Free Agents and Trade Thread- Part VIII - Calm Before the Storm

[Magic Man]

I think Toronto has a good shot at Gudas (2.5M per for 3 years), Demelo (2.5M per for 3 years) or Hamonic (3.5M per for 3 years) if Pietrangelo slides past them.

I like Borowiecki as a potential 750K player for 2 years at 7D.

Soucy is also interesting despite being LD. 1M per for 2 years.

 

[Stephen]

Regarding the Spezza talk from the last thread, Koshan said Spezza is interested in coming back at league min a couple days ago. I get Leafs may want to see whats out there and then come to him, but honestly, I would just sign him now and get at least that over with.

Yeah, just give him the respect and sign him now. No harm in it.

 

[aingefan]

I've suggested it before. Rielly could return a substantial package maybe even including another right side defenseman. The Leafs' left side is still passable without Rielly and has some depth. Also, if you're looking for a defense UFA bargain, LHD are going to be more plentiful.

I don’t recall your suggestions (I remember suggestions of Reilly for comparable RD, not sure if it was you?) but obviously great minds ponder alike.
I’m pretty entirely sure he’d get #5 plus a whole lot more from Ottawa for example (which was my template for a Marner trade). High risk move.
Reilly and AJ for 5, Norris, a bunch of other picks.
Sign Pie.
Probably have some money left to burn.

 

[nuck]

He probably pushes Holl to the 3rd pair, which is good, but he also takes a spot from Dermott or Lehtonen, which is bad.

The complete failure to give Dermott any right side minutes even when Ceci was hurt leads me to believe they have no interest or faith in him at RD. He won't displace Mo or Muzz at LD and I think he has been lapped by Sandin for the junior role. I am sensing no spot there for him in any case. But Jensen is way too risky for a top pair. The surplus of UFA D and meager Leaf assets will be gone too early to make an adjustment if he doesn't work out. No time to experiment, they need a reliable fix right off the hop, there are jobs depending on it.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I think Toronto has a good shot at Gudas (2.5M per for 3 years), Demelo (2.5M per for 3 years) or Hamonic (3.5M per for 3 years) if Pietrangelo slides past them.

I like Borowiecki as a potential 750K player for 2 years at 7D.

Soucy is also interesting despite being LD. 1M per for 2 years.

Borowiecki and Soucy are getting much better deals than that. Hamonic and Gudas will likely find takers for more money than that too.

 

[horner]

Just reading through Athletic.

I think moving Engvall would be a minor-mistake. I get the contract point of view Mirtle's been pushing, but Engvall's been a slow rolling guy at every level. I just think he needs more NHL seasoning to grow into his role. I'd probably keep Gautheir around too if he comes cheap (which he should).

Nick Jensen could be a good add on cheap if Washington's looking to shed salary. He's strong defensively. Moderate salary. Not solving your top-four issues though.

Engvall I had such high promise but when he signed his contract he seemed to stop playing .
He dosnt really do anything but skate fast.
I was hoping we had a kappy replacement. NOT
He's like alot of our bottom six.
When they don't produce , they don't do anything else.

 

[Kiwi]

Borowiecki and Soucy are getting much better deals than that. Hamonic and Gudas will likely find takers for more money than that too.

I think one of those 4 are going to get less term and AAV than that

Teams are going to be cash and cap strapped this off-season and some players are going to miss out

I think this will be a good year to be a buyer

 

[Magic Man]

Borowiecki and Soucy are getting much better deals than that. Hamonic and Gudas will likely find takers for more money than that too.

Borowiecki didn't have tremendous success before this season and he has been playing limited minutes for a bottom feeder. Soucy burst onto the scene this year and still only played 15:37 a game, good for 37th amongst FA defenseman, he's 6'5 and a project.

Gudas was only 31st amongst defenseman in ice time as well. It has been said it was a poor year overall for him.

Hamonic may get more despite him getting the most in my scenario. There are just so many options whom I think are higher on GM's wishlists and there is a flat cap for 2 years.

 

[horner]

I think one of those 4 are going to get less term and AAV than that

Teams are going to be cash and cap strapped this off-season and some players are going to miss out

I think this will be a good year to be a buyer

I agree owners looking to shed alot of salary.
Business is way down and no fans in arena's .
They are losing a ton of money.
Also covid may determine where they feel there families will be safe ( Canada )

 

[seanlinden]

Borowiecki and Soucy are getting much better deals than that. Hamonic and Gudas will likely find takers for more money than that too.

I think a lot of fans are going to be very suprised for how much the likes of Hamonic, Tanev, Brodie & Gudas sign for.

The cap isn't necessarily a huge issue for a lot of teams, but dollars out are. Nobody wants to spend money they don't absolutely have to this year, and if you do need to fill a roster spot, you're a lot better off investing the dollars you're going to pay this year into somebody that's going to help you long term. The guys I mentioned are not long term help.

A guy like Soucy is going to get paid, simply because this is a good year to invest in a project.

 

[A1LeafNation]

Robertson ______ Korshkov
Martin Engvall Perry

Just get a cheap big PK center for the third line.

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

I think Toronto has a good shot at Gudas (2.5M per for 3 years), Demelo (2.5M per for 3 years) or Hamonic (3.5M per for 3 years) if Pietrangelo slides past them.

I like Borowiecki as a potential 750K player for 2 years at 7D.

Soucy is also interesting despite being LD. 1M per for 2 years.

How do those guys make our defense any better than it was last year? And why does everybody want to give Gudas term at $2.5M? He's a "meh" 3rd pairing guy at this point and we have plenty of options to fill those spots in Lehtonen/Dermott/Liljegren/Sandin/Rosen/Marincin/Kivihalme

If you can get Gudas or Demelo at around $1m you take a shot maybe and add to the depth but there is no way I give that kind of term and money in this market.

We need upgrades if we're adding $8.5M to our defense group.

 

[Nooodles]

Engvall I had such high promise but when he signed his contract he seemed to stop playing .
He dosnt really do anything but skate fast.
I was hoping we had a kappy replacement. NOT
He's like alot of our bottom six.
When they don't produce , they don't do anything else.

I know, right?

Why don't he score 25 goals like every rookie in this league? He was only on a pace like 16 goals or something.

Get him outta here asap. With Nylander and Marner.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Engvall I had such high promise but when he signed his contract he seemed to stop playing .
He dosnt really do anything but skate fast.
I was hoping we had a kappy replacement. NOT
He's like alot of our bottom six.
When they don't produce , they don't do anything else.

You show the same sentiment as pretty much 95% of the Leafs fanbase, which just goes to show how short-sighted most fans are.

If they aren't scoring or running someone through the boards, they aren't doing anything. Probably because most people do not have the attention span to notice anything beyond the most noticeable of events.

 

[Nylander88]

I wonder how much Andersen's trade value will be hurt based on the oddly large amount of goalies on the market. And now Lundqvist has been added to that. If I'm a team I probably try and get a guy like Lehner, Holtby, Lundqvist, Crawford, Khudobin, Greiss etc for under 5mil instead of spending assets on Freddy

 

[Nooodles]

I wonder how much Andersen's trade value will be hurt based on the oddly large amount of goalies on the market. And now Lundqvist has been added to that. If I'm a team I probably try and get a guy like Lehner, Holtby, Lundqvist, Crawford, Khudobin, Greiss etc for under 5mil instead of spending assets on Freddy

Freddy costs you 1M though.....

 

[Nylander88]

Freddy costs you 1M though.....

You're right. That could be our saving grace for sure is contract structure. Guess we'll see how many teams are that financially desperate but still want the cap hit.

 

[kb]

I agree owners looking to shed alot of salary.
Business is way down and no fans in arena's .
They are losing a ton of money.
Also covid may determine where they feel there families will be safe ( Canada )

This is a very underrated point, at least for this year. Couple that with the fact that there won't be a lot of spenders, and the Leafs could possibly benefit big time.

 

[kb]

I wonder how much Andersen's trade value will be hurt based on the oddly large amount of goalies on the market. And now Lundqvist has been added to that. If I'm a team I probably try and get a guy like Lehner, Holtby, Lundqvist, Crawford, Khudobin, Greiss etc for under 5mil instead of spending assets on Freddy

None of them will come in for $1 million in real dollars though. That's a big thing with a lot of clubs.

 

[Warden of the North]

Has there been any indication if there will be a way to get league minimum contracts off the cap if the AHL doesn't operate a season but the NHL does? It may not be possible to "bury" contracts.

 

[The Podium]

Has there been any indication if there will be a way to get league minimum contracts off the cap if the AHL doesn't operate a season but the NHL does? It may not be possible to "bury" contracts.

Very good point.

 

[TML Dynasty]

Freddy costs you 1M though.....

And only a 1 year guy....so useful to teams that have someone almost ready. I’m not familiar enough with other teams goalie situations to figure out how many teams that would be though

 

[Mr Knies Guy]

Engvall I had such high promise but when he signed his contract he seemed to stop playing .
He dosnt really do anything but skate fast.
I was hoping we had a kappy replacement. NOT
He's like alot of our bottom six.
When they don't produce , they don't do anything else.

Great way to put it. They do absolutely nothing if not scoring; no grit, no forechecking, no intimidation factor like we’ve seen with these legit contenders this year like TB, Vegas, Dallas, Boston.

Rumour is they want to redo the bottom six, started with Kap it seems and could speak to why Spez hasn’t seen an offer. As much as Goat and Engvall are decent enough, they just don’t move the needle and have zero grit. And then you’ve got Cliff who isn’t worth a jump from 3rd to 2nd. A lot of depth changes needed here... is start with Simmonds at league min to replace Cliff, can’t be any worse than he was, except for the big Kukan hit

 

[Gallagbi]

Has there been any indication if there will be a way to get league minimum contracts off the cap if the AHL doesn't operate a season but the NHL does? It may not be possible to "bury" contracts.

Haven't read anything, but I'd think there would need to be a taxi squad of sorts for injuries. Something off the cap, but probably training with the team similar to playoffs

 

[Hockey 4 Life]

If I were the leafs brass I would target the sharks and devils as trade partners.

To
Sharks
Andersen
Kerfoot

To
Leafs
2020 1st (30th overall I believe)
2020 3rd

Sharks need a starter in net and they need a good forward. Leafs gain cap and an additional late 1st and early 3rd rounder.

To
Devils
Dermott
Johnson

To Leafs
2020 1st (20th overall)

Devils need help on the backend and need forward help and this deal addresses both.
Leafs clear more cap and gain another first.

All total leafs clear 11.9 million in cap plus the 2 or 2.5 million dermott may have gotten. We also then have picks 15, 20, 30, 44, 67 etc. After these deals leafs only have to fill 3c, tandem goalie and 1 or two rd with approximately 18 mill total in cap to spend.