TSN Radio Bob McKenzie: Everyone on Carolina except Sebastian Aho is available

[Brown Dog]

What about a trade built around our 1st pick?

Does Carolina have any cap dump options?

Come to think of it, are there any other bad contacts league-wide that expire after next year that we could exploit?

 

[Scott Malkinson]

Carolina would likely be all over Kasperi Kapanen.

That Kapanen name would mean a lot to the fan base.

 

[Pookie]

I think Kadri would be the one they are after. They wanted to play with more bite, felt they were to soft at forward.
Kadri can give you that. 30 goal scoring center gets you the top 4 RHD.
Now would you do that? That's the part about a GM making the hard decisions.
What are your options after that?
Nylander to center?
Gardiner dealt for a 3C?
The ongoing dream of Tavares signing here?

Yes. I would do that

 

[Trapper]

If the dream of signing Tavares does not come true, then they may as well preach patience because they are not going to advance farther next year. I don't see how they can replace our UFAs and fix the defense with the assets we have/willing to trade.

Yup. Asset management, a strong pipeline always comes back to get you. Carolina has a strong D pool to deal assets. We have talent but not an abundance in the key areas of center/defense. Carolina doesn't need wingers. They have Aho,Teravainen,Skinner,can draft Svechnikov and sign JVR if they like.

 

[ShaneFalco]

If the dream of signing Tavares does not come true, then they may as well preach patience because they are not going to advance farther next year. I don't see how they can replace our UFAs and fix the defense with the assets we have/willing to trade.

It will certainly be a challenge. Which is another reason letting JVR walk was a mistake in my mind. And to clarify, not moved at TDL, but last summer or even earlier. Gardiner is in the same situation now

Very weak at C, weak to questionable at D (but some options in Holl, Rosen, Borgman etc). Can they even afford to move Gardiner?

 

[Menzinger]

If the Leafs want a younger top 4 Dman than Nylander might the most likely asset that it would take to address the need on defense at the expense of offense.

If Dubas were to deal Willy I see it more in the pursuit of true #1Dman like say OEL in Arizona at the entry draft. However I believe such a deal would have needed Lou Lam moxey to pull off.

Dubas more than likely due to his age and inexperience will play it safe and prefer to play a long game trying to add players opportunely and at a cheaper trade costs to build around the edges as opposed to a blockbuster to put his own imprint on the team. IMO

Carolina has some young Dmen that most certainly would interest the Leafs as an upgrade, but all experienced GMs are going to try and exploit Dubas inexperience and get him to overpay in trades, which will make deals harder to make, basically forcing Dubas into a more conservative approach because the asking prices too high and him unwilling to overspend in fear of making mistakes.

Interestingly the expected behaviour youre attributing to Dubas’ inexperience seems to be near identical to the behaviour of the ultra-experienced Lou while he was GM -Who aside from dumping Dion didn’t come close to engaging in any major trades.

Personally, I think Dubas avoids making a big trade because now isn't the right time to move any of the Leafs young core considering none have even entered their primes yet.

 

[BlueForever75]

Carolina would likely be all over Kasperi Kapanen.

That Kapanen name would mean a lot to the fan base.

That's what I am thinking.

Kapanen
Neilsen
Sparks
1st '18
3rd '19

for

Pesce
Staal (Carolina retains 20% of salary)

 

[ToneDog]

There will be continued development from the big three. A healthy Matthews alone could be good enough for an extra 20-30 more points alone next season.

Yes, agreed. All our kids should be better next year but I don't see their growth being enough to get us further. Unless Lily can make an impact what other prospect has a chance to make the big club ? Aalt, Par, Freddy, Grudstrom ?? Like I said, I don't see it. It will be clearer on July 1st because I expect them to be active at the draft and on the UFA market.

 

[Sypher04]

Nobody who knows anything thinks the Kessel deal was a bad deal for us. There's a difference between a bad deal, and not getting maximum value for a player's skill.

Kessel is a good player, very good even, but anyone who honestly thinks we were ever going to get more for him at that time needs to give their head a shake.

- The media had spent years beating down any semblance of worth Kessel had
- Pittsburgh was the only team that was prepared to make an offer and it was publicly known that we were rebuilding and that moving Kessel needed to happen that offseason - severely weakening our position in negotiations.
- In the end we still got ourselves an extremely promising young forward in Kapanen (who with a better opportunity this year should take a clear step) and a 1st round pick that we managed to package into a bonafide #1 goalie later. Among other assets back and forth of no real consequence.
- We cleared 47.6 million dollars of cap space over the next 7 years.
- Coupled with the Phaneuf trade following we were able to irradicate a toxic environment.

If we rewound back to that deal knowing everything we know now, the Leafs still make it.

 

[Goonface2k14]

I could easily see the team moving laterally without showing much more improvement, forcing Dubas' hand to make a trade at some point.

Maybe something that centers around Hanifin and Nylander.

Just thinking out loud, based on this news and the Leafs' roster status.

Let's see.

 

[ToneDog]

It will certainly be a challenge. Which is another reason letting JVR walk was a mistake in my mind. And to clarify, not moved at TDL, but last summer or even earlier. Gardiner is in the same situation now

Very weak at C, weak to questionable at D (but some options in Holl, Rosen, Borgman etc). Can they even afford to move Gardiner?

Letting JVR walk was not a mistake. Not trading him last summer or early last season was the mistake. Signing any of our UFAs will be a mistake at this point. Luckily when it comes to any talk of signing any of our UFAs, I hear crickets.

 

[Matthews34]

It will certainly be a challenge. Which is another reason letting JVR walk was a mistake in my mind. And to clarify, not moved at TDL, but last summer or even earlier. Gardiner is in the same situation now

Very weak at C, weak to questionable at D (but some options in Holl, Rosen, Borgman etc). Can they even afford to move Gardiner?

Very weak at centre??? Any team with Matthews and Kadri at centre can never be considered weak. Add the possibility of Nylander at 3C and you'd be hard pressed to find 3 more talented centres on one team.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

That's what I am thinking.

Kapanen
Neilsen
Sparks
1st '18
3rd '19

for

Pesce
Staal (Carolina retains 20% of salary)

As a fan of both teams (Canes 1st), that is absolutely terrible for Carolina.

 

[ToneDog]

I could easily see the team moving laterally without showing much more improvement, forcing Dubas' hand to make a trade at some point.

Maybe something that centers around Hanifin and Nylander.

Just thinking out loud, based on this news and the Leafs' roster status.

Let's see.

Hanifin for Nylander is risky. To mitigate the risk I would want more from the Canes. We'd be sitting pretty if Hanifin developed into the dman he was projected to be but no way I gamble on it with Nylander.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Very weak at centre??? Any team with Matthews and Kadri at centre can never be considered weak. Add the possibility of Nylander at 3C and you'd be hard pressed to find 3 more talented centres on one team.

We're not even sure what the plan is for Nylander. Or if he'd succeed at C. Babcock wouldn't play him
They need a #3 and #4C right now. They maybe have a #4C on the Marlies. Maybe not. Certainly no strong centers coming up

 

[ToneDog]

Very weak at centre??? Any team with Matthews and Kadri at centre can never be considered weak. Add the possibility of Nylander at 3C and you'd be hard pressed to find 3 more talented centres on one team.

Matthews, Kadri, Nylander down the middle looks good but you are filling one hole and creating another, although a hole on the RW should be easier to fill than one at C.

 

[Gallagbi]

As a fan of both teams (Canes 1st), that is absolutely terrible for Carolina.

Cut the retaining salary and it's close IMO.

I'd be looking at something like Kadri + 2nd for Pesce and Staal. Pesce for Kadri is close in value (second closes that gap) and Staal's overpaid for what he brings.

 

[Trapper]

Letting JVR walk was not a mistake. Not trading him last summer or early last season was the mistake. Signing any of our UFAs will be a mistake at this point. Luckily when it comes to any talk of signing any of our UFAs, I hear crickets.

6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other.
Letting it get to that point, was a mistake.
This organization is not strong enough to replenish C/D depth and use a center to trade for D or vice versa.
That's a problem.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Lots of new bodies?

 

[hotpaws]

Carolina is a solid goalie away from being a decent team , no idea why they'd be looking to make a large amount of moves .

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Cut the retaining salary and it's close IMO.

I'd be looking at something like Kadri + 2nd for Pesce and Staal. Pesce for Kadri is close in value (second closes that gap) and Staal's overpaid for what he brings.

I disagree.

Kapenen is the most valuable piece coming from Toronto and Kapanen is << either Staal OR Pesce. The rest of the pieces don't come close to making up the difference.

- Goalies like Sparks have little trade value.
- Nielsen might never be an NHLr and even if he is, has little value in Carolina with Slavin, Hanifin, Fleury and Bean as LHD.
- A late 1st round pick has about a 25% chance of being a top 4D / top 6F
- A 2019 3rd is just noise.

Retention or not, it's terrible for Carolina.

Staal is not overpaid for what he brings. He takes on all the toughest assignments, gobbles up tons of minutes and is a 45-50 point player on a low scoring team.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Carolina is a solid goalie away from being a decent team , no idea why they'd be looking to make a large amount of moves .

I really don't think they will. While anyone is available for the right price, My view:

Aho, Slavin: About as untouchable as one can be.
Staal, TT, Williams, Pesce: Very unlikely they'll be moved.
TVR, Fleury, McGinn: Probably not moved because they won't bring back enough to make it worth it. Sure, available, but not practical.
Hanifin, Lindholm: I think they'd be available for a good deal (ie...a similar age / potential player).
Skinner, Faulk, Rask: I'd say definitely available for the right price and maybe even actively being shopped
Darling, Nordstrom, DiGuiseppe: Nobody wants.

With guys like Necas, Zykov and Foegele probably NHL ready and the #2OA pick coming in, they have some flexibility to move a couple of guys.

 

[The CyNick]

Very weak at centre??? Any team with Matthews and Kadri at centre can never be considered weak. Add the possibility of Nylander at 3C and you'd be hard pressed to find 3 more talented centres on one team.

Organizationally we are not strong.

You can't count Nylander as a centre anymore than you can Marner, who also played centre coming up.

If Nylander can't cut it as an effective 3C, then you are left worrying about losing Bozak to free agency or then trying to replace him externally. Nobody in the system jumps out as anything more than a 4C at this point.

If we sign Tavares, it's hard to argue anyone can match up from an NHL roster POV, but organizationally we would still be weak. It would just be at that point it doesnt matter because you have the C position locked down for at least 3 or 4 years.

 

[Sweet Leaf]

Regarding this sentiment that the Canes would take the steal, run and hide, if offered Nylander...and we should instead offer Kadri...

I'm not convinced Nylander has more trade value than Kadri?

I get Nylander has the youth and potential on his side but...

- Kadri is locked in for 4.5 M
- Nylander will be offered 6M
- Kadri is a proven top 6 200 foot center in the NHL
- Nylander is not, and may never be that

Not sure the Canes and many other teams wouldn't pay more for Kadri.

And I'm not sure I should agree with most of the fans in this thread saying we should offer Kadri before Nylander.

 

[Liminality]

I really don't think they will. While anyone is available for the right price, My view:

Aho, Slavin: About as untouchable as one can be.
Staal, TT, Williams, Pesce: Very unlikely they'll be moved.
TVR, Fleury, McGinn: Probably not moved because they won't bring back enough to make it worth it. Sure, available, but not practical.
Hanifin, Lindholm: I think they'd be available for a good deal (ie...a similar age / potential player).
Skinner, Faulk, Rask: I'd say definitely available for the right price and maybe even actively being shopped
Darling, Nordstrom, DiGuiseppe: Nobody wants.

With guys like Necas, Zykov and Foegele probably NHL ready and the #2OA pick coming in, they have some flexibility to move a couple of guys.

What is Carolina even looking for if they're willing to give up that many players? Futures and picks?