News Article: Leafs Analysis at Centre - Kadri,Bolland,Bozak

[thewave]

I really hate it when you bring up that name up, but it seems inevitable. What did Grabo bring last year other than -20, and 16 points?

Awareness that our coach is a bit of an ******* quite frankly. It was also an opinion shared by Mac and Komarov apparently.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Awareness that our coach is a bit of an ******* quite frankly. It was also an opinion shared by Mac and Komarov apparently.

We made the playoffs, he did his job, the coach was aware enough how to achieve this. He is not paid to ACCOMODATE one player so his stats line look good.

 

[thewave]

We made the playoffs, he did his job, the coach was aware enough how to achieve this. He is not paid to ACCOMODATE one player so his stats line look good.

So long as if he doesn't make the playoffs this year he is out of town. I don't really care it's done but this team is about to collapse and that's not some alarmist BS, it's a fact waiting to be realized. We drive no possession our C do sfa -sweet **** all to help that along. This ain't good and seeing we traded Colborne because "he won't play for me" speaks to Carlyle again.

I am just saying we have to trade for a top C now.

 

[Mess]

If we're comparing apples to apples, the difference is between Grabo's $5.5 and Bozak's $4.2, since I think we all agree it was one or the other between those two given that Bolland was acquired on draft day before Grabo was bought out or Bozak was re-signed.

So the difference is really $1.3 M in cap space to have a superior player at a crucial position. Plus we could have bought out Liles and saved a substantial amount of cap room that way.

Its certainly true that option was available but there is no chemistry between Grabs and Kessel to form a #1 line.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

So long as if he doesn't make the playoffs this year he is out of town. I don't really care it's done but this team is about to collapse and that's not some alarmist BS, it's a fact waiting to be realized. We drive no possession our C do sfa -sweet **** all to help that along. This ain't good and seeing we traded Colborne because "he won't play for me" speaks to Carlyle again.

I am just saying we have to trade for a top C now.

Possession is overrated, I get it you participate on Pension Puppets(LOL) and isten to Charron and Mirtle, the guru's of crap stats. But if we didn't have injuries you think we could be better than 10-5 now? Further, it's not the coach's fault if we have as many injuries we have as we do, I would argue if we make the playoffs with so many injuries Randy Carlyle might be a candidate for coach of the year.

 

[RoadWarrior]

I really hate it when you bring up that name up, but it seems inevitable. What did Grabo bring last year other than -20, and 16 points?

Grabo was miscast by RC in a defensive role. His greatest attributes are his puck possession game and physical strength which is severely lacking on this team

 

[thewave]

Possession is overrated, I get it you to Pension Puppets(LOL) and isten to Charron and Mirtle, the guru's of crap stats. But if we didn't have injuries you think we could be better than 10-5 now? Further, it's not the coach's fault if we have as many injuries we have as we do, I would argue if we make the playoffs with so many injuries Randy Carlyle might be a candidate for coach of the year.

As it stands we are totally exposed at C, it will be a miracle or a trade to right this and you know it.

 

[Mimico]

So long as if he doesn't make the playoffs this year he is out of town. I don't really care it's done but this team is about to collapse and that's not some alarmist BS, it's a fact waiting to be realized. We drive no possession our C do sfa -sweet **** all to help that along. This ain't good and seeing we traded Colborne because "he won't play for me" speaks to Carlyle again.

Take it easy. Might as well crank the siren as the world goes up in flames. Colborne isn't a player that would make or break our season. Raymond is a much better option at center. Carlyle is doing a fine job and the Leafs will pull though this adversity.

 

[thewave]

Take it easy. Might as well crank the siren as the world goes up in flames. Colborne isn't a player that would make or break our season. Raymond is a much better option at center. Carlyle is doing a fine job and the Leafs will pull though this adversity.

Sure w can sadly we need to probably shell out big to get a C though. Out C situation is one of the worst in the NHL maybe the worst.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Grabo was miscast by RC in a defensive role. His greatest attributes are his puck possession game and physical strength which is severely lacking on this team

This is not a thread about Grabo. First.

Second, this is worth repeating, Grabo being miscast is a bogus excuse made by his fans. The coach made the playoffs without Grabo in the top 6, a point I said prior to the season. If Kadri is in the top 6 and Grabo is not, this team would win more games. So no, he was not misused.

1. Bolland can handle the job he couldn't
2. Kadri beat him out at #2C
3. Grabo started the year as #2C, but stunk
4. Grabo is great at circling the zone, directing shots off his arse toward the opposing nets
5. Grabo is the #3C in Washington (the 18th best team in the NHL at the moment)

Enough of this Grabo stuff, he was -20 last year with 18 points. He is me guy, losing player. There is a reason why no one wanted him until a week prior to training camp. The guy is weak physically, lacks IQ, and is incapable of playing in a winning system.

Leave him where he is, where He is happy playing run and gun, stats pumping hockey on a mediocre team so he can try to sign his next contract. He is gone and Bolland was much better at his job than he ever was.

 

[nuck]

If we're comparing apples to apples, the difference is between Grabo's $5.5 and Bozak's $4.2, since I think we all agree it was one or the other between those two given that Bolland was acquired on draft day before Grabo was bought out or Bozak was re-signed.

So the difference is really $1.3 M in cap space to have a superior player at a crucial position. Plus we could have bought out Liles and saved a substantial amount of cap room that way.

Keep in mind the club has like 2 cents in cap space. That 1.3 would not have been doable, especially when the cost of resigning the non Bozak FAs was not yet established. Money was and is that tight. They had the one time compliance buyout option and no room to make any other moves. If Liles and Grabo were at the same number it would have been Liles but he was their most overpaid guy at a critical time.

Now two wrongs don't make a right so that doesn't explain a 5 year deal for Bozak but thats a different arguement and for all we know, the club was legitimately concerned that losing Bozak would make their best player harder to sign. They made the call that adding Clarkson's toughness was essential to improving a very soft top 9 and that was it. The $1.3 difference may as well have been $13 million this year.

 

[RoadWarrior]

This is not a thread about Grabo. First.

Second, this is worth repeating, Grabo being miscast is a bogus excuse made by his fans. The coach made the playoffs without Grabo in the top 6, a point I said prior to the season. If Kadri is in the top 6 and Grabo is not, this team would win more games. So no, he was not misused.

1. Bolland can handle the job he couldn't
2. Kadri beat him out at #2C
3. Grabo started the year as #2C, but stunk
4. Grabo is great at circling the zone, directing shots off his arse toward the opposing nets
5. Grabo is the #3C in Washington (the 18th best team in the NHL at the moment)

Enough of this Grabo stuff, he was -20 last year with 18 points. He is me guy, losing player. There is a reason why no one wanted him until a week prior to training camp. The guy is weak physically, lacks IQ, and is incapable of playing in a winning system.

Leave him where he is, where He is happy playing run and gun, stats pumping hockey on a mediocre team so he can try to sign his next contract. He is gone and Bolland was much better at his job than he ever was.

Bolland had a history of injuries and no Grabo is NOT weak physically

Point is the money wasted on Clarkson was better used on Grabovski

Forget about Grabo's stats last year. RC stuck him with plugs and he barely saw the PP

 

[DD03]

Bolland had a history of injuries and no Grabo is NOT weak physically

Point is the money wasted on Clarkson was better used on Grabovski

Forget about Grabo's stats last year. RC stuck him with plugs and he barely saw the PP

He was 5th on the Leafs in TOI for forwards on the PP.

 

[nuck]

Bolland had a history of injuries and no Grabo is NOT weak physically

Point is the money wasted on Clarkson was better used on Grabovski

Forget about Grabo's stats last year. RC stuck him with plugs and he barely saw the PP

They are trying to build a Carlyle type club but the top 6 players they have with any size don't exactly play like Getzlaff and Perry. If you don't agree with the Anaheim model thats fine but it has a lot more to do with the makeup of the team than whether Grabo or Clarkson will have the better year. They are small down the middle and Kadri has sewn up the little center role. If he had not broken out, or had been able to only work on the wing it may have been different, but back when Grabovski was committed to for 5.5, NK was just a question mark.

Last season Grabo was ineffective in the bottom 6 so they have to choose between Kessels buddy who is bigger, better on the dot, hits more, and has not yet failed as a bottom 6 guy, and Grabo, who is coming off a career worst season and costs $1.3 more than they can sign Bozak for. I think you can look at it as that as soon as Kadri proved his talent was for real, Grabovski was done, and that if Vinny had been interested in the Leafs, neither Boz nor Grabo would be back. The cap crunch they were in just sealed the deal. You don't have to agree with it, but there is logic there, and if Grabovski was 6'2" he would probably still be on the club. Bad year + small + expensive = gone.

The Clarkson deal was reflective of the strange summer market and a lot of recent signings are based on FAs squeezing the clubs for what an increased cap will allow in the future so the numbers look horrible now, but will be nothing unmanageable once the cap has a couple more years of growth. The player agents don't care about the club's problems this one year,they want to squeeze the market for what it can carry over the next few years.

I would not have paid Clarkson this kind of money either, but that was the tough guy budget that was being spent, not the top 6 center money. It would have gone for someone, this year or next. I would not have signed Bozak for 5 years because his skills are not that hard to replace, but there may have been another club out there and I think after ending the playoff drought they would be worried about too much turnover.

 

[RoadWarrior]

They are trying to build a Carlyle type club but the top 6 players they have with any size don't exactly play like Getzlaff and Perry. If you don't agree with the Anaheim model thats fine but it has a lot more to do with the makeup of the team than whether Grabo or Clarkson will have the better year. They are small down the middle and Kadri has sewn up the little center role. If he had not broken out, or had been able to only work on the wing it may have been different, but back when Grabovski was committed to for 5.5, NK was just a question mark.

Last season Grabo was ineffective in the bottom 6 so they have to choose between Kessels buddy who is bigger, better on the dot, hits more, and has not yet failed as a bottom 6 guy, and Grabo, who is coming off a career worst season and costs $1.3 more than they can sign Bozak for. I think you can look at it as that as soon as Kadri proved his talent was for real, Grabovski was done, and that if Vinny had been interested in the Leafs, neither Boz nor Grabo would be back. The cap crunch they were in just sealed the deal. You don't have to agree with it, but there is logic there, and if Grabovski was 6'2" he would probably still be on the club. Bad year + small + expensive = gone.

The Clarkson deal was reflective of the strange summer market and a lot of recent signings are based on FAs squeezing the clubs for what an increased cap will allow in the future so the numbers look horrible now, but will be nothing unmanageable once the cap has a couple more years of growth. The player agents don't care about the club's problems this one year,they want to squeeze the market for what it can carry over the next few years.

I would not have paid Clarkson this kind of money either, but that was the tough guy budget that was being spent, not the top 6 center money. It would have gone for someone, this year or next. I would not have signed Bozak for 5 years because his skills are not that hard to replace, but there may have been another club out there and I think after ending the playoff drought they would be worried about too much turnover.

With Bolland's injury history they should have been smart enough to keep insurance at C and not wasted cap space on Clarkson

 

[thewave]

With Bolland's injury history they should have been smart enough to keep insurance at C and not wasted cap space on Clarkson

This.

 

[ULF_55]

This is not a thread about Grabo. First.

Second, this is worth repeating, Grabo being miscast is a bogus excuse made by his fans. The coach made the playoffs without Grabo in the top 6, a point I said prior to the season. If Kadri is in the top 6 and Grabo is not, this team would win more games. So no, he was not misused.

1. Bolland can handle the job he couldn't
2. Kadri beat him out at #2C
3. Grabo started the year as #2C, but stunk
4. Grabo is great at circling the zone, directing shots off his arse toward the opposing nets
5. Grabo is the #3C in Washington (the 18th best team in the NHL at the moment)

Enough of this Grabo stuff, he was -20 last year with 18 points. He is me guy, losing player. There is a reason why no one wanted him until a week prior to training camp. The guy is weak physically, lacks IQ, and is incapable of playing in a winning system.

Leave him where he is, where He is happy playing run and gun, stats pumping hockey on a mediocre team so he can try to sign his next contract. He is gone and Bolland was much better at his job than he ever was.

Washington is actually 6-4 last 10 games, same as Toronto.

They're in a playoffs position, and Grabovski has same points as Kadri in 1 less game, but has a 53.5% face-off rating.

Grabovski is not a great distributor of the puck.

I'm fine with the buy-out, just wished they had used the money to pursue a 1st. line center.

 

[Cor]

Washington is actually 6-4 last 10 games, same as Toronto.

They're in a playoffs position, and Grabovski has same points as Kadri in 1 less game, but has a 53.5% face-off rating.

Grabovski is not a great distributor of the puck
I'm fine with the buy-out, just wished they had used the money to pursue a 1st. line center.

Who exactly was available?

 

[ULF_55]

Who exactly was available?

You'd have to ask the GM's, cuz I'm sure Phaneuf wasn't available!

Is the question, how much are you willing to pay?

I'd pay huge for a 1st. line center. Huge as in multiple 1st. round picks and prospects and players.

 

[mikebel111*]

Grabo fans always ignore this fact. He was given every opportunity first 10 games. He was bad so he was dropped. Randy did nothing wrong here.

 

[mikebel111*]

Bolland had a history of injuries and no Grabo is NOT weak physically

Point is the money wasted on Clarkson was better used on Grabovski

Forget about Grabo's stats last year. RC stuck him with plugs and he barely saw the PP

Wrong. He was given good PP time and didnt do anything. Grabo is to blame here.

 

[ULF_55]

Grabo fans always ignore this fact. He was given every opportunity first 10 games. He was bad so he was dropped. Randy did nothing wrong here.

Wrong. He was given good PP time and didnt do anything. Grabo is to blame here.

Right now he'd probably be the best center on the team, and that is not in anyway a compliment to Grabovski.

 

[Mess]

You'd have to ask the GM's, cuz I'm sure Phaneuf wasn't available!

Is the question, how much are you willing to pay?

I'd pay huge for a 1st. line center. Huge as in multiple 1st. round picks and prospects and players.

Leafs gave away multiple high 1st round picks and more for a scoring winger. Perhaps in hindsight patience and doing nothing would have provided that center simply by using the picks earned.

Position of need >> position of want and the best way to get a top line center is to draft one yourself like most teams do.

Mind you Leafs have always believed in trading for theirs in Gilmour and Sundin in the past, but Cliff is no longer calling the shots.

 

[nuck]

This.

Bolland and Bozak are both basically bottom 6 guys. Neither one could get a whiff of 50 points without playing with bigger talents. Why would you be concerned with backups for players who don't drive their respective lines? They are the backups themselves. Bolland has had an excellent start but this is what he has done from time to time throughout his career. Enjoy it while its there, because he has never been consistent enough offensively to hold a top line role. He will have flat streaks, just like in Chicago, because he isn't a complete and consistent offensive player. Not dissing the guy because I like him, but it is much more likely he is the 3rd line player he has shown in his career to date than the hot rod he has looked like for 12 games this year.

Kadri and Kessel will make offense with whoever they have on wing. Lupul, JVR and Clarkson will do the same until Bozak is healthy. If they had lost a scorer it would have been different but at best, they are down two important supporting players. No panic, although if they moved a D for a forward it wouldn't bother me.

 

[nuck]

Leafs gave away multiple high 1st round picks and more for a scoring winger. Perhaps in hindsight patience and doing nothing would have provided that center simply by using the picks earned.

Position of need >> position of want and the best way to get a top line center is to draft one yourself like most teams do.

Mind you Leafs have always believed in trading for theirs in Gilmour and Sundin in the past, but Cliff is no longer calling the shots.

They just don't seem to agree the top line center is what they need most, and keep adding at other positions .They now have so much salary invested in large contracts,they couldn't free up the money for that big FA if he did become available.
Which contracts could they trade next year for that top line center?