How can we bring a strong "Leadership" core?

[agropop]

The only other guy on this team that I could see being captain is Bozak.

Oh my.....

No thanks

 

[pucci2001]

My opinion with our tema is that we can't afford to really target specific players and the only player out there that I think can be an asset as well as a leader is Callahan. We should have saved our Clarkson money for him. Thats a ***** fest for another time though.

I think the best approach is to strip Dion of the C and give it to nobody and wait until someone leaves no doubt in our mind that they are true captain material.

At the same time as doing that we need to turn over as many people in our line up as we can.

Personally I would like us to go after Stastny and Moulson and even Callahan from free agency. If somehow we could go full Minnesota and get all three willing to sign we could literally trade Lupul for nothing and whatever return we get for him would be good value since we already have a person to fill his role. I mean if we could get Moulson to replace him and trade Lupul for a 2nd or hell even 3rd round pick wouldn't you do it?
Another thing we could do would be to really target Evander Kane. The Jets don't seem to get along with him maybe we could make a deal with them involving Dion and more for Kane.

Here are some scenarios for our top 6:
JVR - Bozak/Stastny - Kessel
Lupul/Moulson - Kadri/Bozak - Callahan/Kane.

I know we would have to make cap space but honestly shipping out some bodies and choosing not to resign anyone that are UFAs/RFAs would be a huge turnover in one year and it might be just what we need to change the culture.

Kane has stated on record he is tired of playing games that mean nothing and that he wants to win...I don't know how the Jets don't love the guy but he just seems a bit frustrated with how bad they have been there and he wants to win(not that it might not be frustrating here...) but at least we would want the guy.

 

[pucci2001]

I just tinkered around with capgeek armchair GM and here is something I came up with.

FORWARDS
James Van Riemsdyk ($4.250m) / Tyler Bozak ($4.200m) / Phil Kessel ($8.000m)
Evander Kane ($5.250m) / Paul Stastny ($6.600m) / Ryan Callahan ($5.750m)
Steve Ott ($3.600m) / Nazem Kadri ($2.900m) / David Clarkson ($5.250m)
Darroll Powe ($1.067m) / Manny Malhotra ($1.000m) / David Broll ($0.591m)
Kevin Westgarth ($0.725m)
DEFENSEMEN
Morgan Rielly ($0.894m) / Stephane Robidas ($4.000m)
Carl Gunnarsson ($3.150m) / Marek Zidlicky ($4.000m)
Jake Gardiner ($2.500m) / Tim Gleason ($4.000m)
Deryk Engelland ($0.900m) /
GOALTENDERS
Jonathan Bernier ($2.900m)
Thomas Greiss ($1.000m)
BUYOUTS
Mike Komisarek ($0.000m)
Mikhail Grabovski ($0.000m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $71,100,000; CAP PAYROLL: $72,526,667; BONUSES: $850,000
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): -$1,426,667


Yes, its over the cap but maybe they can make it work with these players if not we can replace one of Zidlicky or Robidas with Paul Ranger or a cheaper option.
Also as for the forwards I don't know precisely what the value will be of Stastny, Ott, Callahan but if you can't get Kane for Dion+ go after Moulson in free agency as well. If you can't get Callahan go after Moulson.

The 2nd line wingers could be any of Lupul, Kane, Moulson, Callahan. They are all similarly paid.
Other options for Ott include Ryan Smythe, Steve Downie, Kulemin, Komarov.
Handzus is an alternative to Malholtra.
Bissonette is an alternative for Westgarth.
Engelland is brought in for toughness but if we can't afford him then we can bring up a Marlie like Holzer or Granberg.
Other possible back up goalies include Gustavsson, Peters, maybe McIntyre.
PK Forwards could be Pow, Bozak, Ott, Callahan, JVR.

The key to all this happening is trading Dion Phaneuf.

Last thing is, yes it is unlikely we get Stastny, Ott, Callahan or Moulson but if TL could get them all in the same room at once and get them convinced we are going to do something special combined with our current first line I think it could be possible to convince them we would become a contender with their help in THE hockey city.

New leadership would become:
Callahan, Ott, Kessel, Robidas/JVR.
No captain announced to start the season however.

 

[agropop]

I'd love to bring in a new leadership core of Kesler and Callahan, two of my favorite players who play the game precisely how we don't.

 

[pucci2001]

I'd love to bring in a new leadership core of Kesler and Callahan, two of my favorite players who play the game precisely how we don't.

Agreed. Just out of curiousity did you see my line up...I am meandering over it now and falling in love with it(its bad because its unlikely) but is there any hint of some of that if not all of it coming true? How much of a dreamer am I?

 

[thewave]

I really just want a team of mean SOBs that can play hockey.

I like our kids, D' Ashton Bodie Komarov Orr they play with urgency not like Kules, Bozak, Mc, Clarkson, Raymond the other Mc who are a bunch of floaters. Screw those guys.

 

[Mystifo]

The only other guy on this team that I could see being captain is Bozak.

I have to somewhat agree with him on this. Bozie does do a lot for this team. I am not sure how good he is in the dressing room but he does seem to hit a lot of the criteria. That being said I still would not mind if we could bring in a older vet who could help out our young core. Having someone like a Iggy would go a long way.

 

[agropop]

Agreed. Just out of curiousity did you see my line up...I am meandering over it now and falling in love with it(its bad because its unlikely) but is there any hint of some of that if not all of it coming true? How much of a dreamer am I?

That's a lot to go down, but I agree with the Phaneuf bit. I'd add Bozak to the shake up.

 

[pucci2001]

That's a lot to go down, but I agree with the Phaneuf bit. I'd add Bozak to the shake up.

Keep him or trade him? I was thinking Kadri is tradeable even though I still think he will be good. I like Bozak he is very versatile and his cap hit isnt too bad. I actually would like for us to trade Clarkson for nothing and eat salary instead of keep him but I think given that he just signed his deal we give him another year, sadly.

 

[agropop]

Keep him or trade him? I was thinking Kadri is tradeable even though I still think he will be good. I like Bozak he is very versatile and his cap hit isnt too bad. I actually would like for us to trade Clarkson for nothing and eat salary instead of keep him but I think given that he just signed his deal we give him another year, sadly.

Trade him.

 

[Nithoniniel]

I think captaincy has little do with actual leadership. It's a title, and one that has as much or more to do with being the face of the franchise and representative of the team than actually being the leader in the group.

We know incredibly little about the dynamics of the group, so it's very hard to judge this topic. The only thing we actually can judge is whether we have some players can carry their leadership out on the ice. And I don't think we do. Lupul is the only one who has this tendency to actually lead on the ice, but we saw this in only a few games this season. Just not good enough.

 

[Nithoniniel]

Agreed. Just out of curiousity did you see my line up...I am meandering over it now and falling in love with it(its bad because its unlikely) but is there any hint of some of that if not all of it coming true? How much of a dreamer am I?

Callahan is looking to cash in, we can't afford another bloated contract right now. Kesler will be expensive, we don't have the depth to trade away assets for him.

 

[Highlander23]

Again, the problem of this franchise is that we look for scoring, leadership, veterans, goalies, Dmen.... from elsewhere !! The core should be from within, or at least a big part of it. I'm tired of people who think that a core can be acquired (ex: kessel, dion, clarktard...) if their orignial teams traded them or let them go to UFA, that should be a big red flag !!

 

[Trapper]

Now that the Canucks are under new leadership (no Gillis), it may be possible to make a deal for Bieska (if he waives his no trade clause).
I agree with Kyper though, if you take the C away from Phaneuf you have to trade him. I don't think he has the personality to overcome that. It's not like being captain in Florida.
Replacing Phaneuf and Lupul with a Bieska and someone else would be what I'm looking at.

 

[Joey Hoser]

Not a big fan of his style, but SteveDangle made some pretty good points about this whole leadership business.

 

[Wami]

Not a big fan of his style, but SteveDangle made some pretty good points about this whole leadership business.

Yeah, it's super hard to put your finger on exactly. Leadership is definitely not a single factor, yet a combination of factors.

Dangle seems to be acknowledging that it exists, but that the term itself is very vague and is extremely hard to pin down. I'm a poli sci major in school, and I compare it to lots of words such as "liberal" or "democratic" that have become so bastardized over the years that when used without context those words can mean very little.

However, that's not to say it doesn't exist - because we know what leadership is not. You've all felt the qualities of leadership before. There's guys in my office, who are not the manager, that everyone goes to for advice, that people look to for guidance, or that always seem to say the right thing in meetings.

Comparatively, just because a player makes a sweet dangle, throws a big hit, or scores a goal, doesn't necessarily mean he's a leader.

Clearly there are guys who float around on the ice for long stretches and do absolutely nothing while putting in no effort, clearly there are guys who are non-vocal in the room, clearly there are guys who fight a lot but do absolutely nothing when the game requires skill or motivation.

Leadership isn't usually observable in one guy and in one set of characteristics at one time. The concept speaks to a type of dynamic response that calls for different things at different times. Dangle mentioned detroit - in 24/7 TONS of the guys pointed to Datsyuk and Kronwall as super important guys to look to for guidance or motivation.

Is it problematic that Phaneuf isn't a "leader" if the concept itself calls for a wide range of contributions? Yes, because what Phaneuf often brings is an effort that leads to goals against us in deflating fashion, or a response to physical challenges that involves hiding behind a ref. He shows tons of qualities of what leadership is not, and you don't want a guy wearing the C who is constantly doing things that sap the energy out of guys.

I liked dangles part about there being 20 leaders in the room. What that really speaks to is personalities who had the ability to bring some aspect of leadership to the table when it was called for. I think this year we were definitely missing some major aspects of leadership, such as work ethic, physicality, veteran voices, and so on.

In sum, I can't point to one single thing. But I can definitely point to a relative majority of guys who aren't stepping up to the plate in tons of ways. Ok, so you're not a talented guy, lead by your work ethic, or your vocal presence. How ever you choose to be a difference maker, just make sure you're trying, fight for your guys, show me a level of on ice unity and work ethic that shows you've all 'bought in' and are battling for each other.

Tim Leiweke himself has called for more leadership, in that respect, throughout this collapse. It's real, it's there, I'm just asking how you see it fulfilled.

 

[gabeliscious]

The only other guy on this team that I could see being captain is Bozak.

pretty unlikely.

i hope kessel gets an "A" permanently stamped to his jersey next season though. of all our players i feel like he wears his heart on his sleeve the most. also, for a guy who is supposedly shy, awkward, and not interested in the media, when everyone else is ducking them he seems to show up. the guy will never be confused for messier but i think he has shocked a lot of people this year, especially lately. maybe he has more to offer then just points???

as for overall leadership, i think it starts with the coach and trickles down. we would be wise to try and acquire ladd or bieksa or both. i dont think we have very many veterans who can provide any sort of help/mentoring for the youth. phaneuf is out to lunch, clarkson is out to lunch, mclemment is a 4th liner, and lupul is always injured and inconsistent. the captain should be a rock and a beacon for when the team loses its way. thats why the leafs continually have these epic collapses. there is no one there to get the guys to roll up their sleeves and get it under control.

 

[ForSpareParts*]

If the Leafs sign Bolland they could give him a 'C'. I dare you to come up with a better name amongst these losers.

 

[cynicism]

We need to bring in another mediocre third liner and pay him $6 million a year for his "intangibles."

 

[Bardown warrior]

Found this video to be particularly interesting regarding "leadership". A must watch

 

[Wami]

Found this video to be particularly interesting regarding "leadership". A must watch

This just proves you didn't read the thread at all ... literally the previous posts directly before yours are a response to this video...

 

[pucci2001]

Callahan is looking to cash in, we can't afford another bloated contract right now. Kesler will be expensive, we don't have the depth to trade away assets for him.

Dion and Kadri for Kessler? Then we use the massive amount of cap space to sign Moulson or someone like Robidas and Ott.

 

[pucci2001]

If the Leafs sign Bolland they could give him a 'C'. I dare you to come up with a better name amongst these losers.

I would rather someone that can turn left while skating and doesnt want 5milx8 years when he is really worth 3milx1 year.

 

[Raging Bull]

Leadership by committee. Phaneuf won't be stripped, he'll be traded before that happens. If that does indeed happen, I don't think anyone should be awarded the captaincy. Let a leader emerge over a long period of time.

 

[Wami]

Dion and Kadri for Kessler? Then we use the massive amount of cap space to sign Moulson or someone like Robidas and Ott.

Ryan Kesler doesn't have an assist since late january....he is literally one of the worst puck distributors around and perhaps one of the most overrated centers in the league.