Did the expansion draft hurt or help the Leafs?

[Bluelines]

Simple question did the expansion draft hurt or help the Leafs?

It could hurt us by taking a key player away from our roster or hurt us by helping another Eastern team by giving them cap space and thus more flexibility, etc.

It could have helped us by taking a contract we didn't want or it may have taken a key competitor away from their team, IE Methot ,making them a weaker team, etc.

Maybe it didn't help or hurt us.

Interested to hear your thoughts

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[ToneDog]

It helped the Leafs by hurting many other teams.

 

[thewave]

It helped the Leafs by hurting many other teams.

Pretty much

 

[Mess]

Taking away Karlsson's partner Marc Methot in Ottawa and depositing him in Dallas is just one move that helped the Leafs via the expansion draft.

Leafs assisted that though by sticking them with Phaneuf's NMC contract.

 

[Punch Drunk Loov]

Leafs benefited from rival teams losing players for nothing.

 

[Dog]

Minor positive for leafs club but affected competition. So as a whole big impact

 

[MJ65]

Minor positive impact as I agree with all the posters (so far)

 

[Jack Bauer]

Boston, Ottawa and Montreal lost top 4 D.

We lost a Marlie.

Significant positive impact for us thanks to how our division rivals with considerable more experience were harmed by losing some of that experience while we lost none of ours through that process.

This off season has been a huge win in general for us. Most teams we're trying to measure up against lost players and couldn't afford to add any. We lost Boyle but added Moore, Hainsey, Marleau.

 

[Bluelines]

Boston, Ottawa and Montreal lost top 4 D.

We lost a Marlie.

Significant positive impact for us thanks to how our division rivals with considerable more experience were harmed by losing some of that experience while we lost none of ours through that process.

This off season has been a huge win in general for us. Most teams we're trying to measure up against lost players and couldn't afford to add any. We lost Boyle but added Moore, Hainsey, Marleau.

Do you think the impacts on our rivals is enough to make them a bubble team or a non-playoff team?

 

[The CyNick]

Do you think the impacts on our rivals is enough to make them a bubble team or a non-playoff team?

We were trending ahead of those teams in the second half of the season.

The league is so bunched up, anyone can finish anywhere, but I am fairly confident we were going to fiinish ahead of those three teams regardless of what happened with the expansion draft.

Tampa is the team I see as our main rival.

 

[Razz]

I voted significant benefit to the Leafs. Most if not all playoff teams were negatively affected by the draft except the Leafs, so that alone is a huge benefit. As it has turned out, the Leafs needed that contract spot Leipsic took anyway.

 

[A1LeafNation]

Significant benefits

 

[Ricky Bobby]

Boston, Ottawa and Montreal lost top 4 D.

We lost a Marlie.

Significant positive impact for us thanks to how our division rivals with considerable more experience were harmed by losing some of that experience while we lost none of ours through that process.

This off season has been a huge win in general for us. Most teams we're trying to measure up against lost players and couldn't afford to add any. We lost Boyle but added Moore, Hainsey, Marleau.

Add in that Florida lost their 3rd leading scorer in Marchessault and then traded Rielly Smith for only a 4th rounder.

Tampa also had to pay Vegas a 2017 2nd + 4th rounder + a good Russian prospect in Nikita Gusev to take Jason Garrison. Having traded all those futures away gives them less trade currency.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Major negative man...

Losing Leipsic is going to be huge.

 

[Bluelines]

Major negative man...

Losing Leipsic is going to be huge.

LOL, if only we had the depth to replace him oh look Carleton the Bear is lacing them up... problem solved

 

[Jack Bauer]

Do you think the impacts on our rivals is enough to make them a bubble team or a non-playoff team?

I think that any change made where we come out with more talent or opponents come out with less talent puts us closer to winning a Cup.

The expansion draft stripped depth away from teams that are in some cases 4 or 5 years ahead of us development and experience wise at most positions. As our talent develops and consistency improves all those minor changes add up to our kids arriving as a top 2 or 3 team that is feared in 30 other markets sooner rather than later.

Now does that happen this year? It could. Injuries are my only fear. I fully expect our big 3 to spit in the face of any talk of a sophomore slump and increase their point totals. If our goaltender is healthy for a full season, which he wasn't last season, then there's no reason to not expect top 3 in the division....if not #1.

 

[firstemperor]

It helped us get Liljegren. Winnipeg was a real threat to steal him away from us as they consistently take BPA.

It also allowed Vegas to obtain 2 picks ahead of us, which they didn't use on Liljegren.

Leipsic isn't a huge loss, comparatively.

 

[HoweHullOrr]

Boston, Ottawa and Montreal lost top 4 D.

We lost a Marlie.

Significant positive impact for us thanks to how our division rivals with considerable more experience were harmed by losing some of that experience while we lost none of ours through that process.

This off season has been a huge win in general for us. Most teams we're trying to measure up against lost players and couldn't afford to add any. We lost Boyle but added Moore, Hainsey, Marleau.

Add in that Florida lost their 3rd leading scorer in Marchessault and then traded Rielly Smith for only a 4th rounder.

Tampa also had to pay Vegas a 2017 2nd + 4th rounder + a good Russian prospect in Nikita Gusev to take Jason Garrison. Having traded all those futures away gives them less trade currency.

Agree with the 2 posts above.

 

[LeafSteel]

Loved the weakening of Ottawa's defense.

Too bad Vegas soiled the bed with the choices they made. There should have been a real opportunity for us to get a good defense man from them.

 

[Menzinger]

Helped, definitely. Habs, sens and Bruins all worse off - Sens especially.

 

[Zybalto]

Genuinely shocked that the obvious isn't so obvious.

Many of our conference rivals lost a quality NHLer or gave up picks. We lost an unproven AHL winger we were going to lose anyways.

There is no doubt we are better off, the question is how much.

 

[BlueBaron]

Expansion came at a pretty good time for us. I suspected for about a year we would lose Leipsic (well documented) and I never saw him as a huge loss, we basically gave up a 3rd round pick or there abouts.

We saw a few teams in the East lose players that mattered but we only saw a handful of good players leave the East. Fact is Vegas could have been more helpful but McPhee did not try to assemble the best on ice team possible. I think if we went team by team we would see it was a bit of help (Ottawa in particular) but no one was crippled either.

I'd call it a slight help to us.

 

[Bluelines]

Expansion came at a pretty good time for us. I suspected for about a year we would lose Leipsic (well documented) and I never saw him as a huge loss, we basically gave up a 3rd round pick or there abouts.

We saw a few teams in the East lose players that mattered but we only saw a handful of good players leave the East. Fact is Vegas could have been more helpful but McPhee did not try to assemble the best on ice team possible. I think if we went team by team we would see it was a bit of help (Ottawa in particular) but no one was crippled either.

I'd call it a slight help to us.

This time it did but the next expansion draft when Seattle, Quebec City or Ottawa get their NHL team, our best will just be coming into their prime.

 

[Jack Bauer]

This time it did but the next expansion draft when Seattle, Quebec City or Ottawa get their NHL team, our best will just be coming into their prime.

I wouldn't say it's a when but an if. For all we know we could have a 31 team NHL for the next decade. Expansion is nothing to worry about. Matthews could be 50 before the NHL ever hits 32 teams.

 

[Brown Dog]

It helped us get Liljegren. Winnipeg was a real threat to steal him away from us as they consistently take BPA.

It also allowed Vegas to obtain 2 picks ahead of us, which they didn't use on Liljegren.

Leipsic isn't a huge loss, comparatively.

Good point. Hadn't thought of that.