Igor Ozhiganov

[TML1967]

This is what a legit bottom pairing Dman looks like. Not those scrubs we’ve had in the past. I like Ozzy’s game, keeps it simple without panicking with the puck. Could be some untapped offensive potential as he does show flashes sometimes. Would like him to be more physical, especially with his size

Agreed.
Offensive potential think develops while he gets more comforatable.
Same with the physicality. Right now he just wants to be in the right spot, the more confident the more he will step up.

 

[mapleleaf979]

Ozzy's foot speed hurts him in all facets of the game. He cant get pucks thru from the point because of his skating as his lateral movement is easy to stay in the path of his shot. He cant out skate pressure, he cant win races to pucks, recover from poor positioning, etc etc. Depending on what happens with this D core, Id let Ozzy walk. He is a 7th Dman. I have no clue why Holl who was paired with Dermott in the AHL is not getting any looks at all. Maybe the difference between Holl and Ozzy is small as a singular player but Dermott might elevate him and the sum of the parts is greater. Ozzy imo is holding Dermott back, Dermott is not comfortable/does not trust Ozzy.

 

[Swedish Gretzky]

Still need more time to know wbat he can be - needs more time to adjust to the smaller rink.
I was expecting him to be more physical and use his size more but havent seen that yet.

Limited speed and mobility but if he can play more physical anf use his size hell be a decent #6 - but im concerned

 

[The Iceman]

He is just a guy. If he were a LHD he would be behind Marincin and Rosen IMO.

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

Seems fine to me, especially with a puck carrying Dman with him... this year Dermot. In so many Leafs Dman posts, there is perception that other teams 6th and 7th Dmen are so much better than the Leafs player. I don't that's true at all.

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

Once Dermot is back i never want to see Marincin again. I still blame him for that over time loss to Washington lol

I know it's a long time ago, but I think you should redirect your blame to Babcock. Marincin had been a regular Leaf till January. Then he was injured. Between his injury in January and his debut in the playoffs (due to the Polak injury., he had played one NHL game. So in three months he had played one game. To expect a player to be up to NHL speed after being away for three months....unreasonable. Look at Nylander, he's not up to NHL readiness now.
Babcock rode his top six Dmen for a long while, which might have been necessary as the Leafs were fighting to the make the playoffs. So when a replacement has to be injected, it is to be expected he not NHL good immediately.

 

[TakeTheBody]

Kind of wish he'd use his size more. Good hands though. good head. doesn't get rattled. Lumbers a little bit. For a rookie third line pairing. Thumbs up.....

 

[SprDaVE]

Pretty average all around. Seems to struggle in the offensive zone to get shots off and making plays but I think he's shown to be capable of moving the puck from the defensive zone up the ice. He also understands the importance of puck possession, where he'll keep the puck and not just fling it down the ice or off the glass and out.

I think he's being heavily carried by Dermott but I've seen him make some good plays and he hasn't been making costly mistakes, which is what you want from a rookie.

The biggest challenge for him will be to develop and improve. Gaining a bit more mobility will go a long way for him to stick around.

 

[Clark4Ever]

He has been a noticeable upgrade on the 3rd pairing. My only concern with him is if he'll falter down the stretch because he's not used to an 82 game schedule.

 

[Once]

He has a good first pass and sees the ice well behind his own blue line. However, he looks lost in the O-zone. Apparently he has a cannon from the point so I am anticipating that once he gets comfortable.

 

[thewave]

Odoginov is growing on me. Him and Dermot is a good bottom pairing.

Jake is so good he makes Z look Ok. (I am not a fan at this cap)
Dermott is so good he makes Oz look Ok. ( I don't mind Oz though)

 

[Amadeus]

He's one of our D I trust the most along the boards, along with Rielly.

He's got potential for sure. He's a RHD, a good first pass out of the zone, and a very underrated shot. Sounds like Brett Pesce to me.

I'd lock him up because I think he has more to give as he gets more comfortable.

 

[Joey Hoser]

He's been very reliable, especially for a first-time-in-NA rookie who doesn't speak the language.

He doesn't seem to have any outstanding qualities, but "not bad" at basically everything. If he game grows at all from this point, he could be a guy that can eat some minutes.

 

[swint]

Thought last night was one of his best games as a Leaf. Can tell he's slowly becoming more confident making the right play as opposed to the quick play, which separates him from the likes of Marincin/Holl talent-wise.

Assuming we lose Gardiner to free agency this upcoming summer, I wouldn't mind rolling into next season with:

Rielly - ?
Dermott - Hainsey
Zaitsev - Oz

 

[topched]

Jake is so good he makes Z look Ok. (I am not a fan at this cap)
Dermott is so good he makes Oz look Ok. ( I don't mind Oz though)

Agree with this assessment. Our LHD absolutely carry our RHD, and would look incredible if paired with each other. Rielly has managed to break the mould with his PP time, people undervalue Gard because he carries Zaitsev around. Zaitsev has 1 primary assist all year and only 2 assists total. Absolutely horrendous, even for a “defensive” dman.

I am ok with Ozhiganov as the 6D because I don’t think there is much better you can do on a loaded team. He would be a poor 5 at this point, and none of his numbers suggest to me he’ll ever be more than that. His passing skills are what bother me the most, which is the same as Hainsey and Zaitsev. We are predictable team bc of it, our LHD are the only ones capable of controlled exits out of the zone, the other 3 are off the glass and out. Luckily our forwards have been good enough to mask this issue.

 

[topched]

Thought last night was one of his best games as a Leaf. Can tell he's slowly becoming more confident making the right play as opposed to the quick play, which separates him from the likes of Marincin/Holl talent-wise.

Assuming we lose Gardiner to free agency this upcoming summer, I wouldn't mind rolling into next season with:

Rielly - ?
Dermott - Hainsey
Zaitsev - Oz

Hainsey is finished. Performance wise he’s already our 5th if not 6th best D. No reason to resign. I’d actually advocate for having Holl or Marincin step into his spot today.

 

[DoobieDubas]

Jake is so good he makes Z look Ok. (I am not a fan at this cap)
Dermott is so good he makes Oz look Ok. ( I don't mind Oz though)

Agree 100%

Oz is getting carried by dermott. Dermott is the real deal. I do think oz can play as the #6 but can anyone truthfully say he has shown or think he will show that if he is the #5 with say rosen or whoever(not dermott) he would carry that pair? I dont see it.

 

[Randy Randerson]

Would everyone be comfortable with an extension for him at this point, maybe 2-4 years at an average bottom pairing type cap hit ($1.5-$1.75M AAV)?

personally I think he's looking good enough to be that in the worst case scenario, and he's starting to look like he could be capable of more to me. I'd like to see him away from Dermott, because either they're both pretty good or Dermott is an exceptional talent bound for big things (or both, I guess), and I'd like to see him and Zaitsev switched in terms of roles and see how he makes out. But, I'd like to have him signed at the "safe" number before we try any of that incase we find out that he's better than expected and wants to be paid like it. I think if he got that offer today of let's say $1.5Mx 3-4years he takes it without blinking

 

[topched]

Would everyone be comfortable with an extension for him at this point, maybe 2-4 years at an average bottom pairing type cap hit ($1.5-$1.75M AAV)?

personally I think he's looking good enough to be that in the worst case scenario, and he's starting to look like he could be capable of more to me. I'd like to see him away from Dermott, because either they're both pretty good or Dermott is an exceptional talent bound for big things (or both, I guess), and I'd like to see him and Zaitsev switched in terms of roles and see how he makes out. But, I'd like to have him signed at the "safe" number before we try any of that incase we find out that he's better than expected and wants to be paid like it. I think if he got that offer today of let's say $1.5Mx 3-4years he takes it without blinking

No. He’s 26, had half a season in the Nhl, what team out there is offering this guy a multi year deal?

Offer him a max of 2 years, and certainly not a multi year deal over 1.5. I also don’t think Igor would take 3-4 at under 2. He can go back to the K and earn more.

Outside of Mo and Dermott, there is no D on this roster that should be locked up at term. Sandin and Liljegren are coming sooner than you think because we’ll need the ELCs.

 

[swint]

Hainsey is finished. Performance wise he’s already our 5th if not 6th best D. No reason to resign. I’d actually advocate for having Holl or Marincin step into his spot today.

My bad, thought he had another year on his contract.... I agree, to replace internally would be best-case scenario (would prefer Liljegren, Sandin, Rosen, etc. over Marincin/Holl though)

 

[Randy Randerson]

No. He’s 26, had half a season in the Nhl, what team out there is offering this guy a multi year deal?

Offer him a max of 2 years, and certainly not a multi year deal over 1.5. I also don’t think Igor would take 3-4 at under 2. He can go back to the K and earn more.

Outside of Mo and Dermott, there is no D on this roster that should be locked up at term. Sandin and Liljegren are coming sooner than you think because we’ll need the ELCs.

the multi-year is a gamble to our benefit, like we did with Rielly, Kadri and Zaitsev. In this case you're paying him for what you're pretty sure he can do though as a bottom pairing guy and benefiting if he's better than that. With Zaitsev we paid him as a #3 for being just over his head as a #2, but he fell off a cliff since his rookie year

I think you're over-estimating KHL salaries though: Edit - for some reason its trying to embed the video on the link rather than just give you the page, in 2016 the 15th highest paid player in the league made $1.5M

 

[topched]

the multi-year is a gamble to our benefit, like we did with Rielly, Kadri and Zaitsev. In this case you're paying him for what you're pretty sure he can do though as a bottom pairing guy and benefiting if he's better than that. With Zaitsev we paid him as a #3 for being just over his head as a #2, but he fell off a cliff since his rookie year

I think you're over-estimating KHL salaries though: Edit - for some reason its trying to embed the video on the link rather than just give you the page, in 2016 the 15th highest paid player in the league made $1.5M

Why gamble on a guy who’s ceiling is a 5D though? The two gambles you listed that worked out were top 10 draft picks with pedigree. Ozhiganov is 2 years older than Rielly is today, and 5 years older that Rielly was when he signed his deal.

There are guys on the FA market that can be had every offseason to fill out your bottom pair at a reasonable cap hit, and we have Rosen, Sandin and Liljegren all available to fill those spots at a cheaper number than you’re suggesting we sign Oz at.

Zaitsev is a good 5, great 6 today, and was a mistake at the term and hit we signed him to.

Very interesting point on KHL salaries btw, need to check that out apparently.

 

[Randy Randerson]

Why gamble on a guy who’s ceiling is a 5D though? The two gambles you listed that worked out were top 10 draft picks with pedigree. Ozhiganov is 2 years older than Rielly is today, and 5 years older that Rielly was when he signed his deal.

There are guys on the FA market that can be had every offseason to fill out your bottom pair at a reasonable cap hit, and we have Rosen, Sandin and Liljegren all available to fill those spots at a cheaper number than you’re suggesting we sign Oz at.

Zaitsev is a good 5, great 6 today, and was a mistake at the term and hit we signed him to.

Very interesting point on KHL salaries btw, need to check that out apparently.

That's what I'm saying though is we don't really know what his ceiling is, and if it's a #4 which isn't a huge stretch, that would almost even out the Zaitsev contract - getting your #4 & 5 at $6M total isn't bad. And maybe I'm overestimating the salary that it would take too given the KHL comparable value, maybe he'd take $1M just for the security of getting paid for the next whatever number of years we offer

I agree that bottom pairing guys can be found at super reasonable cap hits, I might be willing to gamble that Ozhiganov could be better than a bottom pairing guy especially playing with either Gardiner or Dermott who are above average #3's. I think if we went about trying to find that out before extending Oz that it would give him leverage for a higher salary too, and I would think that either separating him from Dermott or giving him Zaitsev's minutes would show you what you have

 

[DoobieDubas]

That's what I'm saying though is we don't really know what his ceiling is, and if it's a #4 which isn't a huge stretch, that would almost even out the Zaitsev contract - getting your #4 & 5 at $6M total isn't bad. And maybe I'm overestimating the salary that it would take too given the KHL comparable value, maybe he'd take $1M just for the security of getting paid for the next whatever number of years we offer

I agree that bottom pairing guys can be found at super reasonable cap hits, I might be willing to gamble that Ozhiganov could be better than a bottom pairing guy especially playing with either Gardiner or Dermott who are above average #3's. I think if we went about trying to find that out before extending Oz that it would give him leverage for a higher salary too, and I would think that either separating him from Dermott or giving him Zaitsev's minutes would show you what you have

usually agree with you but no chance oz is a #4

 

[Randy Randerson]

usually agree with you but no chance oz is a #4

I think it's premature to say that with certainty, and don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he is that either. He's git great underlying numbers which could be all Dermott, and I've really liked what I've seen recently from him

And the gamble in this case isn't paying him like a #4, it's paying him appropriately for a little longer than we might otherwise. If he doesn't cut it as more than a bottom pairing guy, you'd have an appropriately paid bottom pairing guy through his prime

Fair enough if you don't like the gamble though, it was just an idea