Confirmed with Link: Michael McLeod re-signs - 1 year, 1.4 mil. AAV

[MartyOwns]

“worst draft pick in devils history”

 

[My3Sons]

“worst draft pick in devils history”

Why are you bringing up Hischier?

 

[MasterofGrond]

why are you bringing up adrian foster

 

[Nubmer6]

why are you bringing up adrian foster

Rocky

Trottier

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

I'd be curious to see a down goes brown-style deep dive on the worst draft pick of every team.

I think Stefan Matteau has a shot for the Devils. Taking Stephane Matteau's son with the pick you should have given up and he's a no-offense guy overvalued cuz of his size? That pick was a slap in the face.

Anyway, happy to have McLeod back.

 

[Bleedred]

How about Lance Ward?

 

[My3Sons]

How about Lance Ward?

McKenzie Blackwood says hello

 

[Oneiro]

My ideal scenario is that a bunch of kids and/or another Haula-like buy low vet acquisition make McLeod and Bastian expendable at the end of their deals and we build a smarter fourth line.

Slow clap for McLeod’s postseason heroics but still would hope we can move on from him sooner rather than later.

 

[Lindys Lazy Eye]

How about Lance Ward?

This is the right answer.

Even though I'm always going to be salty over Mattias 'WE COULD HAVE HAD JOHN f***ING CARLSON' Tedenby

And the excuses of 'oh he can be the next MSL' was even a bigger slap to the face.

 

[Nubmer6]

My ideal scenario is that a bunch of kids and/or another Haula-like buy low vet acquisition make McLeod and Bastian expendable at the end of their deals and we build a smarter fourth line.

Slow clap for McLeod’s postseason heroics but still would hope we can move on from him sooner rather than later.

I think if we add someone it'll be a PTO or a bargain pickup from someone being waived when training camp opens.

 

[My3Sons]

I think if we add someone it'll be a PTO or a bargain pickup from someone being waived when training camp opens.

Presumably they will wait to see what their cap cushion looks like after they extend Bahl and then figure out if they can sign someone for the season or just bring in a couple of PTOs.

 

[Saugus]

This is the right answer.

Even though I'm always going to be salty over Mattias 'WE COULD HAVE HAD JOHN f***ING CARLSON' Tedenby

And the excuses of 'oh he can be the next MSL' was even a bigger slap to the face.

Lance Ward is pretty bad in terms of having a high value pick and getting no contributions from him at all. But I believe he was at least highly regarded as a prospect, and selecting him at that spot wasn't considered ridiculous.

The Adrian Foster pick was totally unexpected and off the board, to the point where even the TSN draft guys had never heard of him. It was immediately obvious that it was a bad pick, but people just kind of figured it was Lou being Lou, and maybe he knew better.

 

[Zippy316]

My ideal scenario is that a bunch of kids and/or another Haula-like buy low vet acquisition make McLeod and Bastian expendable at the end of their deals and we build a smarter fourth line.

Slow clap for McLeod’s postseason heroics but still would hope we can move on from him sooner rather than later.

I don’t know how much of a “smarter” fourth line you could build?

You have a face off specialist in McLeod who can move the puck up the ice very efficiently and kills penalties. Bastian is also the ultimate utility forward capable of playing in all situations. He also consistently puts up good territorial numbers.

In terms of usefulness, our fourth line is quite strong with just McLeod-Bastian alone.

 

[Oneiro]

I don’t know how much of a “smarter” fourth line you could build?

You have a face off specialist in McLeod who can move the puck up the ice very efficiently and kills penalties. Bastian is also the ultimate utility forward capable of playing in all situations. He also consistently puts up good territorial numbers.

In terms of usefulness, our fourth line is quite strong with just McLeod-Bastian alone.

This line is one and done in the o zone, they make poor decisions on the breakout if they can’t skate it out. Over time, we can do better. This is hardly an irreplaceable line. They’re fine and not much more than that.

I like Bastian but you’re going to extend him 5 years at the end of this deal? No.

 

[devilsblood]

This line is one and done in the o zone, they make poor decisions on the breakout if they can’t skate it out. Over time, we can do better. This is hardly an irreplaceable line. They’re fine and not much more than that.

I like Bastian but you’re going to extend him 5 years at the end of this deal? No.

It's a 4th line, one which is losing a bunch of speed and aggressiveness, but most likely is going to be more controlled and structured.

We just bought more time on each in terms of evaluation, but I think each could be signed fairly long term at the end of their respective deals. McLeod's deal definitely suggests he is auditioning for a longer term contract.

 

[Zippy316]

This line is one and done in the o zone, they make poor decisions on the breakout if they can’t skate it out. Over time, we can do better. This is hardly an irreplaceable line. They’re fine and not much more than that.

I like Bastian but you’re going to extend him 5 years at the end of this deal? No.

I think the expectations of a fourth line need to be tempered here. Both McLeod and Bastian are pretty productive for fourth line minutes, hold their own against most competition, and offer their own utility outside of 5-on-5 minutes.

Also the way this team is getting built, Fitzgerald seems to be building a strong top nine, especially offensively. If your fourth line can give you 8 minutes 5-on-5, produce occasionally, and play on special teams, I chalk that up as an extremely good fourth line.

 

[TrufleShufle]

I'll never understand wanting someone gone because you consider them replaceable. Who are you going to replace them with? Some one else replaceable obviously.

You aren't going to get a 30 goal guy to replace him with, you presumably don't want a Reeves type player. So why not just stick with a guy who knows his role, is good at that role and is seemingly buying into the culture/system of the team?

There is a lot of 4th line players out there, a big margin of them are 4th liners because they aren't good and teams need cheap players to fill those roles. We have a relatively rare 4th line in that sense with Mcleod and Bastian. They aren't getting paid much and you don't have to sign them super long term, but wishing them gone is strange.

 

[Better Call Sal]

I'll never understand wanting someone gone because you consider them replaceable. Who are you going to replace them with? Some one else replaceable obviously.

You aren't going to get a 30 goal guy to replace him with, you presumably don't want a Reeves type player. So why not just stick with a guy who knows his role, is good at that role and is seemingly buying into the culture/system of the team?

There is a lot of 4th line players out there, a big margin of them are 4th liners because they aren't good and teams need cheap players to fill those roles. We have a relatively rare 4th line in that sense with Mcleod and Bastian. They aren't getting paid much and you don't have to sign them super long term, but wishing them gone is strange.

I agree with your line of thinking. Part of it is likely my attachment to "our guys". Us being on a prospect board at heart, we want the guys we bring in to grow, develop and become important pieces to our success.

Like him or not, McLeod has useful tools that can benefit us. And when games got more important, albeit in a small sample size, we actually saw the best of him as a player. That's something that doesn't show up on the scoresheet. Maybe it was a fluke, but those are the types of guys you want to have in those 4th line roles.

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

My ideal scenario is that a bunch of kids and/or another Haula-like buy low vet acquisition make McLeod and Bastian expendable at the end of their deals and we build a smarter fourth line.

Slow clap for McLeod’s postseason heroics but still would hope we can move on from him sooner rather than later.

If he builds a rapport as being a solid defensive-minded center (the advanced stats don't really support this) then he will price himself out of the Devils sooner or later (maybe as soon as next year).

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

I don’t have a lot of faith in Ruff to turn McLeod and Bastian into the next CBGB line (and i think a great coach could pull that off), but i wouldn’t be surprised if they click with Foote, Thompson, or someone similar and end up having a great season together.

Getting to spend a year away from Miles Wood after signing a one year deal could really pay off for McLeod and Boqvist.

edit: whoops meant Bastian and not Boqvist

 

[Whaddagoal]

I don’t have a lot of faith in Ruff to turn McLeod and Bastian into the next CBGB line (and i think a great coach could pull that off), but i wouldn’t be surprised if they click with Foote, Thompson, or someone similar and end up having a great season together.

Getting to spend a year away from Miles Wood after signing a one year deal could really pay off for McLeod and Boqvist.

I agree mcLeod maybe different or more (or less) effective player without Woody in the mix. Will be interesting to find out.

Boqvist I think is already out.Or at least he was basically signaled to test UFA market. I guess that doesn't mean, he can't re sign here but it seems the team maybe moving on from him.

 

[MasterofGrond]

I'll never understand wanting someone gone because you consider them replaceable. Who are you going to replace them with? Some one else replaceable obviously.

You aren't going to get a 30 goal guy to replace him with, you presumably don't want a Reeves type player. So why not just stick with a guy who knows his role, is good at that role and is seemingly buying into the culture/system of the team?

There is a lot of 4th line players out there, a big margin of them are 4th liners because they aren't good and teams need cheap players to fill those roles. We have a relatively rare 4th line in that sense with Mcleod and Bastian. They aren't getting paid much and you don't have to sign them super long term, but wishing them gone is strange.

I don't think many people want McLeod gone if he costs $1.4M a year. that's a fine price for what he brings on the ice. This thread mostly shows that, I think, where even the haters (myself included) seem ok with this.

If he starts costing 2 or 2.5M? or requires a 4 or 5 year contract? yeah that's a different story, of course and I'll go back to beating the drum.

He's replaceable, which is fine and not a problem as long as he's cheap and flexible No need to replace him for the hell of it, which is a thing most people aren't advocating, even if I think there are better 4th liner options out there.

 

[Triumph]

I don’t have a lot of faith in Ruff to turn McLeod and Bastian into the next CBGB line (and i think a great coach could pull that off), but i wouldn’t be surprised if they click with Foote, Thompson, or someone similar and end up having a great season together.

Getting to spend a year away from Miles Wood after signing a one year deal could really pay off for McLeod and Boqvist.

I mean, I think McLeod-Bastian is already better than whatever they were doing - everyone loved that playoff run in 2012 but those were some 4th liners getting hot at exactly the right time. We'll see how they are with Wood (again) except hopefully on a good team.

 

[Triumph]

This line is one and done in the o zone, they make poor decisions on the breakout if they can’t skate it out. Over time, we can do better. This is hardly an irreplaceable line. They’re fine and not much more than that.

I like Bastian but you’re going to extend him 5 years at the end of this deal? No.

The trouble is when you start doing better than this, then you don't have a 4th line - you have top 9 players playing down in the lineup. It's rare that a team can get this to happen multiple seasons in a row, and usually the way to do it isn't with your own players, but e.g. a veteran 4th line center coming in. One of McLeod and Bastian's best attributes is that they want to play here and they are willing to play on the 4th line.

 

[glenwo2]

I don’t have a lot of faith in Ruff to turn McLeod and Bastian into the next CBGB line (and i think a great coach could pull that off), but i wouldn’t be surprised if they click with Foote, Thompson, or someone similar and end up having a great season together.

Getting to spend a year away from Miles Wood after signing a one year deal could really pay off for McLeod and Boqvist.

The CBGB line was great.

McLeod-Bastian-Wood wasn't.

In fact, even without Wood, they're still just as PEDESTRIAN as they were with him.

People like to point to McLeod's performance in the playoffs and choose to forget that his main contribution since Day one has always been his ability to win Faceoffs.

They also forget that McLeod doesn't score all that much which the CBGB line did with abundance (at least in comparison with the 4th line we've seen lately) back in the day.


My point here is that while I'm not against the Devils re-signing him, I have not been overly impressed with McLeod (has zero to do with anything non-hockey related) ever since he put on the Devils jersey and feel we can do much better than him.