’t know if Robertson is capable of more minutes

 

[The Shadow]

Who are the main penalty killers next year with Marner and Kampf gone?

I don’t love Matthews and Knies counted on as penalty killers

Finding good PK guys should be part of the plan this off season.

We need to get bigger and as fast as possible. If you’re faster than Florida and just as big or bigger you have a better chance to catch them being aggressive

 

[Puckstuff]

After Tavares re-signs as the 3C, I think our next priority should be adding a playmaking center for the 2C spot—either Granlund or Matt Duchene would be my top target. The Leafs need a center who can be a good playmaker and play with a fast pace. I hear Nelson as a center option, but he’s more of the same type of shoot-first center we already have in Matthews and Tavares. Granlund or Duchene would provide a better fit in terms of playmaking and style.


Assuming Marner doesn't re-sign (which I don't agree with) but since that is looking more like reality, I'd target

• One of Granlund or Duchene at 2C
• One of Boeser, Marchand, Rakell, Buchnevich, Coleman, Nelson, Palmieri, Mangiapane, Giroux, Kane, or Kreider for a top-9 winger spot.

Knies – Matthews – Domi
Robertson – Granlund/Duchene – Nylander
McCann – Tavares – Boeser/Marchand/Rakell/Nelson/Buchnevich/Coleman/Palmieri/Kreider
Pacioretty - Laughton - Tanev

 

[ashs]

Something that hit me yesterday - Robertson scored 15 goals last season in just 67 games while playing only 12 minutes a night. If you scale that up to 18 minutes over a full 82-game season, that’s a 28-goal pace. From a pure goal-scoring standpoint, that alone replaces Marner's goals.

Now imagine putting Robertson with a transition-driving center like Granlund or Duchene, and Nylander on the right wing—suddenly Robertson looks like a 30+ goal guy. And the best part? You free up $15 million to build a killer third line—something like a Luostarinen-Lundell-Marchand type line.

Sign Granlund or Duchene, sign Tavares to a value deal, then bring in Boeser or Marchand. That gives us "6 stars" and put 2 on each line, similar to Florida.

Top 9:

Knies – Matthews – Domi/Cowan - 90 goals
Robertson – Duchene – Nylander - 90 goals
McMann – Tavares – Boeser - 80 goals

Robertson has earned a permanent spot, let's see what we have

 

[thewave]

Something that hit me yesterday - Robertson scored 15 goals last season in just 67 games while playing only 12 minutes a night. If you scale that up to 18 minutes over a full 82-game season, that’s a 28-goal pace. From a pure goal-scoring standpoint, that alone replaces Marner's goals.

Now imagine putting Robertson with a transition-driving center like Granlund or Duchene, and Nylander on the right wing—suddenly Robertson looks like a 30+ goal guy. And the best part? You free up $15 million to build a killer third line—something like a Luostarinen-Lundell-Marchand type line.

Sign Granlund or Duchene, sign Tavares to a value deal, then bring in Boeser or Marchand. That gives us "6 stars" and put 2 on each line, similar to Florida.

Top 9:

Knies – Matthews – Domi/Cowan - 90 goals
Robertson – Duchene – Nylander - 90 goals
McMann – Tavares – Boeser - 80 goals

He needs a real shot. Marner leaving will be that.

 

[Malachi Crunch]

I wouldn't mind rolling the dice on a young guy, Krebs or Glass types to add to Cowan and try to put some pressure on the guys that are already here

We need more guys coming into there prime rather than a team aging out of those years

One young Center who may be up for grabs (mentioned a few times on this thread) is Rossi from the Wild. Lots of rumours that they're shopping him.

Would people give up Cowan for Rossi?

My first reaction is "no". I won't lie - it's because of Rossi being 5'9. However, when you really look into Rossi's profile in more detail you find a very well balanced 2C with both offensive and defensive skills. He just got 60 points at age 23. He battles very hard for pucks and his face-off win percentage keeps improving (around 47%). I also read that he's very committed to getting better. He was pissed off that people kept underestimating him because of his size so he spent 2 summers improving his strength and skills and even missed his sister's wedding in Europe to keep training (lol). His projected cap hit for the next few years is 5-6million. Very fair.

I dunno, I think this guy may turn into something really good. Let's not forget that guys like Kane and Crosby are not much taller than him. It sounds like he has the drive to be a great playoff performer in the future. Can't see us being a candidate for him though without giving up Cowan.

 

[Americanadian]

One young Center who may be up for grabs (mentioned a few times on this thread) is Rossi from the Wild. Lots of rumours that they're shopping him.

Would people give up Cowan for Rossi?

My first reaction is "no". I won't lie - it's because of Rossi being 5'9. However, when you really look into Rossi's profile in more detail you find a very well balanced 2C with both offensive and defensive skills. He just got 60 points at age 23. He battles very hard for pucks and his face-off win percentage keeps improving (around 47%). I also read that he's very committed to getting better. He was pissed off that people kept underestimating him because of his size so he spent 2 summers improving his strength and skills and even missed his sister's wedding in Europe to keep training (lol). His projected cap hit for the next few years is 5-6million. Very fair.

I dunno, I think this guy may turn into something really good. Let's not forget that guys like Kane and Crosby are not much taller than him. It sounds like he has the drive to be a great playoff performer in the future. Can't see us being a candidate for him though without giving up Cowan.

Minnesota has needed a top 6 C for a long time and they seem eager to move on from Rossi. That is a red flag.

 

[SprDaVE]

Something that hit me yesterday - Robertson scored 15 goals last season in just 67 games while playing only 12 minutes a night. If you scale that up to 18 minutes over a full 82-game season, that’s a 28-goal pace. From a pure goal-scoring standpoint, that alone replaces Marner's goals.

Now imagine putting Robertson with a transition-driving center like Granlund or Duchene, and Nylander on the right wing—suddenly Robertson looks like a 30+ goal guy. And the best part? You free up $15 million to build a killer third line—something like a Luostarinen-Lundell-Marchand type line.

Sign Granlund or Duchene, sign Tavares to a value deal, then bring in Boeser or Marchand. That gives us "6 stars" and put 2 on each line, similar to Florida.

Top 9:

Knies – Matthews – Domi/Cowan - 90 goals
Robertson – Duchene – Nylander - 90 goals
McMann – Tavares – Boeser - 80 goals

He should have been given more leash and a bigger role but it's 2 coaches in a row that refuse. They load up, he takes a back seat. He was told this season to hold tight, play hard and he was still given the back seat. Never tried in a bigger role either for some reason. There was no real reason to insist on shoehorning Holmberg game after game, especially on your top 2 lines. He's gone. And to be honest, the Leafs should give him a new team that he can grow into instead of wasting an asset like that. Not sure what the value is here but they completely ruined whatever there was.

 

[Malachi Crunch]

Minnesota has needed a top 6 C for a long time and they seem eager to move on from Rossi. That is a red flag.

True. Although, maybe it has something to do with them acquiring Brock Nelson? I keep hearing that he's going to the Wild.

For what it's worth, from poking around reddit, the fans don't seem to like that he may be on the move.

 

[Americanadian]

True. Although, maybe it has something to do with them acquiring Brock Nelson? I keep hearing that he's going to the Wild.

For what it's worth, from poking around reddit, the fans don't seem to like that he may be on the move.

He's been rumored to be on the move since last summer. Even if they acquire Nelson, they'll still probably want Hartman on the wing and run JEE-Nelson-X-Gaudreau.

 

[WillNy29]

Minnesota has needed a top 6 C for a long time and they seem eager to move on from Rossi. That is a red flag.

if he could be had for cheap, you give it a shot. teams like florida keep filling out their roster with these kinds of players and everyone else is like wtf?

though my concern is how much did Covid actually destroy his body.

 

[SprDaVE]

 

[Hockeyfan200]

One young Center who may be up for grabs (mentioned a few times on this thread) is Rossi from the Wild. Lots of rumours that they're shopping him.

Would people give up Cowan for Rossi?

My first reaction is "no". I won't lie - it's because of Rossi being 5'9. However, when you really look into Rossi's profile in more detail you find a very well balanced 2C with both offensive and defensive skills. He just got 60 points at age 23. He battles very hard for pucks and his face-off win percentage keeps improving (around 47%). I also read that he's very committed to getting better. He was pissed off that people kept underestimating him because of his size so he spent 2 summers improving his strength and skills and even missed his sister's wedding in Europe to keep training (lol). His projected cap hit for the next few years is 5-6million. Very fair.

I dunno, I think this guy may turn into something really good. Let's not forget that guys like Kane and Crosby are not much taller than him. It sounds like he has the drive to be a great playoff performer in the future. Can't see us being a candidate for him though without giving up Cowan.

Rossi wants 8 by 8. wild offered him 5 by 5 and he said no. He's not signing for less than 7.5. Also wild want a win now piece for Rossi

 

[SprDaVE]

My Leafs 2025 Free Agent theory:

This year’s free agent class is full of 'old but still good' players — Tavares, Duchene, Nelson, Marchand, Kane, Giroux, Benn — and the Leafs seem well-positioned to capitalize. They've shown a willingness to sign aging veterans to longer-term deals with manageable cap hits (as seen with Tanev and OEL), likely banking on the idea that these players will eventually land on LTIR (long-term injured reserve) once they can no longer contribute. With MLSE having no issue paying players not to play, this could be where Toronto uncovers real value in the market."

Leafs need to target one or two "top" players in free agency, as they should, but they need to be dumping some deadweight players and get busy on the trade market. There are a few teams looking to keep rebuilding or retooling. They can't just use free agency as their only tool to change their team.

This team already has enough veterans to sustain a lifetime. I really don't understand the fascination on pursuing Kane or Duchene or Marchard unless they are relatively cheap.

 

[Hockeyfan200]

if he could be had for cheap, you give it a shot. teams like florida keep filling out their roster with these kinds of players and everyone else is like wtf?

though my concern is how much did Covid actually destroy his body.

wild are looking for a win now piece like a top 4 winger, or younger Bigger C. Also Rossi is looking for 8 by 8 that you will have to pay him. He rejected 5 by 5 deal. On short term deal, he wants 6,5 and long term he wants 8 by 8 deals. Won't sign for less

 

[WillNy29]

wild are looking for a win now piece like a top 4 winger, or younger Bigger C. Also Rossi is looking for 8 by 8 that you will have to pay him. He rejected 5 by 5 deal. On short term deal, he wants 6,5 and long term he wants 8 by 8 deals. Won't sign for less

ill be honest I didnt know about his contract discussions but thats probably a no go for the leafs. he did have a 60 point season and maybe he's on the mend after his health scare.

 

[Hockeyfan200]

ill be honest I didnt know about his contract discussions but thats probably a no go for the leafs. he did have a 60 point season and maybe he's on the mend after his health scare.

he's played two full 82 games season, so he's healthy. But yeah he wants 8 by 8 and a huge reason wild are looking to probably move him. if they can't get a win now piece, according to reports, they are prepared to let him get offersheeet

 

[mydnyte]

Yeah Marchand definitely would want to play on the Toronto Maple Leafs featuring Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. I definitely can see no flaws in that plan.

actually, i can see him ask to be a winger on that exact line
he doesnt compliment the Leafs as a UFA to make it hurt less, why would he care, he was opening a potential door.

 

[LeafSteel]

No need to complicate 2C and look at having to trade and pay Rossi .

Ryan Donato is available as a UFA.

Offer him Domi’s deal and you have a UFA in place, no giving up scarce/non-existent assets, and you have a 2C with some good potential to be a good signing.

 

[OpenNetSniper]

Not sure where to post this and didnt see it anywhere, so apologies if already posted. Berube went on the Nasty Knuckles Podcast, and was a refreshing listen vs his local media interviews. I feel he's definitely the right man behind the bench and can bring out the best out of our stars. I enjoyed his candidness and his
comments about Nylander specifically.

Nylander comments: 46:00 min mark