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

[KMNRB]

If we are trading Rielly, wouldn't it be better to sign Aaron Ekblad, and have this pairing?

McCabe - Tanev
OEL - Ekblad
Benoit - Carlo

I’d love to sign Bennett, but I’m not sure he’d come here. I’ve heard he isn’t interested in playing in a big hockey market, though that’s just an unconfirmed rumor. I also think he’ll sign for closer to $8 million.

Perhaps all those trolling by Maurise and Tkachuk about the pressure if playing in Toronto is to discourage UFAs (esp. their UFAs) to sign with Toronto.

 

[Jacquestrapless]

I'm hoping McLeod goes to arbitration and gets awarded a bigger sum that sabres walk away from. Leafs swoop in to sign the Mississauga center

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

Man, I really wanted Bennett, but any team that gives this guy 10 million a year has an idiot for a GM.

 

[613Leafer]

Man, I really wanted Bennett, but any team that gives this guy 10 million a year has an idiot for a GM.

Especially because if he comes here, he'll get suspended more and become less effective.

On a contender, Bennett should be like your ~5th best forward and ~8-9th best player. A $10M caphit is absurdly out of line with that.

 

[rumman]

Ehlers is a disaster in the playoffs as well.

My bad, delete……..

 

[uncleben]

We can only afford one disappearing Swede on the team…….

I mean, he's Danish-Swiss, so there's that

 

[Americanadian]

A few Fourth line options, discussed... happy to add players for us to look at.

Brazeau - ~ 20 points, Hits 140, well below average speed, BIG, UFA
Jeannott - 14 points, hits 200+, slightly above average speed Good size, physical, will fight, UFA
Sherwood - 40 points in 14:53 ice time, 462 hits!!!!!!! slight above average speed, Average size 6' 195lbs (trade)
Krebs - 28 points in 13:56, 136 hits.... only true C option listed, 6' 186lbs 67% skater, so brings speed to the table (trade... even Robertson might work)
Laughton - below average speed, 31 points, 178 hits. Better Winger than C... didn't gel with anyone here yet.
McBain - average skating speed, 27 points, 291, C.. could be a 3C... Big, physical, can fight... Probably not available... would be a trade.
Brandon Tanev - 22 points, 168 hits, winger, 88th percentile speed... so it would make us faster. 6' 190lbs.

Realistically - what do you think it takes to get Sherwood? I imagine the price would be whatever we think McMann is worth then keep adding.

Looking at speed options on the 4th line - Bastian has always been a target for me for his physicality and his minimal scoring flair he showed 3 seasons ago. His top end speed during the regular season was 21.62 MPH in 59 GP, below 50th percentile. His top end speed during his 5 playoff games was 22.82 MPH, good for 94th percentile.

 

[rumman]

I mean, he's Danish-Swiss, so there's that

I did not know that……..

 

[SprDaVE]

Man, I really wanted Bennett, but any team that gives this guy 10 million a year has an idiot for a GM.

Growing cap and desperate teams... Yep.

LeBrun says Marner will easily get over 13M a year.

 

[SprDaVE]

I'm hoping McLeod goes to arbitration and gets awarded a bigger sum that sabres walk away from. Leafs swoop in to sign the Mississauga center

They traded a top prospect for him and he had a career year. Kevyn Adams is still their GM. Zero chance they walk away from him.

 

[Torontonian]

Growing cap and desperate teams... Yep.

LeBrun says Marner will easily get over 13M a year.

I really don't see how Toronto is going to be a better team next season. Which sucks because sometimes you can suck for a year, get a elite prospect and be back on your way the season after, but we don't own a first.

2025 free agents are going to be at an inflated price due to the rising cap in 2-3 years & Toronto pretty much is going to be replacing or should be replacing 4 or 5 forwards on their roster. Two of them being in a important role in the top 6..

Unless there are trades to be made, and Toronto is going to use one of it's last bullets in Danford, I don't see being a very promising off season.

 

[SprDaVE]

I really don't see how Toronto is going to be a better team next season. Which sucks because sometimes you can suck for a year, get a elite prospect and be back on your way the season after, but we don't own a first.

2025 free agents are going to be at an inflated price due to the rising cap in 2-3 years & Toronto pretty much is going to be replacing or should be replacing 4 or 5 forwards on their roster. Two of them being in a important role in the top 6..

Unless there are trades to be made, and Toronto is going to use one of it's last bullets in Danford, I don't see being a very promising off season.

The 2025 pick is the only one not top 5 or 10 protected, which is this draft. The 2026 and 2027 1st round picks are protected. So if the Leafs suck or dip in the standings, they will be ok. They won't have a Kessel trade debacle.

This is what makes or breaks GMs and teams. It's going to be an interesting off-season. The Leafs need to be smart and aggressive all at the same time. I hope their scouting is good because they will need every bit of it to be able to come out of this off-season as divisional leaders again.

Shanahan and Treliving put themselves in this situation. Tons of picks and prospects gone for zero progress to show for it. A 100 point winger leaving for nothing when years have gone by that could have been addressed it before now. Shanahan is now gone so it's up to Treliving to fix it. Can he do it? We'll find out. He's been part of teams with meddling owners/presidents... he's the guy now, no more excuses.

 

[mydnyte]

I'd like to take a run at some depth C that can be improvements on what we have/had with potential to slide up as high as 2nd line on occasion but solidify 3rd/4th lines

Frederic (Trent) (L) 6'3"
Suter (Pius) (L) 5'11"
Sturm (Niko) (L) 6'3"
Appleton (Mason) (R) 6'2"

Marchand if he's willing to sign a reasonable 2 yr deal

Kuraly (L) & Bjugstad (R) have always been players i have liked in the bottom 6 as well

these guys should all be reasonable to get if Marner walks and we let a few others walk/trade

i.e. Kampf and a 7th for a 6th, Jarn for a 3rd/4th should be simple to move

Appleton & Bjugstad would be prime targets as RH-C which we severely lack
Suter may be a complete Steal though

On D, we need to ask Rielly if he will move, then we can target Ekblad/Proverov or try to acquire an RFA, perhaps trade Marners UFA rights for someone's RFA rights.
if Shanahan goes to the Isles, perhaps a Marner UFA rights (or sign and trade) for Dobson's RFA rights (or sign and trade) since they are likely drafting a franchise D #1 overall
I'd be open to moving them for Pulock/Pelech as well, and bundle Rielly as well if they were willing.

Fabbro (who will likely get a lot of interest and maybe an overpay) should also be a serious contender

 

[SprDaVE]

I'd like to take a run at some depth C that can be improvements on what we have/had with potential to slide up as high as 2nd line on occasion but solidify 3rd/4th lines

Frederic (Trent) (L) 6'3"
Suter (Pius) (L) 5'11"
Sturm (Niko) (L) 6'3"
Appleton (Mason) (R) 6'2"

Marchand if he's willing to sign a reasonable 2 yr deal

Kuraly (L) & Bjugstad (R) have always been players i have liked in the bottom 6 as well

these guys should all be reasonable to get if Marner walks and we let a few others walk/trade

i.e. Kampf and a 7th for a 6th, Jarn for a 3rd/4th should be simple to move

Appleton & Bjugstad would be prime targets as RH-C which we severely lack
Suter may be a complete Steal though

On D, we need to ask Rielly if he will move, then we can target Ekblad/Proverov or try to acquire an RFA, perhaps trade Marners UFA rights for someone's RFA rights.
if Shanahan goes to the Isles, perhaps a Marner UFA rights (or sign and trade) for Dobson's RFA rights (or sign and trade) since they are likely drafting a franchise D #1 overall
I'd be open to moving them for Pulock/Pelech as well, and bundle Rielly as well if they were willing.

Fabbro (who will likely get a lot of interest and maybe an overpay) should also be a serious contender

I am pretty sure Frederik and Appleton are wingers. Suter is an interesting gamble but has a lot of warts in his game. Sturm is not very good but if cheap he could be ok. Bjugstad is big and slow but has shown good spurts of production, he'd be a good sign low.

Kuraly is a good grinder defensive center. Low maintenance and you know you're getting some hard working shifts but low end skill.

If Treliving gets busy, active and aggressive -- he would definitely target Ekblad and/or Fabbro and reshape the D core a bit. If there is mild interest in Rielly and he's willing to move, you need to get that done ASAP.

 

[Americanadian]

I'd like to take a run at some depth C that can be improvements on what we have/had with potential to slide up as high as 2nd line on occasion but solidify 3rd/4th lines

Frederic (Trent) (L) 6'3"
Suter (Pius) (L) 5'11"
Sturm (Niko) (L) 6'3"
Appleton (Mason) (R) 6'2"

these guys should all be reasonable to get if Marner walks and we let a few others walk/trade

Buyer beware on Frederic. Someone will pay him as a 20 goal/40 point guy. The Dakota Joshua contract is likely the floor for him.

Suter is just Jarnkrok but 5 years younger. His projected contract is 5Mx4. Do you take that gamble that he can be a 4M player when his previous career high was 15G/36P and he's not a full time C and he's not physical?

Nico Sturm could be a fine 4C but is he going to command 2M again? Is he ever going to justify 2M? He's been a healthy scratch for half of Florida's playoff games.

Appleton could be a good 3/4RW - it depends how much he gets paid. The current AFP projection out there is 3x3.25M which plenty of teams can afford. Can the Leafs afford to spend that on a 3/4RW who will provide 10-14 goals and below replacement level defense?

 

[Torontonian]

The 2025 pick is the only one not top 5 or 10 protected, which is this draft. The 2026 and 2027 1st round picks are protected. So if the Leafs suck or dip in the standings, they will be ok. They won't have a Kessel trade debacle.

This is what makes or breaks GMs and teams. It's going to be an interesting off-season. The Leafs need to be smart and aggressive all at the same time. I hope their scouting is good because they will need every bit of it to be able to come out of this off-season as divisional leaders again.

Shanahan and Treliving put themselves in this situation. Tons of picks and prospects gone for zero progress to show for it. A 100 point winger leaving for nothing when years have gone by that could have been addressed it before now. Shanahan is now gone so it's up to Treliving to fix it. Can he do it? We'll find out. He's been part of teams with meddling owners/presidents... he's the guy now, no more excuses.

It will be for sure, but looking at the UFA market, there will be 31 different teams all bidding on the few crop of players that can make an impact in your lineup. Which like I said, the Leafs need a 2C & 2LW.. Toronto has the upfront signing bonuses as their one trump card over a majority of teams. Treliving hasn't been very creative when it come's to the trade market.

I think there's still ways to get value for Marner, which is the sign and trade route -- obviously you're not going to get the value you would have gotten 2 years ago, but looking back at Calgary and Tkachuk trade, Treliving was able to get Weeger + Huberdeau for a sign and trade Tkachuck. I know Tkachuck was a RFA at the time, but I think it's a little different with Marner, not allowing any team to even negotiate with him come free agency. Might not be a risk a team would want to take.

 

[SprDaVE]

It will be for sure, but looking at the UFA market, there will be 31 different teams all bidding on the few crop of players that can make an impact in your lineup. Which like I said, the Leafs need a 2C & 2LW.. Toronto has the upfront signing bonuses as their one trump card over a majority of teams. Treliving hasn't been very creative when it come's to the trade market.

I think there's still ways to get value for Marner, which is the sign and trade route -- obviously you're not going to get the value you would have gotten 2 years ago, but looking back at Calgary and Tkachuk trade, Treliving was able to get Weeger + Huberdeau for a sign and trade Tkachuck. I know Tkachuck was a RFA at the time, but I think it's a little different with Marner, not allowing any team to even negotiate with him come free agency. Might not be a risk a team would want to take.

Those teams are in the same boat as the Leafs though. Not everyone wants to overpay for average players. Every year there's always a few very questionable contracts regardless of the cap. Toronto never has had issues finding players in free agency, and Treliving has done mostly well here. The one thing they gotta stop is signing broken players... just stop with the Hakanpaas, Reaves, Klingbergs... just stop.

We're at the mercy of Ferris for that. He's cutthroat about marching his clients to free agency or holding out for every dime. I don't think they will accept a sign and trade unless it's the perfect contract and scenario.

 

[mydnyte]

I am pretty sure Frederik and Appleton are wingers. Suter is an interesting gamble but has a lot of warts in his game. Sturm is not very good but if cheap he could be ok. Bjugstad is big and slow but has shown good spurts of production, he'd be a good sign low.

Kuraly is a good grinder defensive center. Low maintenance and you know you're getting some hard working shifts but low end skill.

If Treliving gets busy, active and aggressive -- he would definitely target Ekblad and/or Fabbro and reshape the D core a bit. If there is mild interest in Rielly and he's willing to move, you need to get that done ASAP.

I guess they are wingers or Centers the same way Laughton is ...Laughton was much better at C than I was expecting, as he was solid on faceoffs, after I read he was below average on them.

Most NHLers started as C's then were moved over to wings and are typically still listed as C's
Its nice to have the flexibility they they can slide over and take draws if/when needed.
Kuraly would be a 4th liner only, but, tough to play against and a good cycle player
Bjugstad is big and he is slow, but, he's a solid #3C that would be hard to play against, but, would need speed to compliment/make up for his lack of.
McMann - Bjugstad - Domi for example ...though after these playoffs, I'd be more than willing to move McMann too, he showed us nothing

 

[Torontonian]

Buyer beware on Frederic. Someone will pay him as a 20 goal/40 point guy. The Dakota Joshua contract is likely the floor for him.

Suter is just Jarnkrok but 5 years younger. His projected contract is 5Mx4. Do you take that gamble that he can be a 4M player when his previous career high was 15G/36P and he's not a full time C and he's not physical?

Nico Sturm could be a fine 4C but is he going to command 2M again? Is he ever going to justify 2M? He's been a healthy scratch for half of Florida's playoff games.

Appleton could be a good 3/4RW - it depends how much he gets paid. The current AFP projection out there is 3x3.25M which plenty of teams can afford. Can the Leafs afford to spend that on a 3/4RW who will provide 10-14 goals and below replacement level defense?

Toronto's in this predicament right now due to overpaying 4th line players too much money. 7.5m in deadcap between Hakkanpaa, Kampf, Jankrok, Reaves.

Toronto should be saving money on the 4th line and only paying their forward in the 800k range. Pontus Holmberg provides the same thing Kampf does at a way lesser cost, maybe a tad worse in his own end & on faceoffs -- But is that worth 2.5m to provide no offence? I think no.

Same with Jarnkrok, no offence, no ability to forecheck and ware defenders down, you can find someone that does that for less then his 2.5m as well.. You're telling me someone like Steeves couldn't provide the same role as him? Probably would have been better due to the fact he's playing for a NHL contract.

 

[Americanadian]

Toronto's in this predicament right now due to overpaying 4th line players too much money. 7.5m in deadcap between Hakkanpaa, Kampf, Jankrok, Reaves.

Toronto should be saving money on the 4th line and only paying their forward in the 800k range. Pontus Holmberg provides the same thing Kampf does at a way lesser cost, maybe a tad worse in his own end & on faceoffs -- But is that worth 2.5m to provide no offence? I think no.

Same with Jarnkrok, no offence, no ability to forecheck and ware defenders down, you can find someone that does that for less then his 2.5m as well.. You're telling me someone like Steeves couldn't provide the same role as him? Probably would have been better due to the fact he's playing for a NHL contract.

I agree but I also wouldn't be rushing to promote Steeves just to play 4RW. He's slow and poor defensively which is not necessarily a recipe for success on the 4th line.


They should just keep Lorentz at 1-1.3M. He was a perfectly fine 4LW who won his 5v5 minutes during the regular season.

Cole Smith would be my #1 target for a 4RW role. He's big, relatively fast, cheap, strong defensive results, physical and he's good for a few fights every year. Nashville is a bottom 5 team and should have no reason to hold onto a pending UFA 4W. I'd target him as part of a bigger deal for Marchessault.

Lorentz-Laughton-Smith for 3.5M-3.8M is all they need.

 

[WTFMAN99]

I think we might see a bit of regression in the regular season but I can see a better post-season result.

 

[Malachi Crunch]

When it comes to C's, I'm watching what the Wild do with B. Nelson. On July 1st, if they go after Nelson, which is what has been rumoured, I think Tre should go full in on snagging one of the leftover C's.

It's not likely going to be Eriksson Ek or Trenin. It would most likely be Rossi or Gaudreau. In my opinion, Rossi is a very good 2C and Gaudreau is a very good 3C. I'd want Tre to be all over that.

 

[The Shadow]

I think we might see a bit of regression in the regular season but I can see a better post-season result.

It all depends on playoff matchups. Florida looks locked in to be good for a long time.

Who else can cause issues for them?

 

[leafsfan2point0]

Buyer beware on Frederic. Someone will pay him as a 20 goal/40 point guy. The Dakota Joshua contract is likely the floor for him.

Suter is just Jarnkrok but 5 years younger. His projected contract is 5Mx4. Do you take that gamble that he can be a 4M player when his previous career high was 15G/36P and he's not a full time C and he's not physical?

Nico Sturm could be a fine 4C but is he going to command 2M again? Is he ever going to justify 2M? He's been a healthy scratch for half of Florida's playoff games.

Appleton could be a good 3/4RW - it depends how much he gets paid. The current AFP projection out there is 3x3.25M which plenty of teams can afford. Can the Leafs afford to spend that on a 3/4RW who will provide 10-14 goals and below replacement level defense?

What’s Jeanott and B. Tanev supposed to get? I definitely can see us being interested if they make it to ufa.

 

[WTFMAN99]

It all depends on playoff matchups. Florida looks locked in to be good for a long time.

Who else can cause issues for them?

Healthier Matthews and someone (or 2 players) that can perform better than Marner in the playoffs, consider Marner's 2nd round stats, that's actually not hard

Get deeper offensively, we need at least a top 9, if spent properly, Marner's money can help plus converting Kampf, Jarnkrok and Robertson's spots/salary into contributors.

Florida could face fatigue or even injury, remember the Raptors were never supposed to beat Golden State? Some bad injury luck for Golden State, similar to how Tampa ran out of gas when we beat them in round 1 a few years ago.