Forward or Defense?

[HamiltonNHL]

A backup goalie isn't key because of this fact :

If Andersen is out with injury... the Leafs chances are near zero.

No backup will solve that issue.

 

[Rare Jewel]

I'd lean towards D, but adding some variety/longer term Marleau replacement wouldn't hurt.

Vatanen is my target as far as a D goes (Pysyk or Jensen are back up options). I'm also tempted by the idea of getting Saad as reclamation project, but it's a risky move.

 

[PromisedLand]

voted D

but I wouldn't say no to

Brown+ for Simmonds

clears up cap space for next season and also adds some tenacity to the Leafs for the playoff run.


Star winger is going to cost an arm and leg - also star forward is not necessarily going to increase the leafs scoring - as "star" forwards usually like to hog the puck so playing 3 elite talent on a line may not necessarily work well.

Also, we want to try and avoid a blackhawks/kings scenario where we could not draft decent talent to help the core (Matthews, Marner, etc...) in the future

 

[Hockey Crazy]

I'd lean towards D, but adding some variety/longer term Marleau replacement wouldn't hurt.

Vatanen is my target as far as a D goes (Pysyk or Jensen are back up options). I'm also tempted by the idea of getting Saad as reclamation project, but it's a risky move.

I like Vatanen, but would NJ be willing to part with him? Wonder if we could swap a guy like Kapanen for him and then trade picks for Stone...

Johnsson - Matthews - Nylander
Hyman - Tavares - Marner
Marleau - Kadri - Stone
Ennis - Lindholm - Brown

Reilly - Vatanen
Gardiner - Ozhaginov
Dermott - Hainsey

RW, C and LD is nuts on that team

 

[The Iceman]

Simmonds is a legit target and fit for this team. It would take much more than Brown to get that deal done however.

 

[Critical13]

I like Vatanen, but would NJ be willing to part with him? Wonder if we could swap a guy like Kapanen for him and then trade picks for Stone...

Johnsson - Matthews - Nylander
Hyman - Tavares - Marner
Marleau - Kadri - Stone
Ennis - Lindholm - Brown

Reilly - Vatanen
Gardiner - Ozhaginov
Dermott - Hainsey

RW, C and LD is nuts on that team

Then Stone walks next year and Vats contract ends soon as well, doesn't it?

Big gamble on this year.

 

[Dog]

Star defenseman top pairing by the name of Pietrangelo!

 

[ShaneFalco]

 

[93LEAFS]

A star left-winger in the mold of someone like Landeskog would take one of our top lines on par with Colorado's. I don't know where we can find that left-winger though. He basically does all the Hyman does, but is also a good offensive player.

 

[666]

When Nylander is on your third line and second PP you do not have a need at forward.

When Hyman is in the top 6, something is wrong.

 

[Hockey Crazy]

Then Stone walks next year and Vats contract ends soon as well, doesn't it?

Big gamble on this year.

The fact is that we have a unique year this year and we will need to shed some salary. We have Nylander, Marner and Kapanen on the right side, while Johnsson is probably our best offensive option on the left... so if im looking at Johnsson, Kapanen and Gardiner all needing raises, im probably taking the guy in our deepest position and transferring that to our weakest (RW to RD). Vatanen on right D is money better spent than Gardiner playing on the left side and his contract expires after the marleau crunch, where we would have the option to re-sign him if we want to.

 

[Buds17]

Could go with either option, or even neither (more of a depth add if the team is healthy and excelling).

The star winger seems to be the best add in terms of impact, but the two d-men fill two spots, if that ends up being a need. Unless there's a hockey trade before then, it'll be easier to assess closer to the trade deadline if the idea is simply to add a rental. Not sure who would even come out of the lineup at this point if someone was added via trade.

 

[Nineteen67]

I’m not sure I’d give up too much for Simmonds, but they can use someone like him.

They had Jon Cooper on HC12 and he reiterated the need for grit in the playoffs. Granted he went on to say that his current roster of players picked it up in the playoffs and were more physical than they were in the regular season. Which I hope the Leafs do as well, however, on the flip side, TB hasn’t won a Cup with this core either, trying to be something they are not.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

people would hate Simmonds. he's Hyman level offensively, and has worse underlying numbers

 

[JT AM da real deal]

You only play Simmons against certain teams. He is an insurance policy. He is your 13th guy. He moves up to 3rd line with Kadri and Nylander for Bruins. Brown moves up with Matty and Kappy for bruins. Hyman plays on Tavares and Marner line. 4th line you go Marchment, Goat and Clune.

Again I don't want that matchup but we have to be prepared for it.

Rielly Dermott
Gards McQuaid
Hainsey Oz

 

[HamiltonNHL]

The NHL is virtually a no trade league

 

[Nithoniniel]

Even with our riches at forward, a star winger like Stone would have a much higher impact on our chances than some guys that are just small improvements on what we already have. When the quality differential is that big, it doesn't really matter. We'd put Stone with Kadri and roll three lines of the best lines in the league, and there would be no counter for it.

Edit: The names in OP are weird. Stone is one of the best two-way players in the league, so he doesn't fit the description. Muzzin doesn't really fit the description either.

 

[Menzinger]

He’s a player whose reputation outweighs hisnon ice impact.

Can be a useful player but will cost a lot

 

[luvdahattymatty]

Gramps here. We have a whole lot of forwards who can score. What we are lacking is a couple defenders who can defend. Not puck movers but big nasty fast defenders who can stop the cycle on us. It is very clear we are missing this skill.

 

[Randy Randerson]

neither, one good dman

 

[Liminality]

I'm not sure if it's better to enhance our bottom line on offense or defense. I think our top 9 and top 4 are pretty set. We'd have to pay a lot to get a top 4 upgrade on defense or a good enough winger to push down one of our current ones.

I guess you could try and push everyone on the left side down the depth chart but even then it'll be expensive to get a top line LW.

____-Tavares-Marner
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Marleau-Kadri-Kapanen
Johnsson-Lindholm-Brown
Ennis

On the defensive side you're only looking to push down someone like Zaitsev. Too expensive to try and grab a top line defender to replace Hainsey.

Rielly-Hainsey
Gardiner-_____
Dermott-Zaitsev
Ozhiganov

To be honest I think I'd just try and look for a role player to replace Ennis or Lindholm on the bottom line to really push that line over the top.

Edit: didn't read the OP properly, I'd probably take the two top 4 d.

 

[Ziggdiezan]

A star left-winger in the mold of someone like Landeskog would take one of our top lines on par with Colorado's. I don't know where we can find that left-winger though. He basically does all the Hyman does, but is also a good offensive player.

Agreed, although the leafs stars will always play significantly less minutes than their peers due to how much depth there is with two #1 lines.

I wouldn't expect to keep up with Colorado's top line who play like 4 minutes of PP a game.

Hopefully Grundstrom becomes our Landy.

 

[moon111]

It would be very hard to bring in what the Leafs need at the end of the season. What the Leafs need is I will put my life on the line, do whatever is necessary to win leadership. There's no Clark. No Gilmour. Think Kadri was there, but being suspended in the playoffs I think got into his head. Do we need fighting? No. Pat Burns told Clark to put his game in check. That's what the Leafs need. Self control. But when McSorley laid out Gilmour and Clark DID respond. There's a time and place for everything. Disciplined passion, not sure that's available as a rental. Can you be picked up at the trade deadline and bleed blue and white by the time the playoffs come around?

 

[A1LeafNation]

Leafs don’t need a forward. They have:
-two franchise centers
-two premier wingers
-a nasty borderline 1st line center
-two up and coming wingers
-a wiley vet winger
-a bulldog winger
-sick 4th line

 

[Kiwi]

We need to use every available asset to get a top 4 RD that can push either Hainsey or Zaitsev down

That's the absolute imperative, everything else is a luxury in comparison

I'd also like to point out that adding Simmonds is a baaaad idea, he's a shadow of the player he once was and he is very poor defensively

With our forward group we need a winger that can play a strong 2way game rather than another offensive catalyst with questionable defensive skills