Bingo!
Marleau was brought in for the shut down line to play with Kadri first and for most. He was an upgrade move on Brown for the short term not JVR.
Maybe, I don't hate Leivo. I just don't see him as a core part of a key contributor on the leafs. He's really inconsistent and I get the fourth line arguement but it doesn't hide the fact he's look subpar this season
The core is in place and it's all about putting talented players on the rather cheep side with upside that one day will play themselves out not by means of not being good enough but too expansive to keep.
That's who Josh Leivo is. That's what this re-sign is all about as JVR will not be re-signed. A lot of you just don't get that this team is being run by a program. Youngsters like Mathews, Nylander, Marner and Reilly who were anointed NHL jobs at very young age is a thing this organization will stay away from and probably wont ever see again. They're going to make a practice of prospects getting right to the wire of being waver claimed before an NHL job is imminent. See Kapanen, See Dermontt. SEE THE DETROIT REDWING OF THE PAST.
Leivo is in an anomaly place in that his spot on the team is held by a UFA to be other wise THEY WOULD HAVE TRADED LEIVO TO FURTHER HIS CAREER, A UFA to be they tried to trade but no dice. This UFA to be doesn't hold the value that many think to get a significant asset in return. People look at his offense and think darn he's good then you watch him play and it's like what does he do? He's gone in a year, can help the team in short term for the PP and score goals his line mates create. They will let him walk at season end gain the much need cap space as he's way too expensive for a PP specialist and this re-signing secures the organization in two ways moving forward. One of which is to continue to operate in a program where youngsters wont get a sniff of NHL full time job right until the wire. The Regardless of camp showing youngsters with years of waver exempts will be AHL bound. The other is that Leivo has the size, hands, skill, talent and contract now that makes sense to surround the core and potentially not miss one bit of JVR on the PP with the added bonus he will compete 5v5 to keep his job.