2018 Free Agent and Trade Discussion Thread: The Dogs Days are over

[ShaneFalco]

Would the Goat be the first call-up if something happened to one of the centres?

It looks that way - but that's kinda scary to me

 

[Rare Jewel]

Me to, he may be a plug but at least Gauthier is a plug that plays center

Yeah, better skater as well.

I have more interest in De la Rose if we're dealing Montreal.

Would the Goat be the first call-up if something happened to one of the centres?

It depends which center is out.

If it's Kadri or Lindholm likely.

 

[WTFMAN99]

My thoughts exactly. We don't need McCarron at this moment, so letting him clear and working out a deal to let us start him with the Marlies would be ideal. It always bugged me that Montreal never really let players be who they are. McCarron is a big tough, power winger, and Montreal tried to turn him into a defensive center and it just didn't make sense.

Bring McCarron in for a spare contract, let him be the player he is, and maybe we can work him back into a NHL bottom 6 guy.

Sparks+Gauthier for McCarron+?

It's mostly spare parts but maybe by the trade deadline we've "fixed" McCarron.

 

[Cor]

Sparks+Gauthier for McCarron+?

It's mostly spare parts but maybe by the trade deadline we've "fixed" McCarron.

I don't see why Sparks would need to be involved. Habs don't need him. A GOAT for McCarron swap would work, depending on what the Leafs think of Gauthier. I personally see Gauthier as a guy who won't be an NHL regular, and likely just an AHL guy. So trading him for McCarron, who I think has been handled poorly by MTL, is something I personally am willing to do, because worst case scenario, it's fringe player for fringe player.

That being said, McCarron is a player I'm dying to have. We have a good amount of wingers coming up, and frankly, both Gauthier and McCarron would be passed up on our depth chart soon anyway.

But who knows. As a 1 year project for Sheldon Keefe, I'd give it a go.

 

[Leaffan1991]

Hear me out,
Zack Smith on waivers. He would be a really good fourth line Center for us. He’s very physical and he can actually play.

If Ottawa retained half his salary would you guys be good with a

Carrick for Smith swap?

 

[Cor]

Hear me out,
Zack Smith on waivers. He would be a really good fourth line Center for us. He’s very physical and he can actually play.

If Ottawa retained half his salary would you guys be good with a

Carrick for Smith swap?

Not when Lindholm looks like the better player, and Smith has 3 more years left, even at 1.625.

We could sign a guy from free agency for like 800K if we wanted/needed to. We have zero need for Zach Smith

 

[Kiwi]

Yeah, better skater as well.

I have more interest in De la Rose if we're dealing Montreal.



It depends which center is out.

If it's Kadri or Lindholm likely.

De La Rose would be a better fit as a 4th line center in a Babcock system/usage type situation, hands of pure stone but he's defensively responsible and he skates well

 

[showtime8]

I'm not sure any waiver claims should be made by the Leafs this year unless they lose someone they're sending down.

If they're getting a forward, it's likely going to be a 4th line guy anyways that will have the same ability as what they will keep on their roster or a top line Marlies player. Basically, it's going to be a Josh Jooris type that could play those top line minutes with the Marlies and not look out of place with 8-9 minutes a night with the Leafs. And on defense, there won't be any top 4 defensemen that get waived and that's the only thing that the Leafs need. They have a lot of guys like Rosen, Borgman, Carrick, Subban, Marincin that could potentially play as the #6. They don't need any more of that.

 

[Contenderorpretender]

Hear me out,
Zack Smith on waivers. He would be a really good fourth line Center for us. He’s very physical and he can actually play.

If Ottawa retained half his salary would you guys be good with a

Carrick for Smith swap?

Living in Ottawa. I was thinking something similar. He was penciled in on the second line by Boucher. But eugene is so cheap. Sens players are pissed. Good looker room guy. Gritty and can play well most of the time. I like him but what room do we have or who does he replace. Tough call.

 

[Boutette]

Hear me out,
Zack Smith on waivers. He would be a really good fourth line Center for us. He’s very physical and he can actually play.

If Ottawa retained half his salary would you guys be good with a

Carrick for Smith swap?

No. We already have guys like this who are much cheaper: Jooris, Cracknell, Greening. On the other hand, I'm sure the Islanders could use a guy like this who can provide 4th line production on 3rd line minutes on say a line with Komarov and Martin.

 

[rumman]

Hear me out,
Zack Smith on waivers. He would be a really good fourth line Center for us. He’s very physical and he can actually play.

If Ottawa retained half his salary would you guys be good with a

Carrick for Smith swap?

I'd be very interested in Zack Smith, be it waiver claim or via trade with some salary retained. He'd be perfect for 4th line centre. I doubt the Sen's would retain, they're dumping him because of his contract, not his play on the ice.

 

[613Leafer]

We're very tight against the cap next season, until Marleau's gone. Can't really see how we'd be fitting Smith in there. Maybe maybe if we got him at 50% cap retained, but then we'd have to be giving up assets (which I just don't think we should be doing for 4th liners. Like trading 2nd round picks two years in a row for 4th line C at the trade deadline).

 

[TML1967]

Josh Ho-Sang.

He seems to be on the outs on the Island.
Seems to be very similar to Kadri a few years ago, where he needed to be sit down and given the business by some NHL HOFers like Babs/Shanny.

Might not cost allot, but could be a big boom if it all works out. Still only 22 and .51 ppg in the NHL, .67 in the AHL.
Marlies RWers are Bracco, Engval (who plays both) and Cracknel.

Id love to have him given the Kappanen treatment from 2 years ago, where he became a PK/2 way guy over the course of a season because of strong coaching and a coach giving him a ton of minutes.

To a much lesser extent, Michal Dal Colle. Another guy who has a ton of speed, but needs to become a 200ft guy to become more than a tweener.

Id would be awesome if we could start finding guys who have the skill and find a way to become a 200ft/PK factory in the AHL. If our coaching/development staff can do that we have a HUGE advantage.

 

[LaPlante94]

Josh Ho-Sang.

He seems to be on the outs on the Island.
Seems to be very similar to Kadri a few years ago, where he needed to be sit down and given the business by some NHL HOFers like Babs/Shanny.

Might not cost allot, but could be a big boom if it all works out. Still only 22 and .51 ppg in the NHL, .67 in the AHL.
Marlies RWers are Bracco, Engval (who plays both) and Cracknel.

Id love to have him given the Kappanen treatment from 2 years ago, where he became a PK/2 way guy over the course of a season because of strong coaching and a coach giving him a ton of minutes.

To a much lesser extent, Michal Dal Colle. Another guy who has a ton of speed, but needs to become a 200ft guy to become more than a tweener.

Id would be awesome if we could start finding guys who have the skill and find a way to become a 200ft/PK factory in the AHL. If our coaching/development staff can do that we have a HUGE advantage.

Knowing Lou we could probably get Ho-Sang for Nielsen

 

[cj19]

*This idea is based on Willy signing a two year bridge deal.

What if Nylander played third line centre for the (41) home games only.(Leafs could match lines so Nylander plays against the other teams third line players.)

Nylander plays right wing on top line for away games while Kadri moves back to third line centre.

Leafs do this to find out if Nylander can be more productive as a centre and maybe increase his trade value in two years..

(Home ) Lines (Away) Lines

Marleau Matthews Kapanen Marleau Matthews Nylander
Hyman JT Marner Hyman JT Marner
Johnsson Nylander Kadri Johnsson Kadri Kapanen

 

[HamiltonNHL]

If it can be shown Will Nye can lead his own line .... that would make him more valuable.

I love the idea of running 4 lines but I doubt Matthews and Tavares do.

 

[Auston Powers]

What if we play Marner on the fourth line thereby decreasing his chances of making a big salary next year?

I am being sarcastic of course.

 

[Nylanderthal]

*This idea is based on Willy signing a two year bridge deal.

What if Nylander played third line centre for the (41) home games only.(Leafs could match lines so Nylander plays against the other teams third line players.)

Nylander plays right wing on top line for away games while Kadri moves back to third line centre.

Leafs do this to find out if Nylander can be more productive as a centre and maybe increase his trade value in two years..

(Home ) Lines (Away) Lines

Marleau Matthews Kapanen Marleau Matthews Nylander
Hyman JT Marner Hyman JT Marner
Johnsson Nylander Kadri Johnsson Kadri Kapanen

Good lord you’ve found your way here with your terrible ideas, couldn’t just stick to the main boards could you?

 

[Gabriel426]

Hear me out,
Zack Smith on waivers. He would be a really good fourth line Center for us. He’s very physical and he can actually play.

If Ottawa retained half his salary would you guys be good with a

Carrick for Smith swap?

Would rather sign Winnik for 1/3 of the price

 

[Buds17]

Hear me out,
Zack Smith on waivers. He would be a really good fourth line Center for us. He’s very physical and he can actually play.

If Ottawa retained half his salary would you guys be good with a

Carrick for Smith swap?

Not crazy about the idea of having a player that's likely about to clear waivers on the books for three more seasons, even at the reduced cap hit.

 

[cookie]

Josh Ho-Sang.

He seems to be on the outs on the Island.
Seems to be very similar to Kadri a few years ago, where he needed to be sit down and given the business by some NHL HOFers like Babs/Shanny.

Might not cost allot, but could be a big boom if it all works out. Still only 22 and .51 ppg in the NHL, .67 in the AHL.
Marlies RWers are Bracco, Engval (who plays both) and Cracknel.

Id love to have him given the Kappanen treatment from 2 years ago, where he became a PK/2 way guy over the course of a season because of strong coaching and a coach giving him a ton of minutes.

To a much lesser extent, Michal Dal Colle. Another guy who has a ton of speed, but needs to become a 200ft guy to become more than a tweener.

Id would be awesome if we could start finding guys who have the skill and find a way to become a 200ft/PK factory in the AHL. If our coaching/development staff can do that we have a HUGE advantage.

I'm all for getting high ceiling players but not at the expense of players that are capable and readily able to complement our top end talents that we're already grooming in a winning AHL environment. MDC has not gotten better at skating and even if his shot is other worldly, what's his NHL upside going to be for the Leafs in particular? Yes our skating coach is great but it's not like Barzal and other good skating Islanders are suffering with what's available. If we were to try to pry him from the Islanders, we'd still have to pay a premium just based on where he was drafted. What if he's a Jeremy Williams v2?

Ho-Sang, on the other hand, would be a guy I wouldn't mind the Leafs going after. But in doing so, what is the long term plan? How willing and capable is he in becoming a three zone player and does he have any other assets that would set him apart from the kind of players we're developing in the Marlies or acquiring via PTOs, UFA, etc?

What case does either player have for getting a roster spot? Do they PK well? No. Are they capable 200ft players that won't need sheltering? No. Does acquiring them cost assets? Yes. Rather have Leivo, Johnsson, Kapanen, Grundstrom, and now Ennis, and my darkhorse in Moore, fight for a spot. There's capable players that have paid their dues that deserve their shot. The guys you're taking about would be lucky to have the same impact JVR and Bozak had.

 

[TML1967]

I'm all for getting high ceiling players but not at the expense of players that are capable and readily able to complement our top end talents that we're already grooming in a winning AHL environment. MDC has not gotten better at skating and even if his shot is other worldly, what's his NHL upside going to be for the Leafs in particular? Yes our skating coach is great but it's not like Barzal and other good skating Islanders are suffering with what's available. If we were to try to pry him from the Islanders, we'd still have to pay a premium just based on where he was drafted. What if he's a Jeremy Williams v2?

Ho-Sang, on the other hand, would be a guy I wouldn't mind the Leafs going after. But in doing so, what is the long term plan? How willing and capable is he in becoming a three zone player and does he have any other assets that would set him apart from the kind of players we're developing in the Marlies or acquiring via PTOs, UFA, etc?

What case does either player have for getting a roster spot? Do they PK well? No. Are they capable 200ft players that won't need sheltering? No. Does acquiring them cost assets? Yes. Rather have Leivo, Johnsson, Kapanen, Grundstrom, and now Ennis, and my darkhorse in Moore, fight for a spot. There's capable players that have paid their dues that deserve their shot. The guys you're taking about would be lucky to have the same impact JVR and Bozak had.

Id say as of now, JHS would be our second best LW behind Marleau (he played both wings so far in his career)
His primary points per minute is consistent with a 1st or 2nd liner. Positives Corsi Rel and Corsi over his (short) career. Draws more penalties than he takes. All things that are positives.
He is a great skater, and has some fiiilthy mits and sees the ice well.
He is by no mean a 200ft dominant winger, but he is definitely above average.

To me, this is a situation where there is a bias against certain types of players.
He has a decent sized personality, abrasive history with hockey Canada for being 'cocky' (Sunday Big Read: Josh Ho-Sang vs. the world - Sportsnet.ca)
It seems like this is a underutilized asset. One that has a bias against it that the numbers dont get.

I dunno, I watched him allot in junior and just always thought he was not benig used properly and that he gets shit on for being different.

 

[therealkoho]

Maybe it's time for Doobs to give Bob a call and explore a trade

Nylander + Gardiner + 2nd 2020

Montour + Silvferberg + 1st 2020

TheHockeyNews 2yrs @3,387,500 RFA

TheHockeyNews 1yr @3,750,000 UFA

Marleau Matty Silvferberg

Montour Zaitsev

 

[ottomaddox]

I would do this.

 

[Warden of the North]

I might do this too.

That 1st could be pretty good