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

[Trapper]

Kyper thinks Leafs will try to get him to agree to waive this summer. We need a puck moving dman who can QB the PP. He is not it.

If they no longer want him here, he should/will waive. Who wants to play for a team that does not want you?

Jarnkrok and Kampf can join Dubas in Pittsburgh.

Pick some teams you want to go play for or healthy scratch.

 

[Gaberd2608]

imo there is no downside to giving Toews a contract as long as it is an amount that can be burried and not count against the cap if he doesnt work out. The Leafs signed Hakanpaa ffs lol. Best case he has a little gas left in the tank, worst case he doesnt work out. Leafs should use their financial power in scenarios like this. Very low risk. I think almost all of us are over Kampf/Jarnkrok at this point.

I dont see how they dont extend Maxpac as well. He was a beast in the playoffs imo. Heart and soul guy who will be ~$1 million. If he isnt hurt he is great on the 3rd line and can possibly slide up if needed.

 

[Americanadian]

NJD makes a ton of sense for Kampf and they likely try to clear cap space. Haula for Kampf could makes sense for the Leafs. Haula could bring some speed and upside at 3LW and he's a pending UFA so no long-term risk. Berube used 7 C's throughout this past season (Matthews, Domi, Tavares, Laughton, Kampf, Minten, Holmberg) he likely wants players on the roster who can fill in at C if Kampf and Holmberg aren't available.

 

[WTFMAN99]

imo there is no downside to giving Toews a contract as long as it is an amount that can be burried and not count against the cap if he doesnt work out. The Leafs signed Hakanpaa ffs lol. Best case he has a little gas left in the tank, worst case he doesnt work out. Leafs should use their financial power in scenarios like this. Very low risk. I think almost all of us are over Kampf/Jarnkrok at this point.

I dont see how they dont extend Maxpac as well. He was a beast in the playoffs imo. Heart and soul guy who will be ~$1 million. If he isnt hurt he is great on the 3rd line and can possibly slide up if needed.

I'd be willing to do PTO to 1.1M range

Quillan, Toews, Faksa and Kuraly are all viable 4C candidates.

 

[ULF_55]

Jason Allison was a heck of a player. The fact that he missed 3 years with back issue and came back home to play for his home town team. He was almost point per game player

He took way too much grief here because of his speed.

I appreciated his skill and hopefully most of the grief was light heart.

He knew how to play the game, and it would have been nice to have he and Lindros in their primes.

Name escapes me but if I said "crest shooter" ... probably come to me after I post this. Good skater but continuously took bad shots at the goalie.

Edit: And now it comes to me ... JB

 

[mydnyte]

I'd be very interested. But not sure what the Leafs could offer. Cowan + (not sure what the + would be). I'd imagine other teams got that offer beat.

I've been on the K'andre Miller bandwagon for a few years, but, no way I offer our top prospect for him.
OEL maybe, or a Jarn + Benoit ...maybe a Robertson, but, not a top prospect, as the Rangers have been rumored to have him on/off the block for 3-4 seasons now

may be lowball offers, but he'll get 5+ on his next deal. ...heck I'd offer Rielly, but, dont think the Rangers would want to absorb that much salary, even if they feel Rielly is an upgrade on Miller (which he actually IS, but, I prefer Millers size and booming slap shot potential).

maybe a bigger package of layers the Rangers want to unload but would actually help us
Kreider
Miller
for
rights to/or sign/trade Marner
Rielly
Robertson

 

[mydnyte]

Trent Frederic will be interesting this summer. He seemed destined for a 4M+ deal after the 22/23 and 23/24 season where he put up 17&18 goals. His production fell off a cliff this year. He is still one of the toughest players in the league and he will be one of the youngest UFAs. He will be on "discount" this summer relative to his production a year ago. He is probably the biggest boom/bust UFA available.

Looking at the difference between this year and last. He went from having JVR and Geekie as his most common linemates to Coyle and Brazeau which isn't really a huge downgrade. He did see his top end speed drop off from 22.75 mph (77th percentile) to 22.05 mph (<50th percentile).

He's seen a steady decline in his overall impact (EvolvingHockey GAR).
View attachment 1046536

I remember hearing Frederic is very good friends with Woll, which wouldnt hurt in helping him pick us

 

[rumman]

I remember hearing Frederic is very good friends with Woll, which wouldnt hurt in helping him pick us

Snot approved……..

 

[rumman]

I believe Toews has CIRS and would love to see him make a comeback.
My wife has it and copes well enough now. We have a very good idea what it’s in response to and keep a very close eye everything.

Has your wife tried a carnivore diet for her condition? Worth looking into…….

 

[Americanadian]

I remember hearing Frederic is very good friends with Woll, which wouldnt hurt in helping him pick us

Yes - they played together growing up.

 

[ULF_55]

imo there is no downside to giving Toews a contract as long as it is an amount that can be burried and not count against the cap if he doesnt work out. The Leafs signed Hakanpaa ffs lol. Best case he has a little gas left in the tank, worst case he doesnt work out. Leafs should use their financial power in scenarios like this. Very low risk. I think almost all of us are over Kampf/Jarnkrok at this point.

I dont see how they dont extend Maxpac as well. He was a beast in the playoffs imo. Heart and soul guy who will be ~$1 million. If he isnt hurt he is great on the 3rd line and can possibly slide up if needed.

He is considering his career.

Didn't like being away from his family.

 

[Nineteen67]

Has your wife tried a carnivore diet for her condition? Worth looking into…….

She does eat meat and limits certain foods. The good thing is we know why it occurred and fortunately the body is so amazing and it’s getting better through time.

 

[Fogelhund]

This is a pretty good article, worth your time.

Five Thoughts: Lane Lambert’s departure from the Maple Leafs, the future of Holmberg & Jarnkrok, and Easton Cowan’s development

Five Thoughts: Lane Lambert's departure from the Maple Leafs, the future of Holmberg & Jarnkrok, and Easton Cowan's development

The Stanley Cup Finals are underway, and the draft and free agency are around the corner. While we prepare for those big movement days, bits and bobs of news are trickling in. Here are five thoughts on some of the recent news items in Leafland: Lane Lambert’s Departure The most notable...

mapleleafshotstove.com

 

[Torontonian]

I feel like Granlund will be better value and more of a traditional 2c. I think he and Nylander would be ok together.

I'd take my chances with Ehlers if money was ok if not kick tires on Boeser.

Think graundlund is going to be in the 7.5m - 8m range on a 3 year deal.. Like Nelson, and Ehlers will be 8.5-9m.

I also just don’t think Domi is a fit on this team.. Do you put him 1st line RW? I don’t think he’s good enough, and Chief doesn’t like Nylander with Matthews, so I don’t think 2nd line RW is available. Then Domi is to bad in his own end to be on your 3rd line..

So essentially I think Toronto needs 2 top 6 wingers and a center man… a lot to fill in just free agency.

 

[rumman]

So you want To go back to bringing back dinosaurs. Toews is even beyond the victory lap farewell tour season.

1967 Leaf cup winners were the 5th oldest team to win a cup, maybe we need to get older?

 

[Americanadian]

If the Leafs strike out on all the big name UFAs or only bring in one of them I'd be looking to acquire cheap pending UFAs. There are 2 reasons I'd be targeting pending UFAs:

• Higher likelihood for increased production from players looking for their next contract
• Maintain cap flexibility for the summer of 2026 when the UFA pool could be deeper

Players I like, assuming cheap acquisition cost:

• Eberle: averaging 48P/82GP the last 2 seasons, 45 points in his last 63 playoff games, prior chemistry with Tavares. I think the price here would be low given his middling production relative to contract. I am hoping a Jarnkrok+Robertson deal gets this done.
• Sissons: ideal 4C, RHS, fast, decently physical, great on faceoffs, good defensively, surpassed 27 points 5 time in his career - good chance for offense out of the 4th line. I am not sure what the plan is in Nashville but given Sissons big price tag for a 4C I could see him shaking loose for cheap - even in a deal for Domi if Nashville wants to take the gamble on more offense.
• Haula: saw a huge drop in production and high end speed, he could just be at the end of the line but maybe he turns it on in the final year of his deal in hopes of getting one more contract, can play C and LW and is great on the PK. This only makes sense in a 1-for-1 for Kampf. I wouldn't pay assets for him and I wouldn't take him on for free given the LW options in UFA.

 

[Fogelhund]

1967 Leaf cup winners were the 5th oldest team to win a cup, maybe we need to get older?

Five Thoughts: Lane Lambert's departure from the Maple Leafs, the future of Holmberg & Jarnkrok, and Easton Cowan's development

The Stanley Cup Finals are underway, and the draft and free agency are around the corner. While we prepare for those big movement days, bits and bobs of news are trickling in. Here are five thoughts on some of the recent news items in Leafland: Lane Lambert’s Departure The most notable...

mapleleafshotstove.com

The Leafs entered the 2024-25 season with the seventh-oldest roster in the league before adding Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo. An older roster can bring about some concerns, but if we look around the NHL, the “older teams” are back.

The 2024 Cup champion Florida Panthers entered last season with the oldest roster in the league. This season, the Edmonton Oilers went into the season with the league’s oldest roster. This will mark the sixth straight season that the Cup-winning team was an average age of 27+, while the average age of an NHLer this season was 28.3. Each team in the final has one regular under the age of 25 playing right now: Anton Lundell and Vasi Podkolzin (Evan Bouchard is turning 26 in October).


When the salary cap arrived after the 2004-05 lockout, some generational rookies broke into the league and lit it up. Teams went young, and we saw several young stars experience near instant success: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Drew Doughty, and Anze Kopitar were all stars who won Cups early in their careers. It was not normal, and if anything, we’re now seeing young players struggle in the league.

San Jose was terrible this season with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. Chicago is a mess with Connor Bedard. The Habs are on the upswing, but I don’t think you’d rate Juraj Slafkovsky in the top five reasons why. Buffalo has Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin and still hasn’t sniffed playoff action. Alexis Lafrenière is possibly on the trading block. Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier have accomplished just about nothing in a mediocre Metro Division (Hischier has made the playoffs three times in eight seasons and lost in five games in two of those postseason appearances).

Those are the first overall picks since Auston Matthews, who also hasn’t accomplished anything in the postseason.

These young players simply aren’t walking into the league and driving team success anymore. It hasn’t happened for a really long time. Connor McDavid might win his first Cup this year, and he was drafted first overall the year before Matthews. Aaron Ekblad, drafted first overall the season before McDavid, won his first Cup last spring. Before Ekblad, Nathan MacKinnon was drafted first overall in 2013 and won his Cup in 2022. That’s how long it’s generally taking, and in the aforementioned cohort, there are true generational players compared to some of the first overall picks we’ve seen of late.

With the cap rising, teams around the league will be allocating more money to veterans, and we will see far less of teams squeezing out veterans for players on ELCs. Franchises will line up this summer for free agents such as Brock Boeser, Mikael Granlund, Matt Duchene, and so on.

 

[thusk]

Think graundlund is going to be in the 7.5m - 8m range on a 3 year deal.. Like Nelson, and Ehlers will be 8.5-9m.

I also just don’t think Domi is a fit on this team.. Do you put him 1st line RW? I don’t think he’s good enough, and Chief doesn’t like Nylander with Matthews, so I don’t think 2nd line RW is available. Then Domi is to bad in his own end to be on your 3rd line..

So essentially I think Toronto needs 2 top 6 wingers and a center man… a lot to fill in just free agency.

If Domi is not good enough because Matthews can,t make look a middle 6 player like being able to play in a 1st, you will need to explain me why do we pay him 13,25M?!?!?!

mcdavid playing with perry
draisaitl with kapanen
mackinnon with lehkonen
Barkov with rodrigues

Yeah Domi should be good enough to play with Matthews or we have a massive issue here...

At this salary he should be able to go with Knies with any of Domi/laughton/ cowan/Jarnkrok or whatever and still performz, that's why he pay for

 

[ULF_55]

This is a pretty good article, worth your time.

Five Thoughts: Lane Lambert’s departure from the Maple Leafs, the future of Holmberg & Jarnkrok, and Easton Cowan’s development

Five Thoughts: Lane Lambert's departure from the Maple Leafs, the future of Holmberg & Jarnkrok, and Easton Cowan's development

The Stanley Cup Finals are underway, and the draft and free agency are around the corner. While we prepare for those big movement days, bits and bobs of news are trickling in. Here are five thoughts on some of the recent news items in Leafland: Lane Lambert’s Departure The most notable...

mapleleafshotstove.com

Holmberg is a useful player — one of the few forwards on the team who actually grinds pucks on the wall and attempts to cycle. His work ethic is the main reason he led the team in drawn penalties, as he owns a good motor and makes second and third efforts on pucks. However, he doesn’t possess the shot to pose a threat, holding back his overall game.

...

Personally, I view Holmberg as a winger; his best attribute is his ability to work the walls, and he can’t do it as much at center. However, if the Leafs see him as a center, they are potentially looking at Matthews – ____ – Laughton – Holmberg down the middle next season. Something to keep an eye on.

Horrible flashback to Hyman playing with Matthews and marner hitting 41 points at age 26.

Hyman shoots R, played LW with Matthews and marner.

Would it be crazy to try: Knies - Matthews - Holmberg?

I know, I know Matthews needs a marner level player on his line to produce. Right?

 

[Tony Romo]

Horrible flashback to Hyman playing with Matthews and marner hitting 41 points at age 26.

Hyman shoots R, played LW with Matthews and marner.

Would it be crazy to try: Knies - Matthews - Holmberg?

I know, I know Matthews needs a marner level player on his line to produce. Right?

It's just crazy to me that Marner had to be attached to Matthews. The best Matthews we've ever had was that stretch when Marner went down and it was Bertuzzi - Matthews - Domi.

It had to be in someones contract that they never broke them up.

 

[Americanadian]

Horrible flashback to Hyman playing with Matthews and marner hitting 41 points at age 26.

Hyman shoots R, played LW with Matthews and marner.

Would it be crazy to try: Knies - Matthews - Holmberg?

I know, I know Matthews needs a marner level player on his line to produce. Right?

The issue is you're playing Matthews with 2 Hyman's instead of Hyman and Marner. Knies is a great player but he's significantly closer to Hyman stylistically than he is to Marner, and that is a compliment.

 

[Tony Romo]

thoughts? Obviously replacing McMann/Benoit would be more expensive than their current AAV this year. But I think it's a good idea, especially as we are having more flexibility when it comes to cap.

 

[ULF_55]

The issue is you're playing Matthews with 2 Hyman's instead of Hyman and Marner. Knies is a great player but he's significantly closer to Hyman stylistically than he is to Marner, and that is a compliment.

Shots by type:
Toronto

Edmonton

Looks like in Edmonton Zach is getting the puck passed to him, whereas in Toronto he was doing to digging, and wrap goals =0?

My guess is he plays with players who will win puck battles and get him the puck now.

Yes, a very good passer for Matthews and Domi and Nylander are available today.

 

[ULF_55]

thoughts? Obviously replacing McMann/Benoit would be more expensive than their current AAV this year. But I think it's a good idea, especially as we are having more flexibility when it comes to cap.

Okay for players they'd select mid-to-high 20's for 1st. round picks.

If they could draft McCabe, Carlo and Laughton with those 3 picks I'd be okay.

 

[Tony Romo]

Domi has his flaws, but this is EXACTLY the type of player mindset we should be looking for.