Trade and Free Agency Thread - 2021/22 - Post Deadline

[Rob Brown]

would be pretty leafs if Campbell went to Oilers and then Canes and Oilers have more playoff success with Anderson and Campbell

Andersen did nothing for them in the playoffs. Literally nothing.

 

[ACC1224]

Chariot has a reputation of a top 4 defensive defensemen who beats the hell out of people when really he's an expensive replacement level player who beats the hell out of people.

Holl should have good value as a big right shot D who can be the #4 in a decent group who moves the puck well and can play on the PK. He should be more valuable than Chiarot because he's a better player with a better contract, he just doesn't have the mean streak that older school GM's like.

Why not keep him then? we can find cheaper options for the 3rd pair and Brodie/Liljegren need to be the top 2 RHD next season.


I'm not trading for Varlamov unless Mitch Korn and Piero Greco come with him. I don't think Dubas would take a shot at somebody with his personality issues.

I agree Chariots reputation is far greater than Holls. IMO, he’s no more than a bottom pair/healthy scratch player. Leafs can use a cheaper option for that.

 

[Brobust]

Just listened to the most recent Leaf Report Podcast.

Jack Campbell
Jonas Siegel says Campbell's agent mentions they have spoken to the Leafs regularly but they have not yet spoken numbers.

Mirtle says he believes Campbell won't be back. Says other teams will offer him higher AAV and more years than the Leafs want to offer. Oilers, Red Wings, Devils mentioned.

Campbell wants to stay in Toronto (Siegel and Mirtle both mentioned this).

Leafs are looking at all options for goaltending. Looking at UFA + trade. Mirtle puts it at a 15% chance Campbell returns.

Goaltending Department
Mirtle wonders if the Leafs will build a goaltending department as other teams have done recently. A lot of teams simply have one goalie coach for NHL and one goalie coach for AHL (as the Leafs have done in recent years). He thinks the Leafs will be investing more in the goaltending department moving forward with more of a structure to it.

Semyon Varlamov
Mirtle and Siegel both think this is one of the likely options for the Leafs. Doesn't believe the trade cost will be very high. Isles looking to shake things up. Varlamov has 1 year at 5 million remaining on his contract. They think they would try to get the Islanders to retain on Varlamov (obviously this would come with an asset going to Isles)

Petr Mrazek
Discussed Chicago as a landing spot for Mrazek. Buffalo as well.

Mirtle believes he will be traded rather than bought out. They don't believe the Leafs have interest in buying out Mrazek.

Mirtle is very confident that Mrazek will be gone.

Engvall + Kase
Will be more difficult to sign these players than is being perceived. Leafs have to decide if they will be giving Kase a QO (dealine is July 11th)

Engvall probably easier to get done - more simpler arbitration case).

Going to arbitration with Kase is risky as he's a good player but is injury prone. 1.25 million is the QO amount. They speculate he could get as much as 2.5 million. Walk away amount of arb is 4.5 million so Leafs wouldn't be able to walk away.

They speculate Leafs may not qualify Kase and then try to re-engage him in free agency.

Denis Gurianov in Dallas got 2.9 million in arb (using him as a comparable).

Qualifying Offers
There may be many good players this year that aren't qualified.

Goalie Options
They believe Keumper will get 4 years x 5 million AAV.

Husso will 'get something silly'. 57 NHL games played. They thing a team will gamble on him. 27 years old.

Alex Kerfoot
Mirtle believes he would be undervalued by other teams. Low maintenance. Plays all three forward positions. Thinks the Leafs will want to keep him.

Justin Holl + Jake Muzzin
Mirtle believes Holl will be moved and Muzzin will stay. Mirtle thinks they will try to bring back Lyubushkin.

Muzzin looking solid in the playoffs is the reason he thinks they will keep him. He says he's not guaranteeing it but that's what he believes.

Thanks, leafs report is so boring to listen to.

Anyway, I do want to pull my hair out. The 2nd line's defensive deficiencies and inconsistency are a major issue and it looks like management has no interest in solving the problem.

 

[Rob Brown]

Thanks, leafs report is so boring to listen to.

Anyway, I do want to pull my hair out. The 2nd line's defensive deficiencies and inconsistency are a major issue and it looks like management has no interest in solving the problem.

I don't even know how good Konecny is defensively, but someone like him in our top 6 would be great, IMO. Better version of Bunting and better at pissing off other teams.

 

[Warden of the North]

Im not moving our first unless the player is young and cost controlled. Amirov having a career altering, if not ending, illness means we have a serious lack of high end talent coming. We need to restock that cupboard.

 

[SprDaVE]

Varlamov for the Leafs 1st?

I'd consider it especially if they manage to get an extra 2nd from trading Holl

Edit: though maybe he could be had cheaper

A 1st for Varlamov who is a pending UFA and 34 years old seems... not good. Maybe if they retain 50% of his contract. Maybe.

I'd rather just keep the first and sign someone like Fleury, Kuemper or even Campbell at that point though. Not sure Varlamov really is all that better compared to other options.

 

[Dekes For Days]

InGoal Radio was referencing Clear Sight goalie analytics as to why the Leafs may have been especially interested in Mrazek. But it turned out it was just a panic free agent signing.

There is absolutely zero evidence or indication that Mrazek was a "panic free agent signing".

 

[CanHeDoIt99]

There is absolutely zero evidence or indication that Mrazek was a "panic free agent signing".

I'd say only evidence of the opposite frankly. Lebrun kept tweeting that Andersen didn't get a contract offer from the Leafs - seems like they identified Mrazek to be a cheaper alternative/target and went after him.

Can criticize the decision if you want, but it certainly wasn't a panic signing.

 

[Menzinger]

Lou didn't leave on the best terms. Can't see he and Dubas coming together on a trade. But if he did, he'd probably be interested in Muzzin. Muzzin for Varlamov, then send a pick to a 3rd team (Phoenix?) to retain 2.5m on Varlamov. This would solve our cap crunch.

Think the teams have made a couple of deals so far since Lou got there, Matt Martin was traded and believe there have been some prospect related trades. Muzzin for him would certainly work capwise.

Involving a 3 rd team for cap purposes is intriguing too

 

[Menzinger]

A 1st for Varlamov who is a pending UFA and 34 years old seems... not good. Maybe if they retain 50% of his contract. Maybe.

I'd rather just keep the first and sign someone like Fleury, Kuemper or even Campbell at that point though. Not sure Varlamov really is all that better compared to other options.

I like him more than Gibson based on the contract and that he still out up decent numbers even though his team looked awful.

A 1st is definitely a steep price. But I basically figured it'd essentially what Flurey got at the tdl+ extra given the Leafs would have him for a full season.

I'd agree that there are potentially better options. Ideally they can find a young guy with term if they go down the trade route

 

[ACC1224]

A 1st for Varlamov who is a pending UFA and 34 years old seems... not good. Maybe if they retain 50% of his contract. Maybe.

I'd rather just keep the first and sign someone like Fleury, Kuemper or even Campbell at that point though. Not sure Varlamov really is all that better compared to other options.

I would think if they had interest in him it would be with an extension in mind not as a rental

 

[Americanadian]

Hill and Wedgewood for ~4.5M would actually be a pretty solid tandem. Wedgewood played 37 games this year and put up decent numbers and his projected salary is ~2M. Hill was the worst of SJ's 3 goalies this year but had 2 strong years prior to this season in Arizona. Hill makes 2.175.

 

[The Podium]

I’d steer clear of Keumper.

Let’s look for guys that are in their mid-late 20s that have the chance to solidify the position for a while.

It’s also likely Dubas targets non-qualified RFAs again

Wouldn’t be surprised to see Miles Wood on the Leafs next season as a 4th line LW

 

[ULF_55]

So is $7mm Pacioretty going to be a Cap casualty in Vegas?

Is owed 5.25mm real money with 1 year remaining and a NTC 10.

 

[justashadowof]

I do not understand why Vegas would make an even up trade of Dadonov for Weber unless there's another big consideration coming later. At least not in the same universe where a 1st round pick was traded with 1 last year of Patrick Marleau's contract.

 

[613Leafer]

Hill and Wedgewood for ~4.5M would actually be a pretty solid tandem. Wedgewood played 37 games this year and put up decent numbers and his projected salary is ~2M. Hill was the worst of SJ's 3 goalies this year but had 2 strong years prior to this season in Arizona. Hill makes 2.175.

No it wouldn't. These guys are both worse than Reimer, and Reimer isn't a guy anyone would have any confidence in to win a Cup with.

That's likely a bottom 5 goaltending duo in the league. The only thing positive you could say about it is that both of them are better than Kallgren.

 

[stickty111]

Andersen did nothing for them in the playoffs. Literally nothing.

He wore out his welcome same way he did here. An injury where he just didn't want to come back and the team is fed up with him

 

[justashadowof]

Does Robin Lehner have too volatile of a personality to consider as the Leafs' 2022-23 starter?

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I do not understand why Vegas would make an even up trade of Dadonov for Weber unless there's another big consideration coming later. At least not in the same universe where a 1st round pick was traded with 1 last year of Patrick Marleau's contract.

Weber is full LTIR with very little real money (only 6 mill in the last 4 years) which is probably insured too. The cost to dump Dadonov is fairly high too (it was going to be Moore's contract and Kesler's contract with Dadonov going with a 2nd), because teams don't want to spend 6.5 mill in real dollars and 5 mill in cap on a 40 point offensive winger (who was even worse the year before), even if it is only one year.

MTL is one of the few teams who are rich enough and at the point in their construction where it makes sense to add a guy like Dadonov and maybe trade him for an asset at the TDL.

 

[Apex Predator]

Would picking up an LTIR contract help the leafs with their cap situation?

 

[justashadowof]

If Freddie Andersen was refusing to play less than 100%, I get why that's maddening for an organization. It seems that every goalie has got these quirks in one way or another. The history of hockey has goalies who threw up before every big game (Glenn Hall), goalies who balked at their coach's instructions (Jacques Plante), psychos (Ron Hextall, Billy Smith, Tim Thomas), isolated eccentrics (many of them), pompous intellectuals, uber A-type personalities (Gerry Cheevers, Patrick Roy), etc. Maybe their personality doesn't matter if they show up ready to play when it counts.

 

[FreeBird]

A 1st for Varlamov who is a pending UFA and 34 years old seems... not good. Maybe if they retain 50% of his contract. Maybe.

I'd rather just keep the first and sign someone like Fleury, Kuemper or even Campbell at that point though. Not sure Varlamov really is all that better compared to other options.

Probably going to use FIRST to get rid of Mrazek

 

[TheRumble]

Right handed dmen fetch a premium in the NHL. They are pretty overrated by GMs around the league. I think Holl gets us more than many people think.

He's not nearly as bad as this board thinks he is. He just became the whipping boy this year and all his mistakes became magnified.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Would picking up an LTIR contract help the leafs with their cap situation?

No.

 

[ULF_55]

Probably going to use FIRST to get rid of Mrazek

No reason to do anything more than buy him out if he can't be moved with a mediocre prospect or less.

Only pain is year 1, and subsequent years Bettman is predicting record revenue.