Free Agents and Trade Thread - Training camp edition

[TML1967]

I have no problem running Engvall and Spezza as 3/4 C.

They can both easily put up 3C offense for very cheap. On top of that Engvall is great defensively and Spezza is great at faceoffs.

Id need to see a longer and more consistent run from Engval before im confident in him as a 3C. His first bunch of games he looked great. His last bunch... meh
Could just be 1st year NHL he burned out. Im really looking forward to seeing him over this playoffs.

 

[Magic Man]

Engvall is a work in progress and Spezza has lost a step. I do think if the Leafs have no better options, that those two along with Freddy the Goat as a bottom line option is not that bad. Spezza with this group of players could still rebound to 35-45 points in a 3rd line role and Engvall showed glimpses of a rangy, shutdown center who could push 30-40 points in his prime. Both are complete wildcards on what they'd actually bring though. We have a pretty good idea what Kerfoot would do.

 

[I am Canadian]

Engvall is a work in progress and Spezza has lost a step. I do think if the Leafs have no better options, that those two along with Freddy the Goat as a bottom line option is not that bad. Spezza with this group of players could still rebound to 35-45 points in a 3rd line role and Engvall showed glimpses of a rangy, shutdown center who could push 30-40 points in his prime. Both are complete wildcards on what they'd actually bring though. We have a pretty good idea what Kerfoot would do.

Kerfoot provides mediocre defense, mediocre faceoff % and took the most minor penalties of our forwards. He is a 3rd/2nd line winger tweener and I really don't think he adds much to this team.

 

[Menzinger]

How long will the off season be this year? Dubas will have a lot of work to do, that’s got to be his focus now.

Absolute earliest will be December but I wont blink if they push it back later. Either way GMs will have lots of time to tinker. I'm curious to see if we will see an uptick in player movement as a result

 

[Kiwi]

Absolute earliest will be December but I wont blink if they push it back later. Either way GMs will have lots of time to tinker. I'm curious to see if we will see an uptick in player movement as a result

If a lot of teams are up against the cap you may find it's going to be hard to make deals, ideally teams like us would want to move money out but there's a limit to how many teams can take on money and money in money out deals are bloody tough in the off-season

 

[Fogelhund]

Kerfoot provides mediocre defense, mediocre faceoff % and took the most minor penalties of our forwards. He is a 3rd/2nd line winger tweener and I really don't think he adds much to this team.

and then he goes out, scores two goals, and plays a great game... LOL.... I'm not arguing with you, just the timing...

 

[jaric1862]

Seriously think Weegar is the guy the Leafs need on the backend and would trade any of Johnsson,Kerfoot or Kapanen to get him

 

[BertCorbeau]

How long will the off season be this year? Dubas will have a lot of work to do, that’s got to be his focus now.

Here are the key dates:

Report: NHL reveals key dates for 2020 playoffs, offseason

Obviously conditional on the pandemic. Probably will continue to operate in bubbles, but how that'll work for a full league is interesting. Can't imagine they'll plan to do anything in the US soon.

 

[Martin Skoula]

and then he goes out, scores two goals, and plays a great game... LOL.... I'm not arguing with you, just the timing...

That's the thing, Matthews and Tavares are out there for 45 minutes, Kerfoot just has to be better than the other team's 8th or 9th best forward for 10 minutes and play some PK.

 

[LeafParade]

Seriously think Weegar is the guy the Leafs need on the backend and would trade any of Johnsson,Kerfoot or Kapanen to get him

Florida is trying to improve their D so I don't see them trading him just for forwards. He is on their top pairing right now.

Kerfoot would be interesting to them because they need a 2C and I see their board has mentioned him.
Any of the wingers mentioned there would also be interesting if they lose out on either of their big name UFA wingers. Regardless, they aren't trading their top pairing D for an assortment of forwards.

 

[jaric1862]

Florida is trying to improve their D so I don't see them trading him just for forwards. He is on their top pairing right now.

Kerfoot would be interesting to them because they need a 2C and I see their board has mentioned him.
Any of the wingers mentioned there would also be interesting if they lose out on either of their big name UFA wingers. Regardless, they aren't trading their top pairing D for an assortment of forwards.

Ya the more I look at it, the more I think they're going to need to explore free agency or trade one of the big 4 to get that top pairing D.

 

[Menzinger]

and then he goes out, scores two goals, and plays a great game... LOL.... I'm not arguing with you, just the timing...

I think folks mostly just need to have a bit of patience with Kerfoot. Prior to the trade he was quietly tracking to turn into a very good player. Then he had to adjust to new team/city and then got his face broken in an injury.

Imo hes going to surprise folks over this playoffs and into next season

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I think folks mostly just need to have a bit of patience with Kerfoot. Prior to the trade he was quietly tracking to turn into a very good player. Then he had to adjust to new team/city and then got his face broken in an injury.

Imo hes going to surprise folks over this playoffs and into next season

I would be more than fine giving him another year, especially if he can PK. The UFA market generally sucks for centers this year anyways (most are worse than Kerfoot) and if he is not going to return proper value anyways (which some seem to suggest), then there is nothing against holding him for another year. He's far from negative value and he is too good to fall off of the rails completely, so he can be a competent 3rd line center for us next year.

There are much better 3C options available on the UFA market next year if we want to upgrade or change things up... So unless a team really makes it worth our while with their offer, I would just keep Kerfoot.

 

[LeafParade]

You can always trade kerfoot later. There is no reason to move him now. Johnsson is likely going to be the cap casualty. If Engvall looks decent as a 4C next year, then you have the opportunity to trade Kerfoot and move Engvall the following year. Engvall as a 3C is a big ? right now.

 

[Kiwi]

I think folks mostly just need to have a bit of patience with Kerfoot. Prior to the trade he was quietly tracking to turn into a very good player. Then he had to adjust to new team/city and then got his face broken in an injury.

Imo hes going to surprise folks over this playoffs and into next season

Trading a player that can play center on a team that lacks top 9 centers doesn't make much sense to me, move a 3rd line winger if you need cap space and Kerfoot can play as a top 6 winger in a pinch so he does give us positional flexibility in season if we get injuries

That has value imo

 

[SeaOfBlue]

You can always trade kerfoot later. There is no reason to move him now. Johnsson is likely going to be the cap casualty. If Engvall looks decent as a 4C next year, then you have the opportunity to trade Kerfoot and move Engvall the following year. Engvall as a 3C is a big ? right now.

I wouldn't count on Engvall being a center at all, outside of maybe taking draws on a PK and drawing in occasionally if we are desperate (or if someone gets kicked out). He is much more effective as a winger.

Browse - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Ryan Getzlaf
David Krejci
Derek Stepan
Paul Stastny
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Travis Zajac
Tyler Bozak
Artem Anisimov
Nick Bonino
Nick Bjudstad
Casey Cizikas
Eric Staal
Derek Ryan
Phil Danault
Adam Lowry
Scott Laughton
Riley Nash
Sean Kuraly

Now some of those guys are probably not 3C quality, but there are options for the Leafs... The only concern may be will there be a market for Kerfoot next year with all of those guys available...

 

[Duke16]

If Engvall doesn't find his way into the Playoff lineup, he will be traded.

The Top 9 from last night's game + Gauthier, Spezza (and maybe Clifford) could all be back, plus Barabanov and Brooks will be on the cusp... and that doesn't even factor in existing options in Agostino/Malgin/Petan and anyone else brought in.

The Leafs will not pay Engvall $1.25M unless he is a mainstay fourth liner/Top 9 option given all of the other options they have and could still add.

It's good for him in general that he was able to earn that contract quick, but it really hampered his chances of sticking with the Leafs given how things have gone for him since.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

If Engvall doesn't find his way into the Playoff lineup, he will be traded.

The Top 9 from last night's game + Gauthier, Spezza (and maybe Clifford) could all be back, plus Barabanov and Brooks will be on the cusp... and that doesn't even factor in existing options in Agostino/Malgin/Petan and anyone else brought in.

The Leafs will not pay Engvall $1.25M unless he is a mainstay fourth liner/Top 9 option given all of the other options they have and could still add.

It's good for him in general that he was able to earn that contract quick, but it really hampered his chances of sticking with the Leafs given how things have gone for him since.

The other thing could be that Spezza is not a full time player next year. He will be getting up there in age, and they could rotate Engvall, Gauthier, Spezza and Barabanov next year (Brooks should be in the AHL next year, but can be the occasional call up).

I would rather have Engvall than Clifford. We'll see how much of an impact Clifford has in these playoffs but I think Engvall will be both cheaper and more valuable.

 

[aingefan]

I would rather have Engvall than Clifford. We'll see how much of an impact Clifford has in these playoffs but I think Engvall will be both cheaper and more valuable.

Agreed.
His speeds such a weapon on the PK.
Third and fourth lines could prove pretty dangerous, actually.

 

[Gabriel426]

Agreed.
His speeds such a weapon on the PK.
Third and fourth lines could prove pretty dangerous, actually.

I think our 4th line of Clifford, Engvall and Spezza is quite dangerous.
They can handle defensive duties and Spezza still got a few good rushes in him per game.

 

[Crosscrease14]

I think folks mostly just need to have a bit of patience with Kerfoot. Prior to the trade he was quietly tracking to turn into a very good player. Then he had to adjust to new team/city and then got his face broken in an injury.

Imo hes going to surprise folks over this playoffs and into next season

Agreed he reminds me a lot of Bozak for some reason

 

[aingefan]

I think our 4th line of Clifford, Engvall and Spezza is quite dangerous.
They can handle defensive duties and Spezza still got a few good rushes in him per game.

I was talking about next year, but yup.

 

[Gabriel426]

I was talking about next year, but yup.

Sorry about that.

 

[A1LeafNation]

Next year:

Mikheyev Tavares Nylander
Hyman Matthews Marner
Robertson Kerfoot Kapanen
Clifford Spezza Korshkov
Gauthier

Rielly _______
Muzzin Holl
Sandin Liljegren
Rosen Marincin

Andersen
Campbell

Johnsson Petan Bracco Agostino Barabanov Brooks Dermott Engvall. All these NHL guys under control and only one big need. Make a deal at the draft. Sell a big contract and go hard for Pietrangelo.

 

[Fogelhund]

Next year:

Mikheyev Tavares Nylander
Hyman Matthews Marner
Robertson Kerfoot Kapanen
Clifford Spezza Korshkov
Gauthier

Rielly _______
Muzzin Holl
Sandin Liljegren
Rosen Marincin

Andersen
Campbell

Johnsson Petan Bracco Agostino Barabanov Brooks Dermott Engvall. All these NHL guys under control and only one big need. Make a deal at the draft. Sell a big contract and go hard for Pietrangelo.

Lehtonen in the picture too...