Trades & Free Agency Thread - Too Soon Off-Season Edition

[The Best Leafs Ever]

You can't move forward without blowing this up. Mitch and Paul Marner needs a new dog house anywhere but in Toronto market areas. The core has no heart to win blow them up, draft again, make a new core. Dubas can do it and do it fast, we almost got a top line top pair talent every draft. That is pretty sick, we just can't expect this same players to accomplish anything.

Avs blew their core by trading away RoR, Duchene, Varlamov etc. Bring in guys who want to compete and win. I said we need a Michael Jordan type captain and I stand firm on it. These humble guys can't win and can't achieve anything.

 

[4thline]

Look at both teams now and then, their core are different.

That's the point. This board would have had them fired for not winning and regressing with the cores as listed. And the excellent programs that were being developed would have died in their infancy.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

He is respected and capable. Lets be honest, if Dubas had sent Sandin and Lilly to Sweden or whatever, you wouldn't be calling him to be fired. You aren't fooling anyone

Stickty, I consider you a respected and capable poster. Sometimes it’s ok to agree to disagree.

Dubas is neither respected nor capable. The bobbling if Sandin and Liljegren’s development this year is just one mess up in a long line of blunders that Dubas has made.

 

[rumman]

Kings fan here and I noticed something last night about the makeup of the Leafs roster that doesn’t work in today’s game. I know the Leafs needed to add some grit but they added players that really take away from their up tempo game. Thornton, Simmonds, Foligno, and Spezza (he played well) aren’t good enough skaters to add anything 5 on 5. They need grit but guys with speed to get in on the forecheck. Blake Coleman, Casey Cizikas, etc. would help a lot.

Wow, no flies on you.......it’s all th GM can afford to fill out the roster with since half the cap goes to 4 players.......

 

[TMLAM34]

i dont understand the love for Bogo ...dont get me wrong, he played great defense, but, i expected 'angry' and 'scary' Bogo, but, we got barney the dino Bogo

what this team lacks is a defenseman that makes forwards afraid to go into the corners and punishes them.

Muzzin also slacked off in that regard, but, slightly less so, as the threw the odd check.

Simmonds was getting into a groove and then he had his injury and wasnt the same player. I dont try to resign him either, if you cant count on vet's in the clutch, or they dont do anything more than fill a roster spot, they shouldnt be holding back youth.

I feel like Bogo was playing more of a conservative game. He still threw hits and played real solid d, but he played smart and his ice time was pretty limited probably to avoid another serious injury that would keep him out long term.

 

[The Best Leafs Ever]

Dubas has absolutely 0 blame this season. We were going to stomp on the North division, the players and coach choked hard. Dubas did his job, which is to make as best a team as he could make. Players and coach didn't do their jobs to execute and perform on the ice.

 

[mydnyte]

we need a solid d-man that plays with a chip on his shoulder, and has to have top 4 ability ...either as ufa or trade, because i dont think we have one in the minors at all.
players arent scared to attack and pressure our d-men because none of them have any fight or bite.
I had no idea Brodie was a non-contact player. he's a great defender, but, zero physicality. Muzzin tries, but, then he gets hurt, so, may be time to sell high on him too, as his body cant maintain his style, and if his style changes, he's 1/2 the defender.

 

[stickty111]

Stickty, I consider you a respected and capable poster. Sometimes it’s ok to agree to disagree.

Dubas is neither respected nor capable. The bobbling if Sandin and Liljegren’s development this year is just one mess up in a long line of blunders that Dubas has made.

Oh he is more then capable. I can count maybe 2-3 blunders he made, but I know the popular thing is blame him for everything.
And no that wasn't a blunder.
Then again this garbage franchise will do something silly and fire him because thats what they do.

 

[Gabriel426]

That's the point. This board would have had them fired for not winning and regressing with the cores as listed. And the excellent programs that were being developed would have died in their infancy.

I think the sense now has more to do with moving on from the core and retool than lets trade everyone and rebuild.
Overall, the talents are the Big Four are not working. Like how Avs move on from ROR and Duchence. ROR actually won a Cup while Avs is still working toward it. Could happen with the Leafs. Marner might win a Cup with his new team and Leafs might start move pass the 2nd round.

 

[rumman]

He is respected and capable. Lets be honest, if Dubas had sent Sandin and Lilly to Sweden or whatever, you wouldn't be calling him to be fired. You aren't fooling anyone

It would be refreshing if you had actual facts to back up your view of the GM, however the facts are the team has regressed under his watch, you can’t make a silk purse out of a pigs ear no matter how hard you try.......

 

[djdev]

Oh he is more then capable. I can count maybe 2-3 blunders he made, but I know the popular thing is blame him for everything.
And no that wasn't a blunder.
Then again this garbage franchise will do something silly and fire him because thats what they do.

i agree with you here, he gave this team everything they asked for. the blame falls on the players on the ice 100% how many coaches(keefe has been pretty bad in the post season though) and gms do we need to go through before we put the blame on the players that dont produce when needed.

 

[Cleetus]

It would be refreshing if you had actual facts to back up your view of the GM, however the facts are the team has regressed under his watch, you can’t make a silk purse out of a pigs ear no matter how hard you try.......

the worst of it blaming the fans for how the roster is constructed like this is the worst take ive read... or calling the franchise garbage, who is the gm of this so called garbage franchise.... all avenues should be looked at, Dubas is not bigger than the "franchise" what a joke

 

[rumman]

Oh he is more then capable. I can count maybe 2-3 blunders he made, but I know the popular thing is blame him for everything.
And no that wasn't a blunder.
Then again this garbage franchise will do something silly and fire him because thats what they do.

Funny, I thought the popular thing to do was blame the fans for wanting more grit?

 

[Amadeus]

Dubas has absolutely 0 blame this season. We were going to stomp on the North division, the players and coach choked hard. Dubas did his job, which is to make as best a team as he could make. Players and coach didn't do their jobs to execute and perform on the ice.

Not sure he did anything out of the ordinary if you look at the season. He swung and missed on Simmonds, Thornton and Foligno who were basically our depth.

Also, I think the coaching needs to definitely come in question. This team rode on its talent for a 1st place finish in the North but our special teams were underwhelming the entire year and that's partially on the coaching staff as well.

 

[rumman]

the worst of it blaming the fans for how the roster is constructed like this is the worst take ive read... or calling the franchise garbage, who is the gm of this so called garbage franchise.... all avenues should be looked at, Dubas is not bigger than the "franchise" what a joke

It’s like talking to the wall.........

 

[Commander Clueless]

Every time I ask myself what I would do if I were Kyle Dubas, the only answer I can think of is to quit and watch this team from a safe distance.

 

[Cpt Maple Leaf]

This is the hilarious part. We couldn't score for 2 playoffs in a row, and the league is saying get more defence? Yeah lets lose 1-0 instead of 2-0 next time. NHL will never advance as a league with 1950's thinking.

Seems like what this team needs is tough, physical forwards that will go into the dirty areas and win puck battles to compliment the offensive firepower we do have as nobody seems willing to do that at this point. The team played perimeter hockey at it's finest, including on the pp. Defense had some major game costing gaffs, but overall have not been horrific.

 

[4thline]

I think the sense now has more to do with moving on from the core and retool than lets trade everyone and rebuild.
Overall, the talents are the Big Four are not working. Like how Avs move on from ROR and Duchence. ROR actually won a Cup while Avs is still working toward it. Could happen with the Leafs. Marner might win a Cup with his new team and Leafs might start move pass the 2nd round.

The root of this discussion was people being shortsighted wanting management turnover based on short term results. Certain posters would have fired Sakic and Yzerman 3 years into their tenures, and great teams/programs would not have happened.

 

[rumman]

Every time I ask myself what I would do if I were Kyle Dubas, the only answer I can think of is to quit and watch this team from a safe distance.

Wishful thinking, there’s no honor among thieves........

 

[TMLAM34]

Not sure he did anything out of the ordinary if you look at the season. He swung and missed on Simmonds, Thornton and Foligno who were basically our depth.

Also, I think the coaching needs to definitely come in question. This team rode on its talent for a 1st place finish in the North but our special teams were underwhelming the entire year and that's partially on the coaching staff as well.

Not sure how Malhotra hasn’t been fired yet. Hopefully they get a more experience coach to help Keefe and run the PP, someone with more experience like Bruce……

 

[The Best Leafs Ever]

Not sure he did anything out of the ordinary if you look at the season. He swung and missed on Simmonds, Thornton and Foligno who were basically our depth.

Also, I think the coaching needs to definitely come in question. This team rode on its talent for a 1st place finish in the North but our special teams were underwhelming the entire year and that's partially on the coaching staff as well.

Where was that talent in the playoffs? You need to hold your star players accountable too, especially after they choked 4 seasons in a row.

 

[Amadeus]

Where was that talent in the playoffs? You need to hold your star players accountable too, especially after they choked 4 seasons in a row.

The talent deserves all the criticism plus more.

 

[djdev]

Where was that talent in the playoffs? You need to hold your star players accountable too, especially after they choked 4 seasons in a row.

ye nobody was calling for marner to be traded before this, most people we happy with the foligno trade, bogo played great..brodie played great. when simmonds was brought in people were happy to finally have a player that played a harder style that could use the body and fight etc. at the end of the day...the top 5 point getting and rocket winner couldnt get it done again. for the life of me though, the absolute refusal to try something else on the 1st line was very babcockesque..not happy with keefe atm.

 

[Americanadian]

Are the Stars looking to move him?

No but they have a top 4LD coming up in Harley and have struggled to score the last couple years.

 

[The Best Leafs Ever]

ye nobody was calling for marner to be traded before this, most people we happy with the foligno trade, bogo played great..brodie played great. when simmonds was brought in people were happy to finally have a player that played a harder style that could use the body and fight etc. at the end of the day...the top 5 point getting and rocket winner couldnt get it done again. for the life of me though, the absolute refusal to try something else on the 1st line was very babcockesque..not happy with keefe atm.

Of course, all your point proves that Dubas did a fantastic job this season with how the team appeared on paper. The coaches and players need to be the ones who need to be held accountable here. PP was garbage, zero intensity to the game, top line scoring 1 goal in 7 games, refusing to try anything but keeping everything the same regardless how many times they failed, refusing to play the only line that was consistently scoring in Gally-Kerfoot-Nylander.

All of these can't be blamed on the GM.