Trades and UFA’s - Trade Deadline Edition

[4thline]

Lean into what they are instead

The 4th line can do the defensive donkey work so use the 3rd line as a sheltered offensive line

Give it a purpose and use

The issue is they already are- they're soaking up low competition minutes and high offensive zone starts to *okay* results- effectively what we used the Spezza led 4th lines for. But those Spezza lines cost half as much and were the acknowledged 4th lines.

 

[4thline]

Domi has been pretty good, I wouldn’t even mind re-signing him to the same dollar value but I also wouldn’t really call him our third line center. He’s averaging less minutes than Kampf.

Domi at 3m or more in the bottom 6 needs to be able to centre two league min /elc players and flat out crush sheltered minutes to be worth it. Given results thus far...

If we're re-signing Domi with Nylander coming back I think it should be as 2C with JT sliding to wing. Having two lines that you'd prefer to shelter is a tough way too manage a bench, unless one is dirt cheap filler.

If he can't do either- his feistiness this year was a nice culture shock

 

[-DeMo-]

In order to bridge him we would be risking him breaking out and having to trade him or pay him more than we need to when rielly got the 5 mill don’t think he deserved it

I'm willing to take that risk because like I said 3 years from now who knows where the cap will be, also the hope in three years would be Niemela to be pushing for a top 4 spot. also if I was GM my top priority besides signing Nylander would be to get 2 top 4 Dmen this summer. meaning if Niemela was pushing for a top 4 spot we could move on from Liljegren at that point.

 

[TMLAM34]

Domi at 3m or more in the bottom 6 needs to be able to centre two league min /elc players and flat out crush sheltered minutes to be worth it. Given results thus far...

If we're re-signing Domi with Nylander coming back I think it should be as 2C with JT sliding to wing. Having two lines that you'd prefer to shelter is a tough way too manage a bench, unless one is dirt cheap filler.

If he can't do either- his feistiness this year was a nice culture shock

If we move on from Domi, that’s no real loss either. He’s been solid this year for us, terrible defensively but that was known. Ideally we can form a strong third line that plays a heavier two-way game like most Stanley Cup winners have.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

Im not sure what the price would be or if we have enough assets to get them but my targets would be Tanev and Larsson. Both guys that can shut ya down, block shots and move the puck. Tanev was an excellent partner for Rielly at the worlds.

Rielly Tanev
McCabe Larsson
Benoit Liljegren

I see that as a pretty good top 4 for playoffs

 

[Kiwi]

The issue is they already are- they're soaking up low competition minutes and high offensive zone starts to *okay* results- effectively what we used the Spezza led 4th lines for. But those Spezza lines cost half as much and were the acknowledged 4th lines.

We have some extremely large and expensive holes to fill before we even get to those guys

If Kampf and the 4th line are going to be more defensively inclined we can and should use the 3rd line like we have been
It has an identity and use

I'd rather that than use multiple assets trying to turn that line into something else when we already struggle to score come playoff time

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

Im not sure what the price would be or if we have enough assets to get them but my targets would be Tanev and Larsson. Both guys that can shut ya down, block shots and move the puck. Tanev was an excellent partner for Rielly at the worlds.

Rielly Tanev
McCabe Larsson
Benoit Liljegren

I see that as a pretty good top 4 for playoffs

Neither guy really moves the needle that much if you are taking Brodie out at the same time.

Ideally we can move out Sammy and some of the higher cap hits in the bottom 6 (Kampf/Reaves) to add to the D group without removing anybody.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

Neither guy really moves the needle that much if you are taking Brodie out at the same time.

Ideally we can move out Sammy and some of the higher cap hits in the bottom 6 (Kampf/Reaves) to add to the D group without removing anybody.

Lol I forgot to put Brodie in there

 

[notdoneyet]

You realize he’s a top 3 dman for us to right ?? How is he not I kno he doesn’t have a long resume doing it but he’s absolutely been a top 4 dman this year what are you smoking on


Sure if you want to pay more sure

Lilly is only a top four for us by default. We don’t have anyone better right now. If we pick up a top four Lilly will be dropped down.

 

[Ciao]

Just for fun. If Tampa falls out of the race, plummets to the bottom of the Atlantic, Jon Cooper gets fired, team looks like it’s willing to turn the page in a big way, Stamkos out the door… does it create a small sliver of an opening for conversation to be had about the possibility of maybe one Victor Hedman? And if so is he final piece you go all in on?

If Cooper gets fired, then I think a coaching change for the Leafs is probably the most high percentage move they could make.

I'm not all against Sheldon Keefe, but I think Cooper is a much better coach and it all boils down to what's best for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

There aren't all that many other coaches that I would think of as a definitive upgrade on Keefe, but Cooper would do it.

 

[arso40]

Lilly is only a top four for us by default. We don’t have anyone better right now. If we pick up a top four Lilly will be dropped down.

Doubt it the d coaches aren’t blind
Brodies time on ice tells me your wrong

 

[1specter]

If Cooper gets fired, then I think a coaching change for the Leafs is probably the most high percentage move they could make.

I'm not all against Sheldon Keefe, but I think Cooper is a much better coach and it all boils down to what's best for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

There aren't all that many other coaches that I would think of as a definitive upgrade on Keefe, but Cooper would do it.

If there was any chance of getting Jon Cooper I would drive Keefe to the airport and pay for his flight to Siberia myself

 

[Ziggdiezan]

Giving him $5M is also a risk. Right now he's a middle pairing at best D who can struggle under pressure and it's led him to be scratched in the playoffs.

Agreed, I think they could tie Lily down longterm without getting close to 5 million

 

[Scion]

Andersson was not the same player he is today though. He was not more aggressive or physical at all. He was lanky, wasn't great offensively for awhile but fairly good 2-way. He developed and grew into the player that is exceeding his current cap hit, signed by none other than Brad Treliving as well. If Andersson was signed to a 2-3 year deal when he was a 20 point player, he'd playing on a 6M+ contract as we speak. He went from his ELC to his current contract. That's the entire point of this entire discussion.

Those players were referenced because they were similarly aged players with similar valued skillsets that got extended for pretty much what I think Liljegren should get on a longer term deal. Some were better, some were worst. Most developed into exceeding their current contract value.

Liljegren potentially might not be worth a ton in 3 years. I don't have a crystal ball. The big point is that he can be though and he's improved a lot over the last couple years. And this is where risk reward needs to be applied. You're banking on a player improving and then you have a player exceed his cap hit instead of paying his current worth every few years.

Rasmus was a really strong offensive player pre NHL. He was a lethal pp QB in the OHL especially. That said I tend to think point totals for defenceman are more a reflection of opportunity than play driving. The biggest difference between the two is that Andersson is a better skater and more reliable on breakouts.

 

[Stephen]

If there was any chance of getting Jon Cooper I would drive Keefe to the airport and pay for his flight to Siberia myself

Drive him to Siberia at that rate...

 

[Skullz]

Was playing around with CapFriendly.

-I did not know that both Benoit and Gregor are RFA's. Both should be cheap resigning who bring value.
-If we could get Brodie at a discount, say 2 million, and we turned the savings into Pesce at around 5 million, we could run Rielly - Pesche, McCabe - Lily, and Benoit - Brodie. It's not amazing, but it's solid, and for not that much more money than we are spending now. If Lily takes a step, then we have a decent blue line.
-I'm not sure what to do regarding Robertson. Has skill, but doesn't fit into the lineup and is an RFA at the end of the year. Do we package him for a D at the deadline? I'd like a really good one if thats the case.
-With cap going up and expiring contracts, resigning Nylander at 11 million still leaves us with a substantial amount of space. It is not as bad as it might appear, because we're saving so much on goalies.

 

[Stephen]

Shoulda claimed Bjornfot. Vegas will make something out of him.

 

[Kiwi]

Was playing around with CapFriendly.

-I did not know that both Benoit and Gregor are RFA's. Both should be cheap resigning who bring value.
-If we could get Brodie at a discount, say 2 million, and we turned the savings into Pesce at around 5 million, we could run Rielly - Pesche, McCabe - Lily, and Benoit - Brodie. It's not amazing, but it's solid, and for not that much more money than we are spending now. If Lily takes a step, then we have a decent blue line.
-I'm not sure what to do regarding Robertson. Has skill, but doesn't fit into the lineup and is an RFA at the end of the year. Do we package him for a D at the deadline? I'd like a really good one if thats the case.
-With cap going up and expiring contracts, resigning Nylander at 11 million still leaves us with a substantial amount of space. It is not as bad as it might appear, because we're saving so much on goalies.

I was playing around on cap friendly and I was able to add one very good forward and a very good defenseman to

I was trading Kampf and Reeves though

Shoulda claimed Bjornfot. Vegas will make something out of him.

Meh, he's one of those guys that doesn't do anything very well, he's OK but I want more than that if he has to stay on our roster

 

[Skullz]

I was playing around on cap friendly and I was able to add one very good forward and a very good defenseman to

I was trading Kampf and Reeves though


Meh, he's one of those guys that doesn't do anything very well, he's OK but I want more than that if he has to stay on our roster

Yeah Kampf is paid too much for what he is. Makes roster construction difficult.

 

[Stephen]

Rasmus was a really strong offensive player pre NHL. He was a lethal pp QB in the OHL especially. That said I tend to think point totals for defenceman are more a reflection of opportunity than play driving. The biggest difference between the two is that Andersson is a better skater and more reliable on breakouts.

He is also a rough and tumble customer so he seems like a player who can absorb more abuse under pressure to make the right play, whereas I worry you can rattle Lily by target forechecking him like a Gardiner.

 

[Stephen]

The issue is they already are- they're soaking up low competition minutes and high offensive zone starts to *okay* results- effectively what we used the Spezza led 4th lines for. But those Spezza lines cost half as much and were the acknowledged 4th lines.

I wish we could custom build our 4th line to be a destructive weapon. Build a speedy, big body line those big job is to thump a puck retrieval before it even starts, put the mileage on their blueline group, soften up their defense for line mismatches later. Just make sure you're doing something noticeable in the 60 minutes of play.

 

[rumman]

I wish we could custom build our 4th line to be a destructive weapon. Build a speedy, big body line those big job is to thump a puck retrieval before it even starts, put the mileage on their blueline group, soften up their defense for line mismatches later. Just make sure you're doing something noticeable in the 60 minutes of play.

Lowry would be nice, but you can’t afford a good supporting cast when the stars take all the cap………

 

[Kiwi]

I wish we could custom build our 4th line to be a destructive weapon. Build a speedy, big body line those big job is to thump a puck retrieval before it even starts, put the mileage on their blueline group, soften up their defense for line mismatches later. Just make sure you're doing something noticeable in the 60 minutes of play.

I'd accept a 4th line that does something
Defend, score, hit and make a physical impact, tilt the ice in our favor

Our guys don't do anything productive and they cost almost 4.5-5M when everybody is fit

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

Keep the first unless a true upgrade with term is available. Move Robertson and bring up Steeves. Sign Tanev and/or Pesce in the offseason. Maybe McLeod if he comes cheaper than Domi.

 

[Evilhomer]

Keep the first unless a true upgrade with term is available. Move Robertson and bring up Steeves. Sign Tanev and/or Pesce in the offseason. Maybe McLeod if he comes cheaper than Domi.

Don't get attached to it, man. Tre gonna 1,000% trade that first...