How the handling of Grabo screwed the leafs.

[HellasLEAF]

As others have said, the bigger issue was what they decided to do with the cap space.

I still don't agree with buying out Grabo though. That one is on Carlyle.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Also Colbourne would've been dealt if Grabovski was kept, and it wasn't because Orr or McLaren were here either. He was looked at as a C and he wasn't good enough to make the Leafs and was no longer waiver exempt.

These players get dealt all the time or else placed on waivers and claimed. The Leafs got something for him. Had they tried waivers and got nothing, people would've lost their minds when the Leafs lost Bozak+Bolland+Smith simultaneously.

What does Colborne have to do with this? I agree he would've still been dealt because Bolland replaced Grabovski so either way there would've been another centre ahead of him.

I don't know how you can't attribute Orr and McLaren being here to Colbornes departure. Leafs had the decision to either send down one of their face punchers and keep Colborne up, or deal him or lose him for nothing. It was ultimately a poor decision as neither of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are here now and Colborne has looked solid for Calgary. But Randy wanted his face punchers, so that's what he got. What a waste of development for Colborne.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Grabo does suck and it was good that he was bought out.

Clarkson contract obviously a huge mistake.

Holland trade was great for us.

Bolland signing was fine, but it was just unlucky that he got injured.

The whole Komisarek, Liles, Gleason thing was a disaster. No logic here whatsoever.

What is concerning too is what they offered Bolland and Franson. Glad they both turned us down. Good thing there are GMs out there who are equally as dumb as Nonis.

It was a trade, and a costly one at that.

 

[LeafsNation75]

It was a trade, and a costly one at that.

The Bolland trade only looks bad now because he played in just 23 games for the Leafs. Prior to him getting injured it was looking like a good trade with the goals he was producing. Now even if he doesn't get hurt and the Leafs still make the playoffs, however he still decides to leave as a UFA would you still say it was a bad trade?

 

[Hockey Talker29]

Was it?

He was signed very late in FA to a 1 year deal. Did Washington trade the pending UFA? His numbers this year are a shell of what they were even last year. He is still very overpaid where he is.

I'm not so sure there were any takers for Grabovski since for awhile it didn't look like anyone was going to grab him on a free that summer until the Caps snagged him

It was foolish to let him go after his worst season, by far, over the previous 4 years.

He had a strong year in Washington, which is why he signed another big contract.

We should have kept him and tried him out for another year. After that, had we determined that he didn't fit in, we could try to move him via trade, or use a compliance buy-out at that point.

Nonis made a very stupid knee-jerk decision, and it will probably cost him the opportunity to ever get another GM job.

 

[Menzinger]

What does Colborne have to do with this? I agree he would've still been dealt because Bolland replaced Grabovski so either way there would've been another centre ahead of him.

I don't know how you can't attribute Orr and McLaren being here to Colbornes departure. Leafs had the decision to either send down one of their face punchers and keep Colborne up, or deal him or lose him for nothing. It was ultimately a poor decision as neither of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are here now and Colborne has looked solid for Calgary. But Randy wanted his face punchers, so that's what he got. What a waste of development for Colborne.

Yep. Carlyle wanted Orr still in the lineup and we booted Colbourne out the door - the two are definitely connected.

Even more frustrating is that they eventually sent Orr down anyways

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

The Bolland trade only looks bad now because he played in just 23 games for the Leafs. Prior to him getting injured it was looking like a good trade with the goals he was producing. Now even if he doesn't get hurt and the Leafs still make the playoffs, however he still decides to leave as a UFA would you still say it was a bad trade?

Lot of what ifs there, but okay.

Yes, the trade is still bad. Assuming the Leafs make the playoffs but lose in the first round and Bolland ****s off come July, it's still a poor trade. Not as bad as it is now mind you, but still poor.

Trading future assets for one year of Bolland is just bad management. Especially considering that we did have Grabovski who could play centre still and was more durable at the time than Bolland. The Leafs could've even played Colborne there instead of just giving up on him, being the short-sighted crew they've always been. Yeah yeah Colborne looked bad, but to trade him away to accommodate two goons automatically makes that decision beyond awful. I'd rather have sent down McLaren and just given Colborne the chance. If he sucked he sucked, or he could've rebounded and become a serviceable player like he is now in Calgary.

But I digress. If somehow Bolland isn't injured and the Leafs make the playoffs, by Bolland still leaves, then yeah it's a poor trade. We'd also have to factor in how big a impact Bolland has on the team, but u doubt he'd continue scoring at the pace he started with. He looked poor when he came back from injury and he looks even worse in Florida, so I doubt his impact would've been large. Certainly not worth what we have up for him, nor the contract he demanded and eventually got.

 

[LeafsNation75]

It was foolish to let him go after his worst season, by far, over the previous 4 years.

He had a strong year in Washington, which is why he signed another big contract.

We should have kept him and tried him out for another year. After that, had we determined that he didn't fit in, we could try to move him via trade, or use a compliance buy-out at that point.

Nonis made a very stupid knee-jerk decision, and it will probably cost him the opportunity to ever get another GM job.

I would say the reason Grabovski got the type of contract he did from the Islanders is because they had to over pay for UFA's to sign with them. Looking at his numbers in Washington that got him is deal with the Islanders, they weren't as great compared to his 2011-2012 season in Toronto that got him the contract which Dave Nonis had bought out.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Lot of what ifs there, but okay.

Yes, the trade is still bad. Assuming the Leafs make the playoffs but lose in the first round and Bolland ****s off come July, it's still a poor trade. Not as bad as it is now mind you, but still poor.

Trading future assets for one year of Bolland is just bad management. Especially considering that we did have Grabovski who could play centre still and was more durable at the time than Bolland. The Leafs could've even played Colborne there instead of just giving up on him, being the short-sighted crew they've always been. Yeah yeah Colborne looked bad, but to trade him away to accommodate two goons automatically makes that decision beyond awful. I'd rather have sent down McLaren and just given Colborne the chance. If he sucked he sucked, or he could've rebounded and become a serviceable player like he is now in Calgary.

But I digress. If somehow Bolland isn't injured and the Leafs make the playoffs, by Bolland still leaves, then yeah it's a poor trade. We'd also have to factor in how big a impact Bolland has on the team, but u doubt he'd continue scoring at the pace he started with. He looked poor when he came back from injury and he looks even worse in Florida, so I doubt his impact would've been large. Certainly not worth what we have up for him, nor the contract he demanded and eventually got.

Colborne was traded because he wasn't good enough to make the Leafs playing at Centre. Plus as it was stated if he was put through waivers I would say it was a 100% chance another team claims him, so other Leafs fans would be complaining about that. So trading him was the right idea.

I agree that having Orr and McLaren wasn't the best idea however they were playing on the wings, so that shouldn't have effected Colborne's status.

Now as for Bolland after the trade was made someone on here made the comment he was still better than a draft pick because he would play right away, compared to a draft pick who could be 3 or 4 years away from making the team.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Colborne was traded because he wasn't good enough to make the Leafs playing at Centre. Plus as it was stated if he was put through waivers I would say it was a 100% chance another team claims him, so other Leafs fans would be complaining about that. So trading him was the right idea.

Could've played him as a winger on the fourth line. Not ideal for him but at least he'd be up with the team learning. Better than losing him to waivers or getting a paltry return for him in a trade. Again, that's just poor asset management and time developing him down the drain. Leafs could've at least seen what they had in him and maybe even built up his value a bit.

I agree that having Orr and McLaren wasn't the best idea however they were playing on the wings, so that shouldn't have effected Colborne's status.

It did.

Now as for Bolland after the trade was made someone on here made the comment he was still better than a draft pick because he would play right away, compared to a draft pick who could be 3 or 4 years away from making the team.

That would be true if the Leafs were actually good and could afford to be trading away futures. As we all know now, that season was an anomaly and the Leafs are still a bottom 10 team. Management would've been better if evaluating the team the following season to see if they were the real deal instead of letting a first round exit cloud their judgement.

Nonis has been an astonishingly poor GM. Burke was bad himself, but Nonis squandered what few advantages he had in pretty much a single year.

 

[horner]

The Bolland trade only looks bad now because he played in just 23 games for the Leafs. Prior to him getting injured it was looking like a good trade with the goals he was producing. Now even if he doesn't get hurt and the Leafs still make the playoffs, however he still decides to leave as a UFA would you still say it was a bad trade?

I wonder if leaf management ever looks into a players background before they make a trade

Bolland has been banged his whole career

And we had to give away Colborne because we thought we were a playoff team lol

Now we are looking for that big center mmmmmmm we had one. Now we can all watch Colborne as he gets better and better.

Let's be smarter please

 

[General Borschevsky]

I wonder if leaf management ever looks into a players background before they make a trade

Bolland has been banged his whole career

And we had to give away Colborne because we thought we were a playoff team lol

Now we are looking for that big center mmmmmmm we had one. Now we can all watch Colborne as he gets better and better.

Let's be smarter please

Colborne wouldn't have been any kind of solution here. That's a minor deal, and it's hard to call it a mistake, given that he couldn't play his way onto the team.

 

[Al14]

I wonder if leaf management ever looks into a players background before they make a trade

Bolland has been banged his whole career

And we had to give away Colborne because we thought we were a playoff team lol

Now we are looking for that big center mmmmmmm we had one. Now we can all watch Colborne as he gets better and better.

Let's be smarter please

That is the key going forward! We need to be smarter at drafting, smarter at asset management, and, smarter at player acquisition through trades and UFA.

It's on Shanahan to ensure we do things that are positive, smart, and progressive. Hopefully, Hunter, Dubas, and yes, even Nonis, can contribute in a more meaningful way than past regimes.

 

[TNCHL]

God dammit **** nonis

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

We would be first in the conference if we had Grabovski on this team

 

[Al14]

We would be first in the conference if we had Grabovski on this team

Sure thing, Grabovski is THAT good!

 

[orbiter11]

100%. Another reason the Grabo buyout was dumb was that he was still worth $5m two seasons later. Which basically proves that we could have just traded his contract, and not required a buy-out at all.

Even trading Liles for Gleason was dumb. Liles is the better player. Should have just kept him.

Nonis ruined this team. We had so much flexibility, and he destroyed it within 6 days during the 2013 summer.

Ive been saying this since it happened. There was no need to do anything Nonis did over that summer, especially coming off the fact we made the playoffs with that team. There has not been a single move Nonis has done to improve the team he inherited from Burke. Actually Grabo playing 3rd liner center helped Kadri have no defensive responsibility and have his best year yet. I have no words to descride what NOnis did to this team cap wise. The new management deserves whats happening right now and there no way Burke would have handed out these ridicules contracts Nonis gave out.

 

[The Legend]

The debates about Grabo vs Bozak on this board were legendary. For me, the blame for Grabo goes mostly to Carlyle.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

The debates about Grabo vs Bozak on this board were legendary. For me, the blame for Grabo goes mostly to Carlyle.

They weren't so different to the Kadri vs Bozak debates we have now. Same players in both games to.

 

[orbiter11]

The Bolland trade only looks bad now because he played in just 23 games for the Leafs. Prior to him getting injured it was looking like a good trade with the goals he was producing. Now even if he doesn't get hurt and the Leafs still make the playoffs, however he still decides to leave as a UFA would you still say it was a bad trade?

It was unneeded thats the point you dont see. Grabos just as good, if not better. Why the hell do you buy out a player that plays like Grabs for a guy like Bolland. It was a detrimental move and here we are.

 

[LeafsNation75]

The debates about Grabo vs Bozak on this board were legendary. For me, the blame for Grabo goes mostly to Carlyle.

I remember on TSN Jason Botchford gave the Leafs a thumbs down for letting Grabovski go because in his first game with the Capitals he had a hat trick, although they lost. However that same night when the Leafs defeated the Canadiens, Bozak scored a key shorthanded goal that was the difference in a one goal win. So it goes to show the hate people thought about it at that time.

 

[Daisy Jane]

But Daisy, dear, bottom barrel guys don't cover the loss of top pairing (warranted or not) defenders.
And they afford you no leverage in negotiating deals with their agents when they become free agents.

And yes, you could trade their rights and pray to the hockey gods, who have clearly turned a blind eye to this franchise that your return is a cheaper version of what you're trading away, but if that was the case, the trade wouldn't ever happen.

Again, the thinking was that they needed to stabilise the group and forge ahead, not take backward steps. Dumping Liles before they had their top 4 d locked up would have been even more reckless than giving Komisarek a shot at their minutes.

okay fine you win
(pout)

 

[BlueBaron]

It was unneeded thats the point you dont see. Grabos just as good, if not better. Why the hell do you buy out a player that plays like Grabs for a guy like Bolland. It was a detrimental move and here we are.

You think Bolland and Grabovski are the same kinds of player ? Shake your head.

Bolland has grit, physicality and that veteran Stanley cup presence .

Grabo was a smurf miscast in a checking role who has basically nothing in common with Bolland in terms of skill set and style.

The trade was about adding character and leadership to the team and it didn't work out because of injury. it was a well intentioned move and certainly not the disaster many here try to make it out to be.

Grabovski was a waste of air. I wish we had never traded for him and I wish we had traded him for a 1rst when he was supposedly worth one. Yeah he had spunk and provided offense for a time but in the end he is not the sort of guy to be in the top 6 of a contender and has no place on the bottom 6 on any team.

 

[Tak7]

The Grabovski decision is probably the one single decision that perfectly summarizes the dysfunction of the organization during this recent era:

Nonis trusts Carlyle

Nonis builds a roster for Carlyle, instead of building a roster for long term success

Nonis eventually is forced to fire Carlyle, despite committing to building a Carlyle roster

Nonis still entrusted with trying to fix roster, despite failing to build for the future & reaching inevitable conclusion on Carlyle far earlier on in the time line

 

[hotpaws]

Grabo should have been dealt instead of being re signed by Burke during our first cliff dive when we were sitting out of a playoff spot at the t/d .

Colborne's 25 and has 6 goals in 41 games playing 15 mins a night while also getting a 1:40 avg per game on the pp so i don't understand what people are whining about .

The mistake wasn't buying Grabo out , the mistake as others have said was using the cap space to sign Clarkson .