What Would You Do With This Team Over the Offseason?

[colchar]

Fire Shanahan, promote Treliving to PofHO. Treliving was nepotism anyways, so I think we are stuck with him. Shanahan was recommended to MLSE by Bettman. I don't have to wonder why he made the team just good enough to make the playoffs but unable to truly compete in them..

Oh for f*** sakes, give it a rest with the conspiracy crap.

 

[Jojalu]

Because he disappears in the playoffs.

Disappears is a huge exaggeration.

He is not in the Tier of Mack, Drai, McDavid for sure. Bit those guys are top 5 alltime as of now.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Get Minten and potentially Cowan up here and give them the season to learn and grow, warts and all. Increase the roles of Knies, McMann, and Robertson too. Rielly, McCabe, and Benoit will remain on defence, don't particularly care about Liljegren one way or the other right now, I suppose if he's cheap keep him. No idea what to do with Timmins. He's still under contract and he always trips his way into points so an extended look may be in order, again warts and all. Niemela is our "best" defenseman prospect but after the steady stream of small stature guys in Dermott, Liljegren, Sandin, and Hollowell who did nothing for us I'm really not all that interested in him as a player, especially after having Benoit fall into our laps and seeing him have a bigger and better impact on this team than any of those guys just by virtue of being 6'4" and a son of a bitch to play against. Cade Webber is now in the system, he's a massive dude, good defensively (in college at least), and shoots left. Could be a fine enough Edmundson replacement going forward if not right away.

Would love to make Woll the full time starter but he’s so injury prone I'm not entirely sure how viable he is going forward. Samsonov is done here and he can take his erratic play and mind somewhere else. Laurent Brossoit would be a great target as a backup/insurance, outside of him the goalie free agent market is really gross so we better hope we can win his sweepstakes.

Defence needs at least one more guy that can move the puck, probably two. Rielly had a relatively poor season and a dismal playoff and Liljegren hasn't shown to be that guy. Montour is the best guy on the market for that, shoots right, and is a good Ontario boy, but I doubt he'll leave the Panthers for us, and even if he did he'd be looking at like an $8 million AAV here, while in Florida he'll probably sign for $2 million less than that and after taxes would take home the same amount. Sean Walker is a UFA, he's small but at least he's proven to be a capable puck mover at the NHL level. Pesce would be a good target as a capable shutdown RHD, Tanev would likely be cheaper but at 34 who knows how much he's got left in him.

Don't particularly care to target UFA forwards, lack of cap space is already going to make it difficult to build a new defence corps and find another goalie, not to mention we've got lots of young forward prospects who could be capable of making an impact. I wouldn't mind Domi returning if it's at a similar cap hit but despite his passion I'm not married to him. Same with Bertuzzi, liked his battling with Marchand and he came on strong to end the season but he'll likely price himself out and he only had a so-so postseason. No one else listed as a UFA really interests me.

I’d go hard after Brossoit, make a push for two of Walker, Pesce, and Tanev, and kick the tires on Domi to see if the money could work. Infuse this team with youth and bide time until next off-season when Tavares and Marner are off the books, especially if you can’t convince Mitch to piss off this off-season.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving faces off-season questions - Toronto Star

Here are some of the questions he faces.

Fire the coach?

Keefe’s two-year extension hasn’t even kicked in yet, but it’s the easiest move to make, to bring in a new voice. There’s no evidence that Treliving is upset with Keefe. They were on the same page all season, and Keefe fully embraced Treliving’s idea of a bigger defence corps as well as a team commitment to defence.

But there are other coaches who might find a way to demand more out of the team, some with Stanley Cup rings to their credit, like Craig Berube or Claude Julien or even Darryl Sutter. If Treliving thought there was a way to pry Rod Brind’Amour away from Carolina — where he remains without a contract — perhaps he would give that a try. Gerard Gallant hasn’t won the Cup, but he’s gotten to the final.

Trade Mitch Marner?

This would be up to Marner, who has a full no-movement clause in his contract. But Marner may feel he’s not the best fit in Toronto. He takes criticism personally, and there’s a lot of it in Toronto. And there was some sniping in the playoffs among the core players that suggested all may not be well. Marner, Matthews and Nylander were spotted visibly frustrated with each other in Game 4, though they all said that was related to a single play and said not to put too much stock in it.

Still, Marner may feel better going to a sunshine state where he can be the best player and live in relative anonymity.

Given he is eligible to sign an extension this summer, a sign-and-trade could well be in the works. Marner would be coveted by any team. Lightning coach Jon Cooper has long sung his praises and Tampa might be willing to part with defenceman Mikhail Sergachev. The new team in Utah could probably use a player like Marner.

Even if the Leafs didn’t get a stud player back, the cap space could be invaluable to draw better players to support the remaining core players.

Get a goalie?

For too many playoffs, the Leafs had the second-best goalie in the series. The Leafs have faced a steady stream of Vezina winners, Jennings winners, even Conn Smythe and Hart Trophy winners in the other net.

Joseph Woll looks like he could be that guy, one day. But he has to stay healthy. And that is an issue. Ilya Samsonov has his moments, but really fails to make the big save when needed.

Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom could be available on the trade market this summer, a goalie Treliving knows very well.

Beef up the defence?

Leafs fans loved the vim and vigour Simon Benoit brought to the team. And it was a joy to watch Joel Edmundson pummel Bruins like Pastrnak and Brad Marchand. Ilya Lyubushkin was also a physical force. Jake McCabe played some of his best hockey in blue and white. They’re all big guys. And size matters on defence. Nikita Zadorov of Vancouver and Chris Tanev of Dallas — again ex-Flames known well by Treliving — fit the bill on that front as pending unrestricted free agents.

Spend to the cap?

Give or take a big trade, Treliving has about $18 million (U.S.) in cap space with Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, Edmundson, Lyubushkin, T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano, Samsonov and Martin Jones all pending unrestricted free agents. Connor Dewar, Nick Robertson, Noah Gregor and Timothy Liljegren are restricted free agents. As well, the players whose salaries were buried on long-term injured reserve come off the books: Jake Muzzin, Matt Murray and John Klingberg.

Keep his picks?

The Leafs have six picks in the upcoming draft, including their first-rounder. They also have a fourth-rounder, two in the fifth round and two in the seventh. The scouting department has done an excellent job of finding quality players in later rounds, with Matthew Knies (57th in 2021) and Nick Robertson (53rd in 2019) each having completed their first full regular season. Fraser Minten (38th in 2022) got a four-game taste this year and is captain of Saskatoon in the WHL playoffs while Easton Cowan (28th in 2023) was named top player in the OHL after a stellar year in London.

 

[Dreakmur]

As it stands right now, I'd probably:

Fire Shanahan. He screwed himself over with his stupid kneejerk decision last offseason. May have been era-destroyin

Dubas did the era-destroying long before this summer rolled around.

The only potential decision this summer that could have saved this group was a Marner trade not hindered by a NMC. So, unless you think that was Dubas’ plan, getting rid of him was a godsend.

 

[Maple Leaf]

rebuoodld rebuuld rebuild

 

[57 Years No Cup]

Ask Marner to waive his NMC. If he says yes trade him to Nashville for Askarov, a first round pick and salary to make the upcoming extension for Marner more palatable. If he refuses to waive, force him to by telling him he's not being re-signed, is being stripped of his "A", etc.

Do the same for Tavares, if he won't waive, strip the captaincy and give it to Matthews.

Fire the entire coaching staff and throw money at Rod Brind'Amour. If you can't get him to come over, hire Berube instead.

Trade the Nashville first rounder, Robertson and Jarnkrok for another top six forward who can score goals.

Draft the highest upside player available with our own first. I'm thinking one of Connelly if he falls, Hage or Mews.

Trade Ryan Reaves for whatever you can get to clear cap space.

Let Brodie, Gio, Samsonov etc. walk and sign Matt Roy in UFA, use any cap left over from potential Marner/Tavares trades to chase Sam Reinhart and Brett Pesce.

Re-Sign Domi and let Bertuzzi walk.

Ideally your roster looks something like this:

Domi-Matthews-Nylander
Knies-Reinhart-Trade acquisition
McMann-Minten-Grebenkin
Cowan-Kampf-Tverberg (fourth line with defensive acumen, speed and potential depth scoring).


Rielly-Roy
McCabe-Pesce
Benoit-Liljegren
Timmins


Askarov/Woll Tandem

That's a terrible lineup. Back to Charmin Soft.

 

[Menzinger]

MLSE paid 20 million+ to babcock to sit at home. Keefe's extension I am pretty sure isn't as lucrative

I think they'd eat his costs, I'm not sure about Shanny's and Tre's salaries on top of that at the same time though. But early days into the off-season yet.....

 

[Maplebeasts]

That's a terrible lineup. Back to Charmin Soft.

That's a much better line-up than we currently have. What's your plan Einstein?

He’s better than Morgan..

That is a low bar. Also debatable.

 

[57 Years No Cup]

That's a much better line-up than we currently have. What's your plan Einstein?

Not to listen to you.

 

[Maplebeasts]

Not to listen to you.

Great. Thanks for nothing.

 

[57 Years No Cup]

Great. Thanks for nothing.

Keep your day job. You're a terrible armchair GM.

 

[Goose]

So you're keeping the same team?

If you read my post I think it answers your question.

If you need help reading, resources are available.

 

[Maple Leaf]

So you're keeping the same team?

I am starting from scratch

 

[hamzarocks]

That's a much better line-up than we currently have. What's your plan Einstein?


That is a low bar. Also debatable.

Reinhart cant play C its like putting Nylander as our 2C

The top 6RW I guess could be buchnevich who is a 1 year deal.

Bottom 6 will suck hard.

Minten is likely a career AHLer (dont see an NHLer there), Greb and Cowan need 1-2 years still but maybe can surprise and play NHL earlier than expected

Tverberg probably another year before he can be a McMann type role. Only 1 decent year in the AHL. Can use another year where he ups his offense

Pesce what is he making and what is term? Him and Roy are fine at 4 years max but I see a Brodie like Decline in 3 years so giving them 6 to 7 years would be deterimental

Would need to see this done on cap friendly to know the proper team outlook and build

Also unsure if Tavares can be moved which kills the team

 

[fahad203]

Fire everyone


Everyone ?

 

[TheGreenTBer]

Cosplay as GM all you want, you know in your heart that they’re running it back again.

Allow me to raise a question to the floor if that's the case:

If they don't care, why should we?

 

[egd27]

The "corps fore" is finished one of either 16, 34 or even both have to be shown the door A youngish goaltender of consequence should be the target plus a handful of 1ST and 2ND rnd picks

You'd show 34 the door? That's interesting, what leads you to that suggestion?

 

[Mickey Marner]

Allow me to raise a question to the floor if that's the case:

If they don't care, why should we?

I watched more Leafs playoff games than regular season games this year. Last season I stopped watching after Christmas when it was already certain we were playing Tampa. You can continue to like the team without liking this iteration of it. Not that difficult to find something else to do for two hours on a Tuesday night in December. Balls in their court.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

I watched more Leafs playoff games than regular season games this year. Last season I stopped watching after Christmas when it was already certain we were playing Tampa. You can continue to like the team without liking this iteration of it. Not that difficult to find something else to do for two hours on a Tuesday night in December. Balls in their court.

I've already gone years barely watching in the regular season because I didn't see the point and I wasn't entertained enough for it to be worth it.

I can't stand this core. They are everything I hate about a certain segment of athletes today (and this is not a generation thing specifically because many other athletes their age are winners). They are self-centered, entitled, greedy and have massively exaggerated senses of self-importance. Being more about your personal brand than the team might cut it on some run of the mill 3rd rate team but this is the Toronto f***ing Maple Leafs. THAT. ISN'T. ACCEPTABLE.

 

[Niagara Bill]

A lot of talk about changing the culture. I really don't see a need. They played good tough playoff hockey. Midt showed heart. We have Cowan, Minton coming.
They are short a great dman, a goalie for sure.
They actually played better without AM and better without Mitchy on the ice.
AM is a great player and needs to be retained, but Mitchy for a great dman would be logical.
Reilly is not good enough. Mitchy was not even in the top 9 forwards on this team.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

A lot of talk about changing the culture. I really don't see a need. They played good tough playoff hockey. Midt showed heart. We have Cowan, Minton coming.
They are short a great dman, a goalie for sure.
They actually played better without AM and better without Mitchy on the ice.
AM is a great player and needs to be retained, but Mitchy for a great dman would be logical.
Reilly is not good enough. Mitchy was not even in the top 9 forwards on this team.

No offense but I stopped reading right there.

 

[Divine]

This is why Senators fans hate the Leafs so much. They’ve needed a coach for a while but the coaches they want would rather coach the Leafs

 

[notbias]

Reinhart cant play C its like putting Nylander as our 2C

The top 6RW I guess could be buchnevich who is a 1 year deal.

Bottom 6 will suck hard.

Minten is likely a career AHLer (dont see an NHLer there), Greb and Cowan need 1-2 years still but maybe can surprise and play NHL earlier than expected

Tverberg probably another year before he can be a McMann type role. Only 1 decent year in the AHL. Can use another year where he ups his offense

Pesce what is he making and what is term? Him and Roy are fine at 4 years max but I see a Brodie like Decline in 3 years so giving them 6 to 7 years would be deterimental

Would need to see this done on cap friendly to know the proper team outlook and build

Also unsure if Tavares can be moved which kills the team

Do you think Minten is a career AHLer because he didn't look out of place in the NHL at 19 or for another reason?

I think it's weird to write off a kid who got NHL games at 19.

 

[Evilhomer]

There will be a lot of moves, and I think the Leafs will be very active in free agency.