Tim Erixon

[TMLegend]

I'd keep him. Right now, he's not much more than #6-7 guy of defense right now. I blame that partially on the fact he's never been able to find a home and develop his craft in a consistent manner. With some consistent playing time he may be able to develop into a top 4 defensemen with a decent all-around skillset.

Low-risk, medium reward.

 

[Nithoniniel]

Rundblad was mentioned. Chicago has awful depth on D, but if they continue to not really want to give Rundblad a chance then he's a guy I'd love to bring in for an honest chance. He showed tons of promise of having turned things around this season, played a much more effective game when given the chance.

 

[SprDaVE]

1 year deal can't hurt. Maybe even with have an understanding that if he can't crack the Leafs lineup that they will terminate his contract so that he can go to Europe.

There will be likely 2 spots available with the Leafs between 4 Marlies defenders and Erixon; Loov, Percy, Brennan and Granberg.

 

[Bullseye]

From a guy who has seen very little of Erixon - what's his game? How did he go in the first round? Strengths? Weaknesses?

Sorry for the wide open question.

 

[Budsfan]

I thought he played well last year and certainly as part of a 3rd pairing and for the low cap hit, why not re-sign him, he is an RFA, also with Granberg probably out for the next 4 months, he can show what he can do.

 

[grits207]

There is no reason not to give him a shot next season and see what he can do under Babcock. Worst case scenario he plays like garbage and brings us closer to Auston Matthews.

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

Sometimes it takes a few years for defensemen to grow into the players they can be. A lot of times teams bail on defensemen too young and kick themselves later. Hopefully this is a guy who can take some steps forward in his career here. It's wide open...

Exactly this.

These are actually the type of guys I hope we fill the 15/16 roster out with. 23-27 year old, former blue chip prospects. Especially defensemen, who have non linear development curves.

I think of guys like Dennis Wideman, Mark Giordano, Niklas Kronwall or Anton Stahlman who didn't hit their stride until their mid to late twenties.

 

[deletethis]

Wasn't he beyond awful? Plodding, mistake prone, easily flustered. I know he's a former 1st round pick but he didn't look like one. I get the temptation to see this guy as a worthwhile project but he looked like a minor leaguer struggling to play at the NHL level. Unless he was playing hurt, I don't see it.

 

[Banic]

I'd give him a shot. We had tons of forwards last year too, and they figured it out. Someone always gets injured and they can rotate in young players.

 

[Nithoniniel]

Wasn't he beyond awful? Plodding, mistake prone, easily flustered. I know he's a former 1st round pick but he didn't look like one. I get the temptation to see this guy as a worthwhile project but he looked like a minor leaguer struggling to play at the NHL level. Unless he was playing hurt, I don't see it.

Didn't see that. Think he did better than Robidas, Brewer and MacWilliam.

 

[crump]

Draft year video...

Didn't really show his nice shot last season...may not be the quickest, but he had a good defensive stick and is a smart player. Willing to give him a chance in the "year of pain".

 

[RyanOhReally]

Babcock could make this kid great. One of those players that actually sticks around during a rebuild because of his age. He's a 1st round pick who was in the Top 50 prospects every year up until this year (I think). If he wasn't on the team already, we'd sign him as a project. Babs worked with Kronwall, he could make Erixon at least a solid player.

 

[ULF_55]

He's 24, so not what you'd call a young prospect.

Played 42 games in the NHL this year between 3 teams.

No harm in giving him minimum and seeing if he's got any ceiling left.

OTOH there is a limit in the number of contracts you can give out, and is he worth occupying one of those 50 contracts?

 

[Gramsci]

Given the circumstances -- thrown into a massive clusterbomb of a tailspin -- I thought he did quite well in his handful of games. He's agile, has good size, average to plus skating and decent offensive upside.

To not give this kid a shot would be silly, given the rebuild and what Babcock has been able to do with defensive talent in the past.

 

[Warden of the North]

Dmen take longer to develop. Its about time this franchise finds a guy who other organizations gave up on and finally puts it together. We've got nothing to lose, keep him.

 

[JEI]

Given the teams state it would probably be wise to retain the 24-year-old asset.

 

[Warden of the North]

Anton Stralman should be the lesson here. We've got nothing to lose with keeping him.

How many teams let Stralman go before he figured it out? We werent alone, thats for sure.

 

[Bullseye]

Draft year video...

Didn't really show his nice shot last season...may not be the quickest, but he had a good defensive stick and is a smart player. Willing to give him a chance in the "year of pain".

Thanks for this. Similar situation to Nylander - Swedish father playing N.A. hockey - kid born here blah blah - they must have the same potential

Seriously though - he's young and needs a proper evaluation by a guy who'll know if there's anything there - Babcock.

 

[johnny_rudeboy]

Anton Stralman should be the lesson here. We've got nothing to lose with keeping him.

How many teams let Stralman go before he figured it out? We werent alone, thats for sure.

Good example. They are somewhat similar as well. Stralman was a bit better to begin with offensively but his main strength before he become an NHL player was being a all round 2-way defenseman.

Defenseman takes longer to develop and especially defenders who dont have a stand out set of skills that they can rely on and impress with.

Erixon will not cost a lot, will be eager to show what he can do and who knows, Babcock might be the one who make him fullfil his potential?

I say keep him for a couple of years.

 

[Gramsci]

No doubt that, on average, blueliners have a longer developmental curve than forwards. 24 years old is by no means the peak of this curve.

A lot of the problem on this front is the CBA. It's hard for teams to exercise the kind of patience some of these players need without exposing them to waivers. Teams are sometimes forced to either play them when they aren't ready or trade/waive them.

On the other hand, if you can be the lucky beneficiary of these circumstances, take hold.

 

[Ricky Bobby]

The one thing Toronto can offer is opportunity and we need to take some chances on guys like Erixon, Brennan. Only 1 of them needs to work out to hit an unexpected homerun.

Worst case situation we simply put them on waivers and they either get claimed by someone else or put down on the farm.

The league is full of very good Dmen who either couldn't stick in the NHL or were depth pieces in their mid 20s.

Erixon is one of those players who is to good for the AHL but hasn't found a role at the NHL level. Yet anyways.

At 24 though and a former 1st rounder he does offer upside.

MacWilliams is a year old but has very limited upside so I'd dump him before Erixon.

Brennan is in a similar situation to Erixon but is 2 years older.

Brings guys like Erixon and Brennan to camp and hopefully one of them develops into the next late bloomer like Beauchemin, Streit, Boychuk, Greene, Sedienberg or examples well past their prime now like Robidas, Boyle, Hejda.

 

[Ricky Bobby]

He's 24, so not what you'd call a young prospect.

Played 42 games in the NHL this year between 3 teams.

No harm in giving him minimum and seeing if he's got any ceiling left.

OTOH there is a limit in the number of contracts you can give out, and is he worth occupying one of those 50 contracts?

Plenty of other no upside pieces down on the farm that would be cut first.

Brennan at the very least is an elite AHLer.

 

[Pyrophorus]

His dad was better.

 

[ULF_55]

Plenty of other no upside pieces down on the farm that would be cut first.

Brennan at the very least is an elite AHLer.

You mean bought out?

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I didn't know this but he plays the right-side too, like MacWilliam does. That changes things. If that's the case, I wouldn't mind shipping MacWilliam somewhere where he can be a bottom pairing defenseman and letting Erixon play right side. Might as well see. If he does well enough, he could be in the top 4 in the future and become a valuable asset either in trade or as a part of our core. Realistic case is that he (like Knodel) could become another Korbinian Holzer.

Trade MacWilliam in one of the many deals. He's solid and cheap, which could make him a decent commodity for teams. I liked him when he was with us.
Sign Erixon for 2 years (into UFA)
Sign Knodel for 2 years (into UFA)
Sign someone like Everson to an AHL deal for depth.

Rielly-Robidas
Gardiner-Polak
Brennan-Erixon
Percy/Knodel/Granberg (all call ups)

Percy-Granberg
Loov-Nilsson
Finn-Knodel
Valiev/Everson (both callups)

I'm good with that.