GDT: Trades & Free Agency

[mydnyte]

Edmundson is cheaper than Zadorov, I'd rather just keep him

Edmundson is a poor skater, and cant handle the puck, or do anything with pace. He isnt nearly as physical as advertised, I dont want him back.

 

[SprDaVE]

They also have an excess of forwards, and would still be lacking defensive minded forwards who can penalty kill. Aside from the big moves, I think some depth will be shipped out for a better mix up front, or D so you can sign those guys up front.

I don't disagree. I really want Kampf gone but it's gonna be tough to dump him at his current state. That's about the only forward to me that is really way below their efficiency cap value. You could probably replace him with a Sam Carrick for a fraction of the price and get similar value on the ice. He can PK and ok on draws but he just sucks everywhere else.

 

[mydnyte]

Pesce and Roy are Americans currently playing in the U.S., I think the odds of the Leafs signing either is fairly low.

I could see the Leafs taking another stab at Tanev/Zadorov in FA considering Tre tried to acquire both earlier this year.

You still need to kick the tires on both
I'd want a min of 2 RHD and ideally 3, but, $$ will likely get tossed around to make that impossible,
they need one from the defensive with size group and one from the mobile group.
Size/Defense
Pesce
Tanev
Zadorov (can play both sides)
Skjei (LHD, but he is really good)
Hakanpaa

movers/2-way (smallish)
Walker
Carrier
Roy
DeMelo
Montour (priced out for sure)

I'd only resign Domi if we can get him at 4 or less, and want nothing to do with Bert
spend almost all our cap on Defense.
We'd likely need to deal one of or both of Kampf/Jarnkrok if they wanted to sign a goalie as well, else Samsonov walks, and we go Woll - Hildi or a league min Vet Driedger is the only 'decent' UFA goalie unless we gamble on a backup that had a good season like Stolarz or Brossoit
Ideally we try to get an NHL ready goalie that is blocked by a 'star' ...Askorov will likely NOT be available ever, and Soros would be a bad pickup
Silvos Canucks blocked by Demko
Luukkonen is interesting as Buff also has Levi (but could run both)
Detroit has 2 blocked by Husso but both young enough to wait out the Husso contract
Devils have a couple and are looking for a more experienced G

If we could move Samsonov's rights we should be all over that.

 

[aingefan]

Feasible and not that bad. Pretty much what we have now but with Roy. I'm not sure if Edmundson will take that kind of press box role or cheap money to be in that role... he's only 30 years old. So he's probably looking at a sizeable deal.

I'd rather target Montour myself because he's got a lot more offense to his game but Roy should be cheaper.

Good targets.
The other idea is to try and invent a new top pair.
Saying this as an unabashed, unapologetic Lili fan. Who would happily endorse mocking him up at term.
Go after Brady Skjei. Pair with Lili.
Get Mo a quiet steady guy, we know it works. Maybe Desharnais.
Then Benny and McCabe.
And Marlies ready to move up by some point next year and the start of the 25 season.

 

[Machinae]

Rielly - ???
McCabe - ???
Benoit - Liljegren

Next up..
Webber - Timmins
Kokkonen - Mattinen

Everything must go into upgrading the defense in the offseason. Roy, Pesce, Tanev, Demelo.. the options are there for a Rielly partner. What they will also need is a big, righthanded point shot to play PP1 and pair with McCabe (that's why they went after Klingberg, they know Rielly doesn't work and they don't have any other options outside of Timmins), and potentially a replacement for Liljegren if they want to upgrade him too. Timmins still has potential.

If Liljegren ends up moved, Benoit-Timmins could be the best 3rd pair in the league or the absolute worst. 50/50 chance no in between. But lots of upside.

No Zadorov, edmundson, lyubushkin.. just no. It has to be top4 upgrades, otherwise whats the difference between them and Benoit, Timmins, Mattinen, etc. Rather give Webber a whole season to figure it out. If they don't workout you target depth at the deadline again.

 

[aingefan]

Zero interest in Tanev. More interested in either Matt Roy or Brandon Montour

I have more than zero interest, but he’s well below those two and a few others for sure. Desharnais is the sneaky good value buy to be a Hainsey.

Leafs have $16mm for about 7 players.
So if you use $5mm on a defender, there is $11mm for a goaltender and skaters.

This would definitely force them to the hangers-on, or prospects/kids.

I'm pushing for Grebenkin/Minten/Cowan/Hirvonen/Niemela being part of that group. Maybe a steal from free agency.

Agreed. We’ve seen that the kids are actually pretty good if they get burn.
That’s supposed to be the value play having stars up front - they make the cheap guys surplus values.

 

[BertCorbeau]

I wonder if Anaheim would be willing to move 3rd OA for a legit player.

They have collected a lot of good young players (McTavish, Carlsson, Gauthier, Zegras) and have a few promising young defenders as well.

Maybe a package around Marner (extended) could work. They have cap space and could use not only Marner’s offense but also his defensive game.

This could allow them to move on from Zegras if they wish.

 

[Stephen]

Yep he's been good defensively.. except for his price tag he's supposed to be more than that. And his subpar offensive performance outweighs his defensive strength. This is magnified by the team's overall poor special teams in the series, particularly the power play where Marner is supposed to be at his best.

And this isn't a one off either, it's been more like this than more not like this in the last 7 years.

Terrible take by JFresh.

If Marner is the superior player, Pastrnak and friends should be the ones focused on trying to keep up with what should be a furiously dominant performance a la Datsyuk. But it’s Marner in the defensive role with limited offense, that’s usually the way a team will trade off an inferior two way player who is tasked with shadowing a superior, more dominant offensive force.

 

[LeafSteel]

Terrible take by JFresh.

If Marner is the superior player, Pastrnak and friends should be the ones focused on trying to keep up with what should be a furiously dominant performance a la Datsyuk. But it’s Marner in the defensive role with limited offense, that’s usually the way a team will trade off an inferior two way player who is tasked with shadowing a superior, more dominant offensive force.

I salute his consistency.

Consistently proved that the eye test beats number crunching every time.

Can’t stand the guy.

 

[weems]

We need to find some good undervalued, young players similar to what Colorado did with Toews/Nichushkin.

Mario Ferraro's name came up a few times last year as someone we had some trade interest in. I have never watched this player before but his scouting reports reads as solid skater, secondary offense, physical top 4.

So for anyone that has seen him play, how good is he? What would it cost in a trade? Is he someone that could really break out on a better team because if so, his 3.2 million salary would look really good for a top 4 difference maker.

 

[Dough72]

Terrible take by JFresh.

If Marner is the superior player, Pastrnak and friends should be the ones focused on trying to keep up with what should be a furiously dominant performance a la Datsyuk. But it’s Marner in the defensive role with limited offense, that’s usually the way a team will trade off an inferior two way player who is tasked with shadowing a superior, more dominant offensive force.

it's just a normal matchup the team is not telling Marner to ignore offense like a shadow

 

[SprDaVE]

We need to find some good undervalued, young players similar to what Colorado did with Toews/Nichushkin.

Mario Ferraro's name came up a few times last year as someone we had some trade interest in. I have never watched this player before but his scouting reports reads as solid skater, secondary offense, physical top 4.

So for anyone that has seen him play, how good is he? What would it cost in a trade? Is he someone that could really break out on a better team because if so, his 3.2 million salary would look really good for a top 4 difference maker.

If Ferarro was a right handed defenseman, he'd be a fantastic target. Being a LHD, it might be hard to justify go hard after him but could makes sense if the Leafs push McCabe or Benoit to the right. I think he's on an island on a terrible Sharks team, so his overall stats suffer really bad.

I think missing out on Byram was a tough one, although we didn't have a Mittelstadt level player to just give up at the deadline. Being able to get a Toews is just about timing and a bit of luck.

 

[weems]

If Ferarro was a right handed defenseman, he'd be a fantastic target. Being a LHD, it might be hard to justify go hard after him but could makes sense if the Leafs push McCabe or Benoit to the right. I think he's on an island on a terrible Sharks team, so his overall stats suffer really bad.

I think missing out on Byram was a tough one, although we didn't have a Mittelstadt level player to just give up at the deadline. Being able to get a Toews is just about timing and a bit of luck.

Yep being LHD definitely makes him less likely than if he shot right but we have no idea how much of a overhaul the front office might want to do with the blueline.

The reason I specifically brought Ferarro up, is because there was surprisingly alot of hype around him this past season as a trade target and it made me think this player is actually legit. He could just be a average player on a bad team that said bad team overrates because they need too.

He won't really actualize his value on a team like SJ where they're getting smoked everynight.

 

[kb]

Putting aside that he’s unlikely to waive, would you do Tavares for Merzlikins?

Kampf or Domi as the #2c?

Rebuild time.

 

[MarMarSab3]

Kampf or Domi as the #2c?

Rebuild time.

Tavares isn't really a 2C at this point either though.

 

[Kiwi]

Tavares isn't really a 2C at this point either though.

He's a middle 6C still, I'd like to grab Wennberg and stack him and Tavares behind Matthews

That's the sort of center depth you can go after teams with

 

[MarMarSab3]

He's a middle 6C still, I'd like to grab Wennberg and stack him and Tavares behind Matthews

That's the sort of center depth you can go after teams with

I'm all for that move

 

[seanlinden]

TBH if you can land Tanev and retain Boosh, provided they are reasonable contracts, suddenly you have 2 guys that can partner with Rielly.

Not the worst outcome.

This goes along with the idea that a more legit top defender that the Leafs need just isn’t available or available for a feasible cost. So a short term bridge solution might have to work.

Personally I think it would be a mistake to take that approach.

To me, it's Tanev OR Lyubushkin. They need somebody who actually belongs on a top pair -- even if it ends up Rielly with one of those guys, and the real addition with somebody else.

To me, the framework you've gotta be looking at is:

Rielly-______ (Tanev or Lyubushkin)
McCabe-______ (somebody better than either of those guys)
Benoit-Liljegren

 

[1specter]

Tavares isn't really a 2C at this point either though.

Yes he is lol. His production has taken a hit (mainly cause of PP), but he still faces hard matchups and has played well defensively. In fact, he's actually gotten better defensively over the years. Even if he's only a 60-70 pt responsible defensively C now that's still a very good 2C.

 

[Kiwi]

I'm really conflicted on Liljegren

I watch him and I just don't see a top 4D but we have to make a decision on him this offseason

I'm not comfortable giving him term or an AAV over 2M, I want to give him 3rd pairing money and I'm not sure he's going to be willing to take it

 

[Warden of the North]

I'm really conflicted on Liljegren

I watch him and I just don't see a top 4D but we have to make a decision on him this offseason

I'm not comfortable giving him term or an AAV over 2M, I want to give him 3rd pairing money and I'm not sure he's going to be willing to take it

I'm not conflicted. I've seen enough. He doesn't do anything remarkable. He's the new Carl Gunnarsson. A perfectly fine player with no defining characteristics to his play and not terribly hard to replace. He isn't a Treliving type player either, so I doubt he's on the roster next season.

 

[Hoglund4MvP]

Domi and Bertuzzi have the same expression at beginning of shift and at end of shift. They're the types of players who will still have full tank by round 4. If it's possible to re-sign both somehow we need to look into it.

 

[Punch Drunk Loov]

Domi and Bertuzzi have the same expression at beginning of shift and at end of shift. They're the types of players who will still have full tank by round 4. If it's possible to re-sign both somehow we need to look into it.

I adore those knuckleheads

 

[TMLAM34]

I'm really conflicted on Liljegren

I watch him and I just don't see a top 4D but we have to make a decision on him this offseason

I'm not comfortable giving him term or an AAV over 2M, I want to give him 3rd pairing money and I'm not sure he's going to be willing to take it

Overall I think it’s been a pretty disappointing season/playoffs for Liljegren. This was the year we all expected him to finally take that jump and solidify a spot in the top four, he’s shown glimpses of it but for the most part he’s shown he’s more suited in a third pair role.

Benoit - Liljegren could be a really solid third pair but I think Benoit (or anything physical player) play more comfortable with a partner who will stand up for them (see McCabe) and back each other up no matter the situation. Liljegren doesn’t provide that which could change Benoits physical approach.

I’d love to go out and grab Schneider from New York. Benoit - Schneider third pair would be fun to watch grow together. Maybe a package with Liljegren and Robertson for Schneider and pick would work.

 

[BertCorbeau]

I'm really conflicted on Liljegren

I watch him and I just don't see a top 4D but we have to make a decision on him this offseason

I'm not comfortable giving him term or an AAV over 2M, I want to give him 3rd pairing money and I'm not sure he's going to be willing to take it

Well he’s an RFA, and I don’t think he has leverage for a hold out.

He’s an interesting case. He’s not big or small, but is strong. A smooth skater, but not a burner. Has some nice offensive skills (passing, puck handling, shooting), but a limited toolbox. He’s steady defensively but prone to a gaffe.

He’s also a RHD.. not as easily replaceable as Warden suggests. If he were a sure thing he’d justifiably be getting a big deal.

I wouldn’t go for Sandin type of money. But a multi year deal will cost you UFA years.

I personally believe d-men continually mature and refine their game as time extends. At 25, I like Liljegren’s skillset that if he continues to do so, he can be a valuable top 4 guy. We have seen him do well in stretches where he played a bigger role.

I would look for something in the 3 x $3 range myself.