What will Toronto do about it's defense?

[Mess]

I think you're overpaying for OEL. Happy to trade gardiner, not happy to trade nylander/marner. Just like with McD, you pay the price with other assets. Gardiner is a good enough piece that you can surround him with value and seal the deal. I'd happily give up brown and he's a very good player.

Problem being you have to give to get and pieces like Brown are not going to sway anyone from parting with a elite top pairing Dman. IMO

In order for Arizona to deal a player like OEL whom they consider all but untouchable it will cost alot to make that happen.

Could LA be convinced that a Kadri + Gardiner + Brown + ?? could get you in the Drew Doughty trade talks potentially then great but I suspect the first words out of most other team asks will be Marner/Nylander as the requirement in an deal. IMO

 

[diceman934]

Gardiner will be going no where unless it is for a RHD of similar quality and age. He takes a lot of heat many times for no reason.

With our D right now our best Line up would look like this in my opinion.

Gardiner- Rielly
Dermott - Hainsey
Zietsev - Carrick/Polak

Next year Lilly makes the team and is paired with Hainsey on 3rd pair to start with.

Gardiner- Rielly
Dermott - Zietsev
Hainsey - Lilly

Or we trade for Tanev and it looks like this.

Rielly-Tanev
Gardiner- Zietsev
Hainsey - Lilly

Then after Christmas

Rielly - Tanev
Gardner - Lilly
Hainsey - Zeitsev

 

[Northernguy10]

Next Year:
Rielly........Dermott
Gardiner...Hainsey
Borgman...Zaitsev
Carrick... (Holl first call up)




Two years:
Rielly....... Dermott
Gardiner.. Liljegren
Borgman..Zaitsev
Carrick... (Holl first call up)

 

[Morbo]

Develop from within.

 

[DatSnipeMatthews]

Personally my Plan A would be to sign Tavares this summer as UFA and then deal Marner/Nylander for a top pairing younger defender.

The summer target would be someone like OEL in Arizona. That would likely take some form of Marner/Nylander + Gardiner + Picks to get done.

Plan is twofold in that it addresses both a top C and a top D and the $6 mil cap that would have been invested in a winger would now be redistributed to primary building block key positions instead.

Matthews & Tavares as #1A and #1B down the middle and Rielly -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson top pairing D and Freddy in net would be the epitome of "Building from the goalie out, through strong defense and strength down the middle".

Call me crazy but I'd rather get Gardiner +Marner/Nylander over OEL.

 

[Jeypic]

Just stay the course.. and take advantage of new opportunities as they come.

Now that we have dermott and borgman.. we have new depth on the left side. We could package one of gardiner/borgman/dermott and carrick for an upgrade on the right. If the right fit is available and the price is right.

We can also look at some of the free agents available.. from big upgrades like Doughty, if we feel we can make contracts work.. to smaller upgrades like ozighanov.

Keep developing. If their isn’t a trade partner willing to give us exactly what we want for pieces we can move on from, then let carrick and liljegren improve with age.

No rush. Unless it really makes sense, we’re already getting better every day until the day it does really make sense.

Why go after Karlsson or green for example, when we might have our own offensive dman in lilj on a team that is already filled with other offensive dmen like Reilly, gardiner and carrick?

Why overpay for mcdonaugh when we need help on the right side?

I thought tanev could have made sense.. but he was likely to expensive for someone prone to injury. Just handicapping ourselves for when a match made in heaven comes along. Maybe Doughty wants to sign here. I’m happy with waiting till then at the very least before trading away any prospects or 1st rounders though.

 

[Menzinger]

Hoping for a big trade isn’t going to be an effective strategy.

Firstly, such trades are very rare, secondly to trade away core roster players + tons of futures would make the team worse not better. Digging one hole to fill another - especially if such a deal would involve a budding young star like Marner or Nylander for an older vet (easy no for me since young players are worth their weight in gold to a team).

Keep drafting skilled D men, hope for internal development success and sign/trade for stopgap type guys like Hainsey.

 

[The CyNick]

Never understood the point of trading assets for these adding D men (Doughty, Karlsson, OEL, etc). If they want to come here as UFAs, great. If not, huge pass.

Trading Gardiner who is unquestionably our best all around D seems absurd.

I'm not even big on trading Rielly unless you can get someone better back on the right side. Which is possibly I guess, judging how differently people here rate him vs how I do.

But I would just keep adding until you have the right mix. If Dermott keeps progressing, if the Swedish kid works out, then you're fine. Mix in some vet cheap guys as depth and all is good.

Our focus should be spending money on people who actually score goals, which we have right now.

 

[Menzinger]

Personally my Plan A would be to sign Tavares this summer as UFA and then deal Marner/Nylander for a top pairing younger defender.

The summer target would be someone like OEL in Arizona. That would likely take some form of Marner/Nylander + Gardiner + Picks to get done.

Plan is twofold in that it addresses both a top C and a top D and the $6 mil cap that would have been invested in a winger would now be redistributed to primary building block key positions instead.

Matthews & Tavares as #1A and #1B down the middle and Rielly -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson top pairing D and Freddy in net would be the epitome of "Building from the goalie out, through strong defense and strength down the middle".

Would you be willing to pay 30+ million for Matthews, OEL and JT?

Because each of those guys is going to ask for a massive new contract (especially the soon to be UFA older players).

 

[IPS]

Would you be willing to pay 30+ million for Matthews, OEL and JT?

Because each of those guys is going to ask for a massive new contract (especially the soon to be UFA older players).

We can always ask how well that kind of cap structure worked out for Chicago.

 

[Menzinger]

We can always ask how well that kind of cap structure worked out for Chicago.

Yep.

I mean Leafs will likely have the big three locked up for like 22-24 million. Which would give the team enough money to sign a 6ish million dollar D man too (while also keeping the age of the team far younger and not having to rely on older vets).

 

[Clark4Ever]

Personally my Plan A would be to sign Tavares this summer as UFA and then deal Marner/Nylander for a top pairing younger defender.

The summer target would be someone like OEL in Arizona. That would likely take some form of Marner/Nylander + Gardiner + Picks to get done.

Plan is twofold in that it addresses both a top C and a top D and the $6 mil cap that would have been invested in a winger would now be redistributed to primary building block key positions instead.

Matthews & Tavares as #1A and #1B down the middle and Rielly -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson top pairing D and Freddy in net would be the epitome of "Building from the goalie out, through strong defense and strength down the middle".

I wouldn't give up Nylander or Marner so we can sign Tavares. There's just too much of a disparity in age for it to make sense for us.

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

Is is going to be so bad? Reilly, Gardiner, Dermot, Zaitsev, Hainsey....Borgman, that Russian UFA and Carrick, that's eight.
Now the following year without Gardiner, Hainsey and Carrick with Liljegren and a UFA.

Leafs shouldn't be chasing Tavares. Get the cap in line for 2019/20 and beyon maybe a UFA Dman might be necessary.

 

[LeafFever]

Problem being you have to give to get and pieces like Brown are not going to sway anyone from parting with a elite top pairing Dman. IMO

In order for Arizona to deal a player like OEL whom they consider all but untouchable it will cost alot to make that happen.

Could LA be convinced that a Kadri + Gardiner + Brown + ?? could get you in the Drew Doughty trade talks potentially then great but I suspect the first words out of most other team asks will be Marner/Nylander as the requirement in an deal. IMO

Arizona might be forced to deal him soon enough.

 

[Legion34]

No way lou brings up Lilly and takes up an expansion draft spot

 

[Legion34]

Does dehaan play right ? I only remember him as lh with hampnic.

 

[Legion34]

We can always ask how well that kind of cap structure worked out for Chicago.

3 cups??

That’s only like 40 percent of cap. That would be fine

 

[realgoodleafs]

It's shocking that there are people stupid enough to suggest Marner/Nylander for defencemen with 1 year contracts.

 

[Legion34]

Problem being you have to give to get and pieces like Brown are not going to sway anyone from parting with a elite top pairing Dman. IMO

In order for Arizona to deal a player like OEL whom they consider all but untouchable it will cost alot to make that happen.

Could LA be convinced that a Kadri + Gardiner + Brown + ?? could get you in the Drew Doughty trade talks potentially then great but I suspect the first words out of most other team asks will be Marner/Nylander as the requirement in an deal. IMO

For a 1 year D? Not sure he is much better than gardiner.

Edit he obviously has more offensive pedigree but he would be more of the same I think.... he has looked terrible in his own end when I saw him

 

[ANDI P IS CUTE]

jack johnson is not a first pairing guy.

 

[TakeTheBody]

I voted trade. We have the assets. But the real answer wasn't listed. Possess the puck more.

 

[IPS]

3 cups??

That’s only like 40 percent of cap. That would be fine

I'm talking about when Chicago signed Toews/Kane for 10.5. They've had no success with that cap structure.

 

[FlareKnight]

I’m going with the promotion from within option. The blue line need has been there a while. Clearly a trade to fix that isn’t easily made. So looking to the guys we have with Dermott and promotion from the Marlies seems the most realistic option

 

[Legion34]

I'm talking about when Chicago signed Toews/Kane for 10.5. They've had no success with that cap structure.

But it’s an 80 million cap now and those players are in their 30s. Not entering their prime many of them. Our Top players are 25 and under

 

[ToMaLe]

Develop from within.

I am really impressed with Rosen on the Marlies.