Trades & Free Agency Thread: 2024-2025 Season Edition

[Phion Keneuf]

I would swap Rielly for Faulk 1 for 1.

 

[kb]

St. Louis wanting to move Saad, I would definitely be interested if they could retain any of that contract. Use Robertson + to acquire him. Knies, Saad, McMann and Lorentz is a nice lineup on the left side.

Patches runs you over like he did Jack Hughes.

 

[Martin Skoula]

Yeah I’m not a fan at all to locking up 4th liners to term. Especially at over 1M a season.
I like Lorentz and think he has been great for us but it’s just bad asset management

I think we’ve just gotten so used to having a shitty fourth line that we drool over guys like Acciari and Lorentz when they’re here but teams like Florida cycle through them like they’re nothing and let them go the moment they stop costing minimum wage.

There will be other quality minimum wage and PTO guys every season, locking into the ones that had a good season or two is bad business.

 

[horner]

Doing nothing is usually not a good approach unless your team is so superior a change would degrade it.

Leafs are a top 10 team, so they do not fit in the can't improve category.

Closer to the deadline they should know if they're a legitimate favorite, but even then they have a longer term commitment to their fans / season ticket holders / sponsors to maintain a good level of performance year after year.

As much as rhetoric says, "we'll take a Cup at any cost!", the Leafs aren't a secondary product like in some American cities where hockey is second or third or fourth in pecking order for sports dollars.

Emptying the cupboard for a chance at winning a couple rounds ... not sure I'm onboard for that. Oh, not much in the cupboard so it isn't like dealing from a position of strength.

Minten Cowen Greb maybe even Danford .
Mathews has not been himself this season
Our goaltenders need to show that they can stay healthy.
Domi is looking like shit to the point that I would trade him.

One player I would trade for is Tanevs brother

 

[TMLAM34]

Patches runs you over like he did Jack Hughes.

How could I forget Patches.

 

[LeafParade]

Domi is looking like shit to the point that I would trade him.

Put Domi with Matthews this year, spread out the big three.

If Cowan impresses next training camp, he eventually takes Domi spot and you trade Domi.

I actually want Tuch at 50% retention, not sure the price but I think it is doable and will not cost a fortune because he is not a C. NO rentals. Tuch has another year. Someone like Tuch who is top 6, not a rental, and fits long term after retention.

 

[ACC1224]

Put Domi with Matthews this year, spread out the big three.

If Cowan impresses next training camp, he eventually takes Domi spot and you trade Domi.

I actually want Tuch at 50% retention, not sure the price but I think it is doable and will not cost a fortune because he is not a C. NO rentals. Tuch has another year. Someone like Tuch who is top 6, not a rental, and fits long term after retention.

Is the thought to give Domi more ice time or Matthews less?

More ice for Domi sounds like a disaster, IMO.

 

[arso40]

Is the thought to give Domi more ice time or Matthews less?

More ice for Domi sounds like a disaster, IMO.

Less for Matthews give more ice to jt and marner line

 

[ULF_55]

Minten Cowen Greb maybe even Danford .
Mathews has not been himself this season
Our goaltenders need to show that they can stay healthy.
Domi is looking like shit to the point that I would trade him.

One player I would trade for is Tanevs brother

Yes, not a whole lotta love there.

Huge Issues

1. Goalie health
2. Domi
3. Skill below 2nd. line

Have to like their goalies, but it is becoming an expectation one of them is going to be unavailable. Matt Murray had to take over for the Marlies yesterday? Hildeby up, and Akhtyamov got chased. Looking at the goals against, maybe one Akhtyamov should have had? You wonder if Hildeby could end up being a starter this year ... OUCH.

*Domi should be leading the bottom 6, Leafs are tied with Nashville for least number of player with greater than 10 points. Both have 7 player with 10+ points. That includes defensemen. Leafs have least number of forwards(5) with 10 points or more points. Domi has 6 points with zero goals. Steve Lorentz leads the bottom 6 with 3 goals.

Is McMann or Pacioretty bottom 6?

*quick review ... data is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate.

Domi has a 13 team NTC ... and how much retention would Leafs have to give on his 4 year deal?

Leafs are a good team, but they are in a group of good teams. We aren't talking a team that ends up with 12 losses over the season good like the Bruins 2 years ago. Top 10 is nothing to sneeze at, but they have to work at to stay top 10.

Still early, but a fan would hope they show improvement in their bottom 6, and Domi has to be on notice.

 

[Gabriel426]

Is the thought to give Domi more ice time or Matthews less?

More ice for Domi sounds like a disaster, IMO.

The way that AM is playing, maybe less is good for him.
AM is really floating out there waiting for a pass to shoot most of the time instead of playing his 200 ft game.

 

[Gabriel426]

To me the Leafs is really one forward and one Dmen short.

That forward can either be a LW on the top line or a 2C/3C type who can score and hold their own defensively.
Dman is a Right side puck moving Dman or someone who is just strong defensively with an offensive touch

One of the biggest problems with the Leafs is the combination of the Big 4.
AM and Willie can’t play together bc their games don’t complement each other well.
Thus it is either AM with MM or with Domi.
Willie and JT works only if one of them is tilting the ice, if both are just having a good game, that line is toothless.
Which lead to a problem with the 3rd line, as there is nothing left but defence and hustle with that line. And the results is lack of scoring.

Dman part is about the Reilly and OEL pairing. At this point I would even trade Reilly if a RHD is coming back our way. Bc both OEL and Reilly can’t play on their offside.

 

[TMLAM34]

To me the Leafs is really one forward and one Dmen short.

That forward can either be a LW on the top line or a 2C/3C type who can score and hold their own defensively.
Dman is a Right side puck moving Dman or someone who is just strong defensively with an offensive touch

One of the biggest problems with the Leafs is the combination of the Big 4.
AM and Willie can’t play together bc their games don’t complement each other well.
Thus it is either AM with MM or with Domi.
Willie and JT works only if one of them is tilting the ice, if both are just having a good game, that line is toothless.
Which lead to a problem with the 3rd line, as there is nothing left but defence and hustle with that line. And the results is lack of scoring.

Dman part is about the Reilly and OEL pairing. At this point I would even trade Reilly if a RHD is coming back our way. Bc both OEL and Reilly can’t play on their offside.

Trading Rielly in the off-season and signing Ekblad would be the route I take. You’d be able to get a solid package in return for Rielly as well.

 

[Kurtz]

Trading Rielly in the off-season and signing Ekblad would be the route I take. You’d be able to get a solid package in return for Rielly as well.

What kind of contract would you offer Ekblad?

 

[TheShape]

Domi is what he is. There's a reason up until last summer, no teams have ever committed term with this player.

And I don't know about Ekblad, Panthers fans have wanted an upgrade there for a while and will tell you he is carried by Forsling. If Florida with all their advantages don't look to re-sign Ekblad, that's a pretty big red flag.

 

[ToneDog]

Domi is what he is. There's a reason up until last summer, no teams have ever committed term with this player.

And I don't know about Ekblad, Panthers fans have wanted an upgrade there for a while and will tell you he is carried by Forsling. If Florida with all their advantages don't look to re-sign Ekblad, that's a pretty big red flag.

Chychrun has been very good in Washington. Guessing he resigns there but he might be a better option than Rielly or Ekblad if they wanted to make a switch.

 

[SprDaVE]

I would be very interested in him if they wanted to make a move.

 

[cyris]

I would be very interested in him if they wanted to make a move.

I don’t think they are moving him but I’d definitely be interested.
Is never going to live up to his draft position but can be a damn fine 3rd liner

 

[Stephen]

Trading Rielly in the off-season and signing Ekblad would be the route I take. You’d be able to get a solid package in return for Rielly as well.

I'd see if I could go really big game hunting like Roman Josi from a Nashville rebuild scenario. And Rielly exiting would create the cap space and some of the futures to pay for it.

 

[Stephen]

I would be very interested in him if they wanted to make a move.

Is it just me, or did the quality of Top 5 picks go down the toilet in and around the time of the pandemic? It's almost like a 20% chance you actually have an impact player at the top of the draft.

2018:

Dahlin
Svechnikov
Kotkaniemi
B. Tkachuk
Hayton

2019:

J. Hughes
Kakko
Dach
Byram
Turcotte

2020:

Lafreniere
Byfield
Stutzle
Raymond
Sanderson

2021:

Power
Beniers
McTavish
L. Hughes
Johnson

 

[arso40]

Wouldn’t the flames captain be nice for the third line pretty good shut down center

 

[Puckstuff]

Robertson looks so much better when he has a play making C like he did last night with Domi. Problem is, I don’t think Domi is a long term fit at C. I still think Granlund would be an incredible boost to the offence. Robertson-Granlund-Nylander could be a 90 goal line, 3rd line.

Knies — Matthews - Domi
Patches - Tavares - Marner
Robertson- Granlund - Nylander
Lorentz - Minten/Holmberg - McMann

Reaves, Jarnkrok, Kampf waived/traded.

 

[conFABulator]

Robertson looks so much better when he has a play making C like he did last night with Domi. Problem is, I don’t think Domi is a long term fit at C. I still think Granlund would be an incredible boost to the offence. Robertson-Granlund-Nylander could be a 90 goal line, 3rd line.

Knies — Matthews - Domi
Patches - Tavares - Marner
Robertson- Granlund - Nylander
Lorentz - Minten/Holmberg - McMann

Reaves, Jarnkrok, Kampf waived/traded.

I like that and have been playing around with similar lineups. How much are we willing to give up for Granlund?

How do you see the 48 or so minutes of EsD time spread across those four lines?

 

[Puckstuff]

I like that and have been playing around with similar lineups. How much are we willing to give up for Granlund?

How do you see the 48 or so minutes of EsD time spread across those four lines?

Spread it out pretty evenly since each of the top 3 lines has 1st line quality.

Line 1: 30 %
Line 2: 30 %
Line 3: 30 %
Line 4: 10 %

I’d offer something like a late 1st for MG

 

[conFABulator]

Spread it out pretty evenly since each line has 1st line quality.

Line 1: 30 %
Line 2: 30 %
Line 3: 30 %
Line 4: 10 %

I’d offer something like a late 1st for MG

I like and agree with both answers. That only 14.5 minutes, maybe add 5 or 6 minutes of PP and PK for the top guys?

I think getting three scoring lines going is a playoff necessity.

 

[SprDaVE]

Spread it out pretty evenly since each of the top 3 lines has 1st line quality.

Line 1: 30 %
Line 2: 30 %
Line 3: 30 %
Line 4: 10 %

I’d offer something like a late 1st for MG

The big thing with trying to spread the offense like that is that it doesn't really work. You want to play your top players more often. You're never going to get 30/30/30/10 out of a lineup like that because you'll want them on the ice together a lot, whether it's PP, icing advantage, late game, etc.