Trade and Free Agency Thread - C'mon More Trades!

[Menzinger]

My thought is more that they realize losing Dermott this off-season, either via trade pre-expansion, or in the expansion draft, is a real possibility.

To throw a wild theory out there, maybe they consider exposing Muzzin. It would suuuuuuuuuuuuuuck to lose Muzzin, but we might rather expose him and his 5.625M for his age 33, 34, and 35 seasons. As much as we all love Muzzin, he's essentially a ticking time bomb at this point. We don't know if that's next season, middle of next season, two years from now, three years from now, or maybe he'll be effective into his late 30's. Not to say we WANT Muzzin to be taken, however, if we are losing a quality d-man, might as well be the oldest, and currently most risky contract?


TL;DR: Simply getting a look at Sandin, because he likely replaces Dermott full-time next season. If we want to go with wild theory, we might expose Muzzin, and are seeing if Sandin excels.

The problem with the expose Muzzin idea is that he's arguably the teams best D man (at least defensively) so losing a guy like him right when the team is trying to win doesn't strike me as the way to go.

Now obviously management structured his deal to give them the option if need be. But I don't think Muzzin has declined enough physically to warrant it

 

[4thline]

The problem with the expose Muzzin idea is that he's arguably the teams best D man (at least defensively) so losing a guy like him right when the team is trying to win doesn't strike me as the way to go.

Now obviously management structured his deal to give them the option if need be. But I don't think Muzzin has declined enough physically to warrant it

Also, it's splitting hairs but the rest of his contract is 32-33-34, not 33-34-35

I'd look at trading Rielly before risking losing Muzzin for nothing, unless Rielly is willing to sign in the 5-6 range. He has more $ value league wide, but Muzzin and Brodie are both more valuable to this team 5v5, and Rielly's PP value can be replaced more cheaply.

 

[Menzinger]

Also, it's splitting hairs but the rest of his contract is 32-33-34, not 33-34-35

I'd look at trading Rielly before risking losing Muzzin for nothing, unless Rielly is willing to sign in the 5-6 range. He has more $ value league wide, but Muzzin and Brodie are both more valuable to this team 5v5, and Rielly's PP value can be replaced more cheaply.

Imo Rielly should be traded if they aren't resigning him. Even if it's for futuress, use the capspace to get another Brodie.

Or resign him.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Imo Rielly should be traded if they aren't resigning him. Even if it's for futuress, use the capspace to get another Brodie.

Or resign him.

Probably in the last week I have been in the "trade him, we're done" mindset.

Trying to find a landing spot has been tough. Whispers of Nate Schmidt being available this year, he can play LD/RD and we know Dubas has looked at him before when Vegas expansion draft was going on.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Also, it's splitting hairs but the rest of his contract is 32-33-34, not 33-34-35

I'd look at trading Rielly before risking losing Muzzin for nothing, unless Rielly is willing to sign in the 5-6 range. He has more $ value league wide, but Muzzin and Brodie are both more valuable to this team 5v5, and Rielly's PP value can be replaced more cheaply.

Not sure that is necessarily true. His ability to move the puck up, even if it doesn't directly lead to points (especially primary points) is underrated. Especially when we employ the stretch pass, you don't see those other guys hitting on them nearly as often as Rielly does.

Defensively those guys provide more, but then we are without anyone who can drive our offense from the back end, and we already struggle to do so outside of Rielly as it is. Sandin is nowhere near ready to take over that role, and is still inconsistent in his sheltered role on the bottom pairing.

I think if we can get 6.5 mill for him like STL got for Krug and Faulk, that is a solid deal for Rielly. I think Rielly is a better overall defenseman than both, but Krug provides more overall offensive value while Faulk may provide a little bit more defensive value.

Otherwise, we need an immediate and high end replacement for Rielly. Someone like Dougie Hamilton. He will be extremely expensive (probably gets close to a Pietrangelo deal) but we can't take a step back defensively at this point.

 

[The Podium]

People really need to start realizing that the Leafs need a signed or RFA D that meet the exposure requirements.

Unless they re-sign Bogo, they need to expose Dermott and cannot trade him.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

People really need to start realizing that the Leafs need a signed or RFA D that meet the exposure requirements.

Unless they re-sign Bogo, they need to expose Dermott and cannot trade him.

Of course, but they can also choose to expose Holl.

 

[Jacquestrapless]

We could always sign Ben Hutton to a contract.

 

[Stephen]

Imo Rielly should be traded if they aren't resigning him. Even if it's for futuress, use the capspace to get another Brodie.

Or resign him.

The more I think about it and the more I see Rielly out there, I would consider these bigger franchise altering moves:

1) Move Rielly for the best futures package only, receiving draft picks, prospects and no salary back, or as little as possible.
2) Let Andersen Walk.
3) Re-sign Hyman with 50% of Andersen's cap savings.
4) Sign Dougie Hamilton with Rielly's savings, 50% of Andersen's contract, plus whatever extra you need to do.
5) Pursue a tandem goalie option with Campbell (Korpisalo, Georgiev, Drieger, Mrazek, etc).
6) Look into moving Kerfoot.
7) Closely monitor Muzzin's contract situation.
8) Bring back some of Foligno (if affordable), Spezza but likely not Thornton or Simmonds.

 

[GBLeaf]

No way Dubas exposes Muzzin. He got him to come to Toronto and sign a new deal. Dubas takes care of people, makes promises and keeps them.

Would leave a sour taste in the mouth of Muzzin and his agent if he gets binned to Seattle.

Don't see it happening at all.

 

[TheShape]

Moving Rielly this summer would be a savvy move but I don't see it happening. The team held onto JVR and Gardiner with a year remaining in the same situation. Dubas will hang onto him another year and see where the chips fall.

Sandin is the internal replacement down the road, he isn't quite ready for that spot yet.

 

[LeafChief]

I'd be interested to see what a return on Rielly would look like in the off-season (or as a trade to Seattle).

We would get the assets from Rielly and could sign Oleksiak.

Muzzin - Brodie
Sandin - Holl
Oleksiak - Bogosian/Liljegren

If we don't re-sign Andersen and can bring in a tandem goalie (Dreidger/Ullmark), we can re-sign Hyman AND add up front.

I dont even know if I want to trade Rielly. Just thinking out loud.

 

[Mickey Marner]

If a team like Calgary decides to break up their core and rebuild, I wouldn't mind trading away Rielly to Seattle (or whomever) and replacing him with a year of Giordano with retention to create a buffer period for Sandin to develop. The assets arriving from Rielly should meet or exceed the assets departing for Giordano as well.

 

[BertCorbeau]

Trading Rielly is definitely tied to how the team does in the playoffs.

I am open to the idea of moving him, though we can't overlook the positives he brings. His mobility and transitioning skills will be missed.

And while I like Sandin, Lily, and Dermott as long-term pieces they definitely will have some growing pains trying to fill that void left from Rielly so we would need to be prepared for that.

But having some depth veteran signing like Bogo can help mitigate that loss.

 

[TheShape]

Rielly has been pretty bad this year and I have no interest in re-signing this version of Rielly, but we are in contender/win now mode. I just don't see Dubas removing him from the team unless a player of equal value who fits under the cap is coming back the other way. That right there limits our options.

 

[Fogelhund]

I'd be interested to see what a return on Rielly would look like in the off-season (or as a trade to Seattle).

We would get the assets from Rielly and could sign Oleksiak.

Muzzin - Brodie
Sandin - Holl
Oleksiak - Bogosian/Liljegren

If we don't re-sign Andersen and can bring in a tandem goalie (Dreidger/Ullmark), we can re-sign Hyman AND add up front.

I dont even know if I want to trade Rielly. Just thinking out loud.

Holl without Muzzin’s support likely doesn’t look very good. If we keep Holl, he probably needs to still have that support. Sandin isn’t strong enough defensively to do that. We’d probably be better having Sandin with Brodie under such a scenario and Muzzin with Holl, as much as that’s a big ask of Sandin right away.

For now, Sandin needs some defensive support, putting him with Holl wouldn’t work.

Is Holl dealing with some sort of nagging injury? He's played much better than this at times.. but lately not so good...

 

[nuck]

If a team like Calgary decides to break up their core and rebuild, I wouldn't mind trading away Rielly to Seattle (or whomever) and replacing him with a year of Giordano with retention to create a buffer period for Sandin to develop. The assets arriving from Rielly should meet or exceed the assets departing for Giordano as well.

The playoff success will influence their choices but I agree this might be a smart move, less because Reilly is somehow expendable but for cap concerns going forward. Even if they get Hyman for a good AAV their commitment to the other forwards is just too much. They can't keep adding long term deals to a lineup that has never won anything. Time to work in some cheaper young guys.

 

[Fogelhund]

If a team like Calgary decides to break up their core and rebuild, I wouldn't mind trading away Rielly to Seattle (or whomever) and replacing him with a year of Giordano with retention to create a buffer period for Sandin to develop. The assets arriving from Rielly should meet or exceed the assets departing for Giordano as well.

I don't think Giordano for a year is a bad idea... I just wonder what we have to give up, for that pleasure, with him retained. What's a good enough return to Calgary for this, where they actually do it? Are we willing to trade away a 1st, a 2nd? You'd almost hope that Calgary announces a retool, and they talk with him, Giordano asks to be moved, and they basically do him a solid.. move him to his hometown for a year... assuming we have some playoff success, I can see that being attractive to him.

Give Sandin a full year in the league, and I can see him being ready to handle more responsibilities the year after. Work on his Dzone coverage at the NHL level, and work on his passing a bit more... I mean, his passing is great when it's on... but he seems to fan on passes once in a while, and needs more consistency there.

 

[Legion34]

For me the only question is goaltending. Whether

I think we need to develop a goalie that has potential with jack.

so for me adin hill from Arizona would be my bet. I really don’t think, with the goalies available, that jack or hill would be taken from us. They would more than likely go with Allen/holtby/dobby etc.

we have too many other options. Hill would clearly be their best option from the yotes.

1.) dermott for hill would be my move.


IFFFFF that doesn’t work. Then I would suggest that there aren’t many real good ufa options.

Dreiger would be my best bet of the UFA. Ulmark will want too much.

I almost see Freddie coming back on a 2 year 3.5 contract. Split with Campbell.

 

[Rielly4]

Rielly struggles at times defensively for sure. Offensively hes pretty high end, his speed allows him to be deadly off the rush and very very active in the offensive zone 5 on 5. Playing the powerplay doesnt really allow him to use his strengths that much. He doesnt have to pinch downlow or skate really, he just passes the puck back and forth. In terms of skill level in passing and poise Sandin is better than him. I think Sandin will end up being a better option on that PP1, but Rielly will likely be the better 5 on 5 offensive generator. Its a tough decision but if we decide we dont need Riellys offense 5 on 5 and we want a more well rounded top 4 we should trade him before the contract for a steady D like Ekholm or something and use Sandin sheltered in 3rd pair playing top PP.

That being said I love Rielly and I think he fits our team very well in their ability to dominate offensiviely 5 on 5. That being said if we added a solid top 4 D we would give up way less quality chances and we would be an absolute rock back there.

 

[Magic Man]

For me the only question is goaltending. Whether

I think we need to develop a goalie that has potential with jack.

so for me adin hill from Arizona would be my bet. I really don’t think, with the goalies available, that jack or hill would be taken from us. They would more than likely go with Allen/holtby/dobby etc.

we have too many other options. Hill would clearly be their best option from the yotes.

1.) dermott for hill would be my move.


IFFFFF that doesn’t work. Then I would suggest that there aren’t many real good ufa options.

Dreiger would be my best bet of the UFA. Ulmark will want too much.

I almost see Freddie coming back on a 2 year 3.5 contract. Split with Campbell.

I hadn't really thought of Freddy coming back on short term reduced salary deal. With Campbell leading the way in GP. He has almost played himself into that type of contract with the flat cap. At the price you proposed or less that would be a good idea.

 

[MapleLeafs77]

Rielly should be traded. Sandin is his replacement in my eyes.

 

[Legion34]

I hadn't really thought of Freddy coming back on short term reduced salary deal. With Campbell leading the way in GP. He has almost played himself into that type of contract with the flat cap. At the price you proposed or less that would be a good idea.

I mean who knows what he would or would not accept but.

who in their right mind is paying Freddie 5 million?

He is coming off back to back not good years. Holtby is way more accomplished and got 2 x4. Heck Talbot got 2.75 x 3.

if Freddie can get 5. Good for him. I think he gets a dobby contract myself.

I personally want hill to try to groom him. Or dreiger.

failing that

2.5-3.5 million on Freddie/halak/reimer/mrazek etc. All are similar range.

I really think Freddie could be a good tandem with Campbell for cheaper

 

[Mickey Marner]

I don't think Giordano for a year is a bad idea... I just wonder what we have to give up, for that pleasure, with him retained. What's a good enough return to Calgary for this, where they actually do it? Are we willing to trade away a 1st, a 2nd? You'd almost hope that Calgary announces a retool, and they talk with him, Giordano asks to be moved, and they basically do him a solid.. move him to his hometown for a year... assuming we have some playoff success, I can see that being attractive to him.

Give Sandin a full year in the league, and I can see him being ready to handle more responsibilities the year after. Work on his Dzone coverage at the NHL level, and work on his passing a bit more... I mean, his passing is great when it's on... but he seems to fan on passes once in a while, and needs more consistency there.

As long as we can complete the swap running an asset surplus and not a deficit, I'm not too concerned about the cost. If management has decided to move on from Rielly, it would be somewhat advantageous to use Seattle to accumulate assets in return for 44, while everyone else is losing something. Another option would be to add Giordano mid-season when we've accrued some space and his retention is worth fewer real dollars, while signing a vet like Hjalmarsson, Oesterle, Oleksiak etc. for 2-3 million.

There are also cheaper options we could add without retention like Murphy, Manson, DeKeyser and Braun.

 

[nuck]

I don't think Giordano for a year is a bad idea... I just wonder what we have to give up, for that pleasure, with him retained. What's a good enough return to Calgary for this, where they actually do it? Are we willing to trade away a 1st, a 2nd? You'd almost hope that Calgary announces a retool, and they talk with him, Giordano asks to be moved, and they basically do him a solid.. move him to his hometown for a year... assuming we have some playoff success, I can see that being attractive to him.

Give Sandin a full year in the league, and I can see him being ready to handle more responsibilities the year after. Work on his Dzone coverage at the NHL level, and work on his passing a bit more... I mean, his passing is great when it's on... but he seems to fan on passes once in a while, and needs more consistency there.

I don't believe Gio costs a first, even with retention. Maybe this year where you get him for a couple of runs but I think its a coin toss whether Calgary even protects him in the X draft because he is far from what he was a couples of years ago and they have Andersson, Tanev, Valimaki and Hanifin. He still has game but he can't backstop a weaker Flames team like he used to. A B prospect and a mid round pick I think but the prospect has to be a Sutter type player so no Abruzzese for instance.

It will be interesting to see what affect internal caps have on the player market. There should be a ton of teams that simply won't be able to enter the bidding or that won't be able to run up prices with the Covid effect on their bottom line and the continued uncertainty of next season. There are 15 clubs well into the negative according to Forbes and that includes some of the more successful teams who won't be able to afford any upgrades this summer.