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

[Stephen]

Which $8m defenceman would you rather have? To be honest I'm not seeing a whole bunch of attractive options in UFA.

Aaron Ekblad if at all possible.

Otherwise a Shayne Ghostisbhere could do his job at a fraction of the cost with zero job security which someone else mentioned.

But I dislike Mo Rielly more than a lot of other fans and think there are so many bugs in his game that we’re not really even talking about a $7.5 million Dman. He’s a fan favorite for some people so I think we will just have to agree to disagree that $8 million couldn’t be thrown around irresponsibly and still yield better results.

 

[Duffman955]

Hot take, but I'd rather move away from McCabe. He looked pretty bad after his latest concussion, and he hasn't brought the same physicality after that

 

[Stephen]

Hot take, but I'd rather move away from McCabe. He looked pretty bad after his latest concussion, and he hasn't brought the same physicality after that

I wouldn’t mind swapping McCabe out either if the right hockey trade came along. Warrior for sure but a couple of things. Concussion, and now over 30. And he’s had to cut out all offensive instincts to stabilize as a strong defensive defenseman. And he’s fairly small relative to his play style. McCabe isn’t a problem at all but if we ever had to swap him out I would listen.

 

[ULF_55]

probably 6x3.5m if i had to guess

Faceoff %: 48.7
Signed: 3 * $7.5mm

Faceoff %: 58.6
Signed:

I can see 6 years, can't see $3.5mm.

 

[mydnyte]

I've been a fan of Robertson's, but he's going to want to move on, and we should accommodate him. He's got a great shot, but struggles to find the space to get it off on a consistent basis.

one of our team issues isnt as much the getting open, but, hitting that open guy while he's open.
even with the down season Matthews always gets open, and seldom gets the puck until there is someone on him.
Robertson playing on the 3rd line, well, he'd need 20 feet of open before someone would feed him the puck. we are a pretty bad passing team overall, save for Marner and Domi.

Projections are saying $4.6 mil.

I have a feeling he'll be a hot commodity and that price can go up, but, i'd pay that in a heartbeat, even if we kept Rielly.
the upgrade moving Benoit to #7 would be huge

 

[hamzarocks]

Grabbing UFA defenseman is definitely not the strategy this year. What can you get in trade? Tampa needs cheap top 9 forwards with size - can you get Raddysh for McMann, play Benoit-Raddysh 18 minutes/night and then go after a winger with your 7.9M left over?

I liked a Rielly + 3rd or Bryan Rust offer I saw on the main boards

If we could go for trades of that mold id be interested.

Woll for Bobby Brink or a similar top 9 winger is a move id like to see

McMann + a pick for William Karlsson/Mason Marchment/Jaden Schwartz are moves I would be cool with too.

I want to get back NHLers with mid term (3 years or less) who can play a role and fit within berubes system.

 

[mydnyte]

Hot take, but I'd rather move away from McCabe. He looked pretty bad after his latest concussion, and he hasn't brought the same physicality after that

I'd be open to moving all our D except Tanev and Carlo, and would listen on Carlo, but Carlo is way too cheap the next 2 seasons and a stay at home RHD, so it would need to be for a huge return.

Our D last season was the best its been in the Matthews era, but, still ranks bottom of the league overall with no pure #1 or even #2 (if we're going to be honest), just a bunch of bottom 4 defenders, luckily most could be considered 2nd pairing, so, at least that.

 

[Fogelhund]

I have a feeling he'll be a hot commodity and that price can go up, but, i'd pay that in a heartbeat, even if we kept Rielly.
the upgrade moving Benoit to #7 would be huge

I don't think we have the money to keep Rielly, and add another D man.... at least not one that can't be fully buried. Fabbro had a great year with Werenski, and it will be interesting to see how he looks away from him... unless he's extended, which is a real possibility.

Columbus has $42 mil in cap space!!! If they want to keep him, chances are they will. He was an important player for them last year, played very well.

I'd like to give Villeneuve a shot... 40 points in 55 games last year with the Marlies...

 

[mydnyte]

I liked a Rielly + 3rd or Bryan Rust offer I saw on the main boards

If we could go for trades of that mold id be interested.

Woll for Bobby Brink or a similar top 9 winger is a move id like to see

McMann + a pick for William Karlsson/Mason Marchment/Jaden Schwartz are moves I would be cool with too.

I want to get back NHLers with mid term (3 years or less) who can play a role and fit within berubes system.

Why would be move Woll for a guy Smaller than Robertson who cant get a fair look, and is a better scorer than Brink?
We cant move Woll with no future #1G coming up. Hildy is not that and may not even be an NHLer when its all said and done.

 

[mydnyte]

I don't think we have the money to keep Rielly, and add another D man.... at least not one that can't be fully buried. Fabbro had a great year with Werenski, and it will be interesting to see how he looks away from him... unless he's extended, which is a real possibility.

Columbus has $42 mil in cap space!!! If they want to keep him, chances are they will. He was an important player for them last year, played very well.

I'd like to give Villeneuve a shot... 40 points in 55 games last year with the Marlies...

Cant say i disagree, decent size, RHS, and from what i remember when he was drafted was an offense only d-man that has been forced to learn how to play defense with the Marlies, but, no call up or look makes me wonder if he's a consideration for this management team
Niemela was supposed to be the future of offence from our blue line, but, doesnt look like they are into him either. I guess unless Niemela gains 20lbs of muscle he wont get a shot either.

​

 

[hamzarocks]

Why would be move Woll for a guy Smaller than Robertson who cant get a fair look, and is a better scorer than Brink?
We cant move Woll with no future #1G coming up. Hildy is not that and may not even be an NHLer when its all said and done.

Brink is a 40+ pt player and a constant guy with upside remaining.

Woll is a tandem goalie who we can sell high on.

Don't commit to goaltending. It's the most replaceable position in the NHL and a waiver wire pickup, UFA, low end prospect can all fill in

Woll trade for a forward with offensive upside who can replace some of marners offense should be key for us to target this summer

 

[ToneDog]

Something tells me Rielly would wave if it was for a Western Canadian team.. Vancouver or Calgary. Other then that, I don't see Rielly waving and moving his family to the states.

Rielly for Andersson swap? Calgary gets a player locked up with term and a good leader while getting value for Andersson incase he leaves in UFA next season.. Toronto gets a puck moving d-man & can sign him/get cap space.

Rielly for Debrusk or Garland? Vancouver gets a d-man they can replace Hughes when eventually leaves to join his brothers in NJ, Toronto gets a middle 6 forward in Debrusk signed long term on a reasonable cap, same with Garland minus the long term.

If Vancouver, how about gambling on Rielly for Petey (with $2m retained)? Boom if change of scenery wakes him up. Bust if he is Marner in the playoffs.

 

[WTFMAN99]

If Vancouver, how about gambling on Rielly for Petey (with $2m retained)? Boom if change of scenery wakes him up. Bust if he is Marner in the playoffs.

Vancouver really can't do that, Chytil is their 1C in that scenario.

 

[ToneDog]

Vancouver really can't do that, Chytil is their 1C in that scenario.

Good point but I guess it comes down to how much they want to move off Petey and his contract.

 

[Gallagbi]

I guess I look at it with a little bit of a different lens... in that the Leafs had the Leafs were one of the lowest producing bluelines this season, from an offensive standpoint.... and that replacing the far and away best puckmover on the team; with somebody with a career high of ~40 points, isn't going to be the way to fix that.

As for Burns, that's honestly an interesting idea; and perhaps even a good one considering the loss of Marner on the PP.

I don't think you can realistically go into the season with a top 6 D of McCabe, Tanev, OEL, Carlo, Benoit and Burns; but going in with Rielly, Carlo, McCabe, Tanev, Benoit and Burns could certainly be interesting.

Toronto has had a decent ability to attract guys at the end of their career for cheap...especially local guys. Perhaps this is one of those opportunities, to get a guy to come home for a year, play infront of family, live a bit of a lifelong dream, and get a shot at a cup that kind of has a perfect spot open for him.

I'm honeslty not sure how things are going to shake out money-wise for these "tier 3" UFAs with the new cap realities, but if you can sell him on the idea of Toronto, and get him at $2.5m or less on a 1-year deal, then trade OEL, that could be a really tidy piece of business.

Obviously there's a ton more money out there for him, but he's made his $100m... and this point you'd have to think the chance to win a cup comes first.

I'd say our lenses are actually pretty similar. There was a lot of praise on our D this year, but I see a group that struggled in transition, which is rare for cup Winners and no clear upgrade given the assets and dollars spent

With Mo's fall off we're missing an offensive spark, and honestly you need more than just 1. I don't see any available in UFA.

Re Burns: his offense dropped off a cliff and he watched Aho get jumped this playoff. That would have been on every clip/twitter going if it happened here

My "out there" take is flipping Rielly for EK. Mo is a buyout option, so you have that threat to combat the NMC and he's familiar with Dubas. He may not have an option of being a Leaf next year, so is Pitts palatable for his family

Mo's contract is longer, less AAV, and you likely move him at some point for a half decent return with eating some money. In the meantime he's a good vet who can support on a retool or rebuild.

EK can carry an offense, raises his game in playoffs and has 2 years left. You'll get defensive issues at times (not unlike Mo), high dollars at 10M, but he's a boom or bust option who seems to rise to the occassion and knows Canadian markets.

 

[Phion Keneuf]

6 x 4.25M for JT I’d do

 

[Americanadian]

I liked a Rielly + 3rd or Bryan Rust offer I saw on the main boards

If we could go for trades of that mold id be interested.

Woll for Bobby Brink or a similar top 9 winger is a move id like to see

McMann + a pick for William Karlsson/Mason Marchment/Jaden Schwartz are moves I would be cool with too.

I want to get back NHLers with mid term (3 years or less) who can play a role and fit within berubes system.

Absolutely agree if that trade is available. I also proposed Rielly for Moore or Rielly for Kreider in the same mold.

The proposal that sparked this current thread was Rielly for Holl for Acciari. That would be the most risk averse Rielly trade because the Leafs are free from all commitments after this season and if they waive Acciari they get out of Rielly for a total penalty or 850k for 1 season.

Rust/Moore/Kreider are all interesting options but none of them are young and their best years are behind them. They all come with term and they will likely decline (in Moore and Kreider’s case they already are). It’s just preference between that type of deal and an Acciari deal where you wipe your hands clean (except for 850k or 2M for year 1) and move on.

 

[weems]

I'd say our lenses are actually pretty similar. There was a lot of praise on our D this year, but I see a group that struggled in transition, which is rare for cup Winners and no clear upgrade given the assets and dollars spent

With Mo's fall off we're missing an offensive spark, and honestly you need more than just 1. I don't see any available in UFA.

Re Burns: his offense dropped off a cliff and he watched Aho get jumped this playoff. That would have been on every clip/twitter going if it happened here

My "out there" take is flipping Rielly for EK. Mo is a buyout option, so you have that threat to combat the NMC and he's familiar with Dubas. He may not have an option of being a Leaf next year, so is Pitts palatable for his family

Mo's contract is longer, less AAV, and you likely move him at some point for a half decent return with eating some money. In the meantime he's a good vet who can support on a retool or rebuild.

EK can carry an offense, raises his game in playoffs and has 2 years left. You'll get defensive issues at times (not unlike Mo), high dollars at 10M, but he's a boom or bust option who seems to rise to the occassion and knows Canadian markets.

I really hate the cap.
I agree that Karlsson actually brings some elements that we could really use on the blueline.
It would be so awesome if a team in our position, could just go bonkers in any offseason but unfortunately not the case.

 

[rumman]

Rielly was a step behind all season. He has 5 years left at 7.5M. He is currently 31. He is not positive value on that contract.

Riley us the new Wimpy…….

Magazine

 

[rumman]

I can’t remember who said it but I think Rick Dudley is part of that Pro Scouting. I’ve always thought that guy was a genius for finding gems

Bad rug, but a very smart hockey mind…….

 

[Gallagbi]

I really hate the cap.
I agree that Karlsson actually brings some elements that we could really use on the blueline.
It would be so awesome if a team in our position, could just go bonkers in any offseason but unfortunately not the case.

Cap is manageable but there's a big question of whether Mo would waive, what Pitts would think and whether Berube would be able to use EKs skill. Then which EK even shows up

But it's got incredible return potential

 

[rumman]

If Vancouver, how about gambling on Rielly for Petey (with $2m retained)? Boom if change of scenery wakes him up. Bust if he is Marner in the playoffs.

I’m immediately flipping him if that trade happens, we want players that are hard to play against, not another butter soft forward…….

 

[rumman]

Good point but I guess it comes down to how much they want to move off Petey and his contract.

They traded the wrong guy to the Rangers, that’s for damn sure…….

 

[Maple Leaf]

Now that broc nelson is gone tre has lil choice left

 

[Menzinger]

I'd be down to trade Rielly, but the fact that the media was talking about how much he loves Toronto soon after game 7 is a not so subtle signal that he's going to use that NMC like a sledgehammer.

Maybe a buyout threat gets a change of mind, but I really don't like having cap penalties on the team for the next decade