Free Agents and Trade Thread - Offseason Part II

[BertCorbeau]

I agree. If the rumour has any legs at all, Dubas should jump on that

Yeah that's a good package.

 

[kb]

So if Matthews breaks his leg, you think Alex Kerfoot is the solution?

There is no solution for an injury like that on any team.

 

[Kiwi]

Oh I agree they could be tricky to get, but you have to imagine there is a plan there for an upgrade.

Kerfoot is okay. Could he be better? Sure. He's got some tenacity, skill, and maybe some PK ability (given what we saw in the playoffs). He becomes more valuable to the club he is starts PK'ing effective.

But he's not quite skill enough for a top 6 role and clearly does have the size to be a physical player in the bottom six. A bit of a tweener, strong possession player but mediocre on the draw.

I'm not entirely opposed to keeping him but I think there could be something better out there. If they flanked him with two bigger, physical wingers though that might help.

I remember the 4th line when Ennis was played with two physical/grinding players and it was effective. Perhaps that more of what Kerfoot needs for success in the bottom 6.

I think good 3rd line centers are harder to find than most of us imagine

I'd like a matchup or a physically imposing 3rd line to insulate the skill players but teams seem to hang onto really good defensive or physically imposing 3rd liners

I mean, if we had some players like that would you trade them? I wouldn't

So if Matthews breaks his leg, you think Alex Kerfoot is the solution?

No, but he can do a job in the top 6 like he did when Tavares was injured

Try making that work with a worse center

 

[Leafs1991]

If they get a second for Kerfoot you do that in a heartbeat. I would throw 1.75-2 million at Brassard for 2 years.

Brassard? Really?

 

[LeafParade]

I like where your heads at, but I dont think the value is there. I would assume Foudy holds more value than Kerfoot.

I assume we need pieces to balance out the trade on both sides. But I think he can be done.
It really depends on how free agency works out. If these teams can't find a 2C, they will be desperate to fill in that slot with Kerfoot or someone of that level.

 

[Leafs1991]

So you think he's not even a 2nd/3rd line winger like Kapanen?

The guy is incredibly unproven. You don't give out a contract like that to someone who played roughly 40 games. He is no Panarin.

 

[LeafParade]

Oh I agree they could be tricky to get, but you have to imagine there is a plan there for an upgrade.

Kerfoot is okay. Could he be better? Sure. He's got some tenacity, skill, and maybe some PK ability (given what we saw in the playoffs). He becomes more valuable to the club he is starts PK'ing effectively.

But he's not quite skill enough for a top 6 role and clearly doesn't have the size to be a physical player in the bottom six. A bit of a tweener, strong possession player but mediocre on the draw.

I'm not entirely opposed to keeping him but I think there could be something better out there. If they flanked him with two bigger, physical wingers though that might help.

I remember the 4th line when Ennis was played with two physical/grinding players and it was effective. Perhaps that more of what Kerfoot needs for success in the bottom 6.

This is why I am hesitant to play Robertson or similar players with Kerfoot next year. If you get a couple physical players on his wings then I don't think it is really that much of an issue. It helps that we started to see him also on the PK. If Hyman wasn't so valuable on the top 6, I would actually place him on Kerfoot's wing. I think a Robertson-Kerfoot-Hyman line would be effective.

 

[BertCorbeau]

I think good 3rd line centers are harder to find than most of us imagine

I'd like a matchup or a physically imposing 3rd line to insulate the skill players but teams seem to hang onto really good defensive or physically imposing 3rd liners

I mean, if we had some players like that would you trade them? I wouldn't




No, but he can do a job in the top 6 like he did when Tavares was injured

Try making that work with a worse center

Depends on the circumstances ... I mean I look at a team like the Rangers with Panarin, Kreider, and soon Laf on the left side... I wonder if they could pry someone like Buchnevich away.

The Tom Wilson's are hard to come by but you can still find some bigger physical players with a scoring touch if you look around.

 

[Stephen]

If Mikheyev was willing to sign a 5 year extension at $3.5 million, would you be comfortable with it?

No, I think you sign him to a 2 year prove-me deal with the idea he can cash in post-Covid economics, but that level of player you simply don't "put the ring on it."

 

[Stephen]

With Matthews and Tavares taking up 40 minutes a game, a good third line centre is a luxury.

If we had an injury, the Nylander at centre experiment gets to run its course.



Half the cap is tied up in 4 players. We are going to have holes. 3rd line C isn't an ideal spot, but it's much better than the top of our blueline.

Here's the UFA centres this summer:
Johan Larsson
Brian Boyle
Matthew Peca
Kevin Rooney
Derrick Brassard
Nate Thompson
Derek Grant
Mikko Koivo
Alex Galchenyuk
Colin Blackwell
Cody Eakin
Nick Shore
Carl Soderberg
Brad Richardson
Riley Sheahan
Joe Thornton
Tomas Nosek

These guys weren't centres, but have been in the past:
Zemgus Girgensons
Vladislav Nemestnikov
Mattias Janmark
Mikael Granlund
Logan Shaw
Trevor Lewis

Yeah, some of those guys aren't very good, but there are a lot of good options there.

I like Nosek. VGK puts him out there to start each period with their checking line and I could see that being a nice way to pump up the team energy levels. Create a 3 man shock unit to go crash and bang, and then roll out the Matthews-Tavares wave.

 

[LeafParade]

With Matthews and Tavares taking up 40 minutes a game, a good third line centre is a luxury.

If we had an injury, the Nylander at centre experiment gets to run its course.



Half the cap is tied up in 4 players. We are going to have holes. 3rd line C isn't an ideal spot, but it's much better than the top of our blueline.

Here's the UFA centres this summer:
Johan Larsson
Brian Boyle
Matthew Peca
Kevin Rooney
Derrick Brassard
Nate Thompson
Derek Grant
Mikko Koivo
Alex Galchenyuk
Colin Blackwell
Cody Eakin
Nick Shore
Carl Soderberg
Brad Richardson
Riley Sheahan
Joe Thornton
Tomas Nosek

These guys weren't centres, but have been in the past:
Zemgus Girgensons
Vladislav Nemestnikov
Mattias Janmark
Mikael Granlund
Logan Shaw
Trevor Lewis

Yeah, some of those guys aren't very good, but there are a lot of good options there.

Anyone looking at this list should understand why teams will want Kerfoot.

 

[LeafParade]

Yeah that's a good package.

Who has more value Bennett or Dube? I don't watch enough Flames hockey to know this.
I feel like the Flames are not going to give up their 3C in this trade and would rather try to package in a winger.

 

[Kiwi]

Depends on the circumstances ... I mean I look at a team like the Rangers with Panarin, Kreider, and soon Laf on the left side... I wonder if they could pry someone like Buchnevich away.

The Tom Wilson's are hard to come by but you can still find some bigger physical players with a scoring touch if you look around.

Those types of players take some finding now days, we've got Hyman and I'm sure we've been on the lookout for more of that type of player but we haven't been successful

If we want that type of player I think we need to find somebody that either hasn't broken out yet or is forcing there way out of an organization (like Hyman)

 

[biotk]

So if Matthews breaks his leg, you think Alex Kerfoot is the solution?

When Mario would go down - and he missed a lot of games - the Pens had no one to replace him - and that was pre-cap when, especially in the early 90s, they were spending like crazy.

And even if they did have someone who could replace him, then they would need to have someone who could replace that person and so on. Mario's all the way down.

 

[ToneDog]

Those types of players take some finding now days, we've got Hyman and I'm sure we've been on the lookout for more of that type of player but we haven't been successful

If we want that type of player I think we need to find somebody that either hasn't broken out yet or is forcing there way out of an organization (like Hyman)

Hyman is a nice hard working player who can grind some but he is not Tom Wilson. Wilson is one of those players that you have to know where he is on the ice. Tkachuk is another one.

 

[Stephen]

Depends on the circumstances ... I mean I look at a team like the Rangers with Panarin, Kreider, and soon Laf on the left side... I wonder if they could pry someone like Buchnevich away.

The Tom Wilson's are hard to come by but you can still find some bigger physical players with a scoring touch if you look around.

Tom Wilson is on the high end of power forward options in today's game, but I think you have to bring him up through the system through the draft or try and develop a Crouse or Ritchie into that kind of player instead of moving a core piece for him, because the pure offensive downgrade in losing a Nylander is too much, even if Wilson is fantastic at what he does.

 

[Stephen]

Here's an alternative idea: Tom Wilson for Frederik Andersen, with the idea we get a cheaper starting goalie through another route. Gives Washington an insurance policy in case Samsonov falters, at a lower cap hit than Holtby currentlymakes and we get.. Tom Wilson.

 

[ToneDog]

Tom Wilson is on the high end of power forward options in today's game, but I think you have to bring him up through the system through the draft or try and develop a Crouse or Ritchie into that kind of player instead of moving a core piece for him, because the pure offensive downgrade in losing a Nylander is too much, even if Wilson is fantastic at what he does.

Until Nylander shows us that he can be a difference maker in the playoffs, I take Tom Wilson.

 

[Kiwi]

Hyman is a nice hard working player who can grind some but he is not Tom Wilson. Wilson is one of those players that you have to know where he is on the ice. Tkachuk is another one.

Sure, I seriously doubt you see those guys traded any time soon though

You draft those boys

 

[Stephen]

Sure, I seriously doubt you see those guys traded any time soon though

You draft those boys

That's for sure.. On draft day you have to be mindful to pick a guy like that and skip a guy with "the next Patrick Kane" label, however painful that might be.

 

[Funk21]

Brassard? Really?

if we save another 1.75 million and get another second then yes you do that trade all day IMO provided we can sign him.

 

[Dreakmur]

There is no solution for an injury like that on any team.

That's my point. Thinking you have to have a plan for Matthews getting injured is just impractical.

Anyone looking at this list should understand why teams will want Kerfoot.

Kerfoot, the player, is good compared to most guys on that list. His 3.5 million dollar cap hit is the problem.

If you can get Eakin for 2 million, that's a better option than Kerfoot at 3.5

 

[kb]

That's for sure.. On draft day you have to be mindful to pick a guy like that and skip a guy with "the next Patrick Kane" label, however painful that might be.

Tyler Biggs laughs.

 

[Stephen]

A lot of chatter that the Leafs could be offering some kind of package involving Liljegren, Johnsson and the 15th for Colton Parayko. I could get behind it in principle but I think Toronto would need a little more coming back.

 

[Stephen]

Tyler Biggs laughs.

It's all about the specific prospect and not villanizing player types... No to Nick Ritchie, but yes to Tom Wilson.