2014 NHL Free Agency...Fizzle?

[Mess]

its not always about the money. it is about the "fit".

jvr-bozak-kessel works. is it worth disrupting that situation to see if we can bring in ribiero who would put up 20 more points, be even worse defensively and potentially be a problem off the ice.

our 2nd line is some combination of lupul-kadri-clarkson/frattin/santorelli/kontiola/ashton/holland. is it worth taking time from kadris development as a center to bring in ribiero who again would put up serious points playing with lupul and kadri but not help defensively or with character.

ribiero would obviously not be brought in to play on the 3rd line.

Agreed Ribeiro would likely have knocked Kadri out of the middle or out of the top 6. Ribeiro might even have outscored Bozak.

However this is a development year for the Leafs and they want to give their young players a chance to play and develop and not so much about pushing the team forward up the standings by adding vets in the short term.

Roy would have guaranteed Holland was out as Leafs 3rd line center.

 

[Teeder9]

Not what the Nucks fans say

They said he was better than Kesler and Hamhuis? I didn't see him at the Olympics. Maybe I didn't think he was even remotely an option.

 

[showtime8]

Aside from a potential Franson trade, I would have to think that the Leafs are done trying to tinker with their line-up.

The biggest question that I have is who fills in with the 2nd line winger beside Kadri and Lupul.

The contenders would be:

William Nylander - will get every chance to crack the line-up. He'll be in all the pre-season games guaranteed and where he was drafted will give him an edge

David Clarkson - although not the most popular choice, he may get a chance to prove that he can hang. This year will be an important year for him and the Leafs realize that. He'll get a good shot.

AHL player (Frattin/Leivo/Abbott) - Not to be discounted on here, but all 3 of those players will get a shot to show they can play. Abbott is a guy that can pass and sees the ice very well, Leivo has a lot of potential with his frame and the way he plays and Frattin seems the most NHL ready with his shot and the way he can handle contact.

 

[RLF]

awful. just awful.

LOL. And why? I will guess it has to do with how horrible we will be without Dion...

 

[Teeder9]

LOL. And why? I will guess it has to do with how horrible we will be without Dion...

I think it's more to do with the fact you traded him for 2 3rd line forwards and a redundant dman of which we already have 3

 

[Lifeisnice]

Aside from a potential Franson trade, I would have to think that the Leafs are done trying to tinker with their line-up.

The biggest question that I have is who fills in with the 2nd line winger beside Kadri and Lupul.

The contenders would be:

William Nylander - will get every chance to crack the line-up. He'll be in all the pre-season games guaranteed and where he was drafted will give him an edge

David Clarkson - although not the most popular choice, he may get a chance to prove that he can hang. This year will be an important year for him and the Leafs realize that. He'll get a good shot.

AHL player (Frattin/Leivo/Abbott) - Not to be discounted on here, but all 3 of those players will get a shot to show they can play. Abbott is a guy that can pass and sees the ice very well, Leivo has a lot of potential with his frame and the way he plays and Frattin seems the most NHL ready with his shot and the way he can handle contact.

Leafs will want it to be a competition for that spot but in the end I believe it will be Frattin's spot to lose. He was brought in because we wanted an RW already at the NHL level, and mgmt wants to recreate the energy of the 2013 team. That team included chemistry between Kadri and a snakebitten but energizing Frattin.

JVR - Bozac - Kessel
Lupul - Kadri - Frattin
Komorov - Kontiola - Santorelli
Bodie - Holland - Clarkson

Perhaps switch Ashton and Bodie to start the season, gives us four lines to roll.

 

[RLF]

I think it's more to do with the fact you traded him for 2 3rd line forwards and a redundant dman of which we already have 3

Well, DeHaan played over 21 mins a night at 22 years old when called up...that's redundant? He's a solid D who should become a top 4 guy.
Both Lee and Bailey are 24 and likely one will be a top 6 guy, but both will be top 9.
3 young players, 24 and under for Dion and all 3 NHL ready. That is about Dion's value. Many will hate that, but if he was worth more, he would have been traded already.

Phaneuf was on the market, there is little doubt and Nonis has said he has received little interest. Why? because Dion is solid but not great with a bad contract. Phaneuf will not return what many think he will with out taking back a lot of contract. Two of those guys are former 1st rounders (DeHaan and Bailey) and a guy that has scored at every level he has played(Lee).

 

[RLF]

Leafs will want it to be a competition for that spot but in the end I believe it will be Frattin's spot to lose. He was brought in because we wanted an RW already at the NHL level, and mgmt wants to recreate the energy of the 2013 team. That team included chemistry between Kadri and a snakebitten but energizing Frattin.

JVR - Bozac - Kessel
Lupul - Kadri - Frattin
Komorov - Kontiola - Santorelli
Bodie - Holland - Clarkson

Perhaps switch Ashton and Bodie to start the season, gives us four lines to roll.

The spot is Clarkson's to lose. He only lost it last year because of the suspension. I would be shocked if he is not given the chance to regain the spot he was brought in for and he won't be on the 4th line.

 

[Teeder9]

Well, DeHaan played over 21 mins a night at 22 years old when called up...that's redundant? He's a solid D who should become a top 4 guy.
Both Lee and Bailey are 24 and likely one will be a top 6 guy, but both will be top 9.
3 young players, 24 and under for Dion and all 3 NHL ready. That is about Dion's value. Many will hate that, but if he was worth more, he would have been traded already.

Phaneuf was on the market, there is little doubt and Nonis has said he has received little interest. Why? because Dion is solid but not great with a bad contract. Phaneuf will not return what many think he will with out taking back a lot of contract. Two of those guys are former 1st rounders (DeHaan and Bailey) and a guy that has scored at every level he has played(Lee).

DeHaan played that much because they had no one else after MacDonald was traded. He is basically Gardiner, Rielly, or even Franson. We have three of him already, and two that could be better in the future. Bailey is a 3rd line player on a non-playoff team. He couldn't do much with Tavares as his center and he can't create enough offense to be worth having as much more than a decent defensive presence on the 2nd. Lee has played a total of 24 games in the NHL and he's 24. He got all the prime minutes he could handle when they called him up and did well, but, he won't get them this year and you'll see a guy who needs them to be successful. He would still be a 3rd line player here because Boston isn't gifting us McQuaid and Kelly for Lupul, and he isn't taking Bozak or Kadri's job from them

 

[IWD]

Well, DeHaan played over 21 mins a night at 22 years old when called up...that's redundant? He's a solid D who should become a top 4 guy.
Both Lee and Bailey are 24 and likely one will be a top 6 guy, but both will be top 9.
3 young players, 24 and under for Dion and all 3 NHL ready. That is about Dion's value. Many will hate that, but if he was worth more, he would have been traded already.

Phaneuf was on the market, there is little doubt and Nonis has said he has received little interest. Why? because Dion is solid but not great with a bad contract. Phaneuf will not return what many think he will with out taking back a lot of contract. Two of those guys are former 1st rounders (DeHaan and Bailey) and a guy that has scored at every level he has played(Lee).

When did Nonis say that there was little interest in Phaneuf?

 

[Teeder9]

When did Nonis say that there was little interest in Phaneuf?

He hasn't, although it's been speculated they have listened to offers, that other teams see him as a 5.5-6m dman, and failure to trade him must mean no one has offered. Speculation now means fact

 

[IWD]

Aside from a potential Franson trade, I would have to think that the Leafs are done trying to tinker with their line-up.

The biggest question that I have is who fills in with the 2nd line winger beside Kadri and Lupul.

The contenders would be:

William Nylander - will get every chance to crack the line-up. He'll be in all the pre-season games guaranteed and where he was drafted will give him an edge

David Clarkson - although not the most popular choice, he may get a chance to prove that he can hang. This year will be an important year for him and the Leafs realize that. He'll get a good shot.

AHL player (Frattin/Leivo/Abbott) - Not to be discounted on here, but all 3 of those players will get a shot to show they can play. Abbott is a guy that can pass and sees the ice very well, Leivo has a lot of potential with his frame and the way he plays and Frattin seems the most NHL ready with his shot and the way he can handle contact.

I don't think we're going to see Nylander for another 2 years at least.

I wish they'd raise the draft age to 20 so that development was shorter, and prospects could go straight to the AHL.

 

[Lifeisnice]

The spot is Clarkson's to lose. He only lost it last year because of the suspension. I would be shocked if he is not given the chance to regain the spot he was brought in for and he won't be on the 4th line.

I think they will try both Clarkson and Frattin on the line but Frattin will be a better fit. I don't believe Carlyle will call it his "Fourth Line", rather a "energy" or "shutdown" line or something. Clarkson could also be given PP time.

Bozak - Kessel = Mainstay of the Leafs attack, might never change
Kadri - Frattin = brought in to recreate spark of 2013 team (what I think mgmt believes, demonstrated by the contract they awarded to Komorov)

Clarkson will end up in our bottom 6, which has been rebuilt to play more minutes.

Kontiola - Santerelli = After Kessel, I believe Santerelli might be our best RW. Utility type player I think the fanbase will grow to like by the end of the year.
Holland - Clarkson = This line will be told that they will not be treated as a conventional fourth line, and they will try and roll a more even lineup giving them 10 + mins a night.

 

[IWD]

He hasn't, although it's been speculated they have listened to offers, that other teams see him as a 5.5-6m dman, and failure to trade him must mean no one has offered. Speculation now means fact

It was more about calling him out for an unfounded statement after he made a similar unfounded statement about the quality of Phaneuf.

 

[showtime8]

I don't think we're going to see Nylander for another 2 years at least.

I wish they'd raise the draft age to 20 so that development was shorter, and prospects could go straight to the AHL.

There are players that are capable of playing in the league, so I think it's all what they can handle.

If Nylander can compete with a professional league in Sweden before he's drafted, then why not give him a shot at it. The worst thing that happens is he plays 9 games and gets sent down.

 

[IWD]

There are players that are capable of playing in the league, so I think it's all what they can handle.

If Nylander can compete with a professional league in Sweden before he's drafted, then why not give him a shot at it. The worst thing that happens is he plays 9 games and gets sent down.

Capable doesn't mean it's a good idea. They're still kids, and the SEL is still a lot less physically grinding or dangerous than the NHL. I kept thinking someone was going to basically destroy Rielly last year, saying "Welcome to the NHL" while he laid there with a concussion.

 

[gabeliscious]

Agreed Ribeiro would likely have knocked Kadri out of the middle or out of the top 6. Ribeiro might even have outscored Bozak.

However this is a development year for the Leafs and they want to give their young players a chance to play and develop and not so much about pushing the team forward up the standings by adding vets in the short term.

Roy would have guaranteed Holland was out as Leafs 3rd line center.

i feel like nonis made some comment about how we are going to have 2 3rd lines/ the 4th line was going to play more then 3 minutes a game. this was in regards to holland. i feel like holland will be on the 4th line with bodie and frattin. ashton might rotate through depending on who is being useless at the time.

LOL. And why? I will guess it has to do with how horrible we will be without Dion...

seriously?

I think it's more to do with the fact you traded him for 2 3rd line forwards and a redundant dman of which we already have 3

^^^^^ what this guy said. im all for moving phaneuf on the assumption that the return makes it worth it either right away or in the future. what you proposed was basically just dumping phaneuf for scraps that we dont have roster spots for as well as actually take up more cap space then phaneuf does.

Leafs will want it to be a competition for that spot but in the end I believe it will be Frattin's spot to lose. He was brought in because we wanted an RW already at the NHL level, and mgmt wants to recreate the energy of the 2013 team. That team included chemistry between Kadri and a snakebitten but energizing Frattin.

JVR - Bozac - Kessel
Lupul - Kadri - Frattin
Komorov - Kontiola - Santorelli
Bodie - Holland - Clarkson

Perhaps switch Ashton and Bodie to start the season, gives us four lines to roll.

i would say there is pretty much zero chance clarkson is on the 4th line. at $5.25 million he will be playing with lupul and kadri. if he shows last year was not an "off year" and he really is useless i think he would beon the 3rd line at worst.

frattin will never see 2nd line minutes baring several injuries.

imo opening night is going to be;

jvr-bozak-kessel
lupul-kadri-clarkson
komorov-kontiola-santorelli
frattin-holland-bodie

i dont even think nylander gets a game unless he flat our kills it in training camp which i admit looks somewhat possible given what we have on the ice.

 

[showtime8]

Capable doesn't mean it's a good idea. They're still kids, and the SEL is still a lot less physically grinding or dangerous than the NHL. I kept thinking someone was going to basically destroy Rielly last year, saying "Welcome to the NHL" while he laid there with a concussion.

Yea, that's a fair point.

I definitely understand where you're coming from. I thought the same thing with Kadri. He has a ton of skill and when the Leafs were bringing him up and sending him down, I was waiting for the same thing (getting drilled).

But here's the thing... he's still getting hammered. I find that he has to get up off the ice after receiving a hit at least 10 times a game. The difference is that he found out how to throw big open ice hits.

If he's got the skill and can handle the physicality of the game, then I don't see why not.

 

[RLF]

He hasn't, although it's been speculated they have listened to offers, that other teams see him as a 5.5-6m dman, and failure to trade him must mean no one has offered. Speculation now means fact

Actually it was reported on sportsnet a couple of weeks ago that Nonis had said he was not actively shopping Dion but would listen to all inquiries, but hadn't received any real interest in Dion either. Can I say it's 100% true? No, but no more than you saying it isn't true just because you believe Dion is worth so much more. Speculation all the talk is bogus is now fact.

 

[RLF]

^^^^^ what this guy said. im all for moving phaneuf on the assumption that the return makes it worth it either right away or in the future. what you proposed was basically just dumping phaneuf for scraps that we dont have roster spots for as well as actually take up more cap space then phaneuf does.


Those 3 are less than $6mil combined and Dion is $7mil...how is that more than Dion. Funny how everyone else 24 and under guys are scrap parts and ours are worth a major return even though they have only 1 full season in the NHL.hmmm

 

[rdawg1234]

give Nylander the 9 game taste, he'll be hungry to make the team next season.

I have no doubt he'll take only one season to be ready, all he needs is bulk and a bit of defensive game work.

 

[William Nylander*]

give Nylander the 9 game taste, he'll be hungry to make the team next season.

Instead of giving him those 9 games straight from the beginning, wouldnt it be better if we only use it to call him up when an injury crisis happens? That way we're less likely to burn a year off his ELC in case we need him to temporarily fill in a top 6 role or something, at a more important time in the season

 

[Community]

Instead of giving him those 9 games straight from the beginning, wouldnt it be better if we only use it to call him up when an injury crisis happens? That way we're less likely to burn a year off his ELC in case we need him to temporarily fill in a top 6 role or something

1. Depends on whether he plays in the AHL or SHL... While I'd (slightly) prefer the AHL, I think it's more likely he goes back to Sweden for a year to play with MODO.

2. If the call-up is due to an "injury crisis", we can re-call him as an emergency call-up and it doesn't count towards his 9 games (as far as I know).

Still think it's moot as it seems likely he goes back to Sweden.

 

[TheCLAM]

Instead of giving him those 9 games straight from the beginning, wouldnt it be better if we only use it to call him up when an injury crisis happens? That way we're less likely to burn a year off his ELC in case we need him to temporarily fill in a top 6 role or something, at a more important time in the season

It's a rare circumstance to have a player at 18 to be playing in a PRO league. European/NCAA rights are almost the same where we would retain Nylander's rights for 4 years. Unless however, he plays for the Marlies/Leafs then in that case he would burn a year off his ELC.

It wouldn't really make sense to save his 9 games for some-point during the season, unless his season in Sweden was done. Nylander needs to play for one team throughout a full season and develop his skills further.

 

[William Nylander*]

It's a rare circumstance to have a player at 18 to be playing in a PRO league. European/NCAA rights are almost the same where we would retain Nylander's rights for 4 years. Unless however, he plays for the Marlies/Leafs then in that case he would burn a year off his ELC.

Idk how many times it has to be said lol, if he plays in the AHL his ELC slides until he's 20

It wouldn't really make sense to save his 9 games for some-point during the season, unless his season in Sweden was done.

I think it went without saying that by "callup" I meant if he played for the Marlies, not in Sweden.