Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign Alexander Barabanov to 1 year ELC

[rent free]

kerfoot isn't that good. i'd prefer him to be traded for cap relief rather than johnsson or kapanen

 

[DopeyFish]

all i know is when i look at his highlights, i start to sweat a bit

i love watching people with that skating style

 

[IPS]

I don't think a stint after being injured and leaving his natural position proves he's useless. His play at center is pretty good and encouraging, and the Leafs should keep him around. He did end up having just 4 fewer points at 5v5 than Tavares in like 130 fewer minutes

Agreed. Before the injuries got bad, Kerfoot usually centered a very good 3rd line with any combination of Engvall/Mikheyev/Kapanen

 

[Rogue Leader]

Барабанов: мне понравился
Interesting stuff from the Russian site for which he gave an interview:

• Says Leafs were love from first sight, despite that many teams were interested in him.
• Was scouted first by Babcock during the 2018 IIHF World Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Maple Leafs and Arizona Coyotes were the most active. Chayka flew to Russia 2 times to speak with him.
• Around 20 NHL teams were interested. It would have been interesting if he had joined Washington and played with Kuznetsov and Ovechkin.
• Had a big FaceTime interview with Arizona and with Toronto.
• He was sure that he was coming to the NHL from a long time.
• He is thankful to Chayka and and feels honored from his great interest.
• He spoke with all his friends who have played for Toronto.
• Nikita Zaitsev was very supportive and said only positive things about Toronto. (didn't expect this!!!)
• Souperman was very happy and told hm to come right away.
• When he signed his new 2 year contract with SKA in 2018 he knew that is his last contract in the KHL.
• He is going to try to speak only English when he comes over, but he jokes that Mikheyev will be his best buddy.
• He has a dog.
• He can't say he has had a role model, but he has always liked the game of Sid.
• Also liked Pavel Datsyuk.
• The Russian community thinks he will succeed, because he has the size of Crozby, so he is not that small.
• He is a heart and soul player.
• His favorite saying is "You can achieve anything with consistency and hard work".

I am very happy from what I read in the interview. Let's hope for the best!!! : ))

 

[BrainyBomber]

Mikheyev was a pleasant surprise and lets hope Barabanov can also be an effective depth NHLer.

Depth NHLer?

Mikheyev is far more than an effective depth NHLer. He was excellent this season all around before the awful injury. On a 47 point pace and quality penalty killer - was 2nd in PK mins per game.

He's up there as having one of the best KHL to NHL transitions.

Mikheyev is already a valuable contributor on an entry level deal. 25 loves Toronto and expansion draft exempt. Would easily fetch a 1st rounder (not that we'd ever trade him) and Dubas snagged him for absolutely nothing!

 

[ToneBone03]

I am going to have to trust the Leafs' management team on this one. I will reserve judgement until I actually see him play, as this signing news is the first time I've ever heard the guy's name.

Edit: God, I hope we resign Mikheyev.

 

[Funk21]

I am going to have to trust the Leafs' management team on this one. I will reserve judgement until I actually see him play, as this signing news is the first time I've ever heard the guy's name.

Edit: God, I hope we resign Mikheyev.

Agreed on both points. I think with Mikheyev they do another one year deal just over a million to ensure he is 100% healthy and back to normal then they complete a 3/4 year deal mid season.

Trade Kerfoot, AJ and Dermott IMO.

2020-2021 Line Up With a flat Cap

Hyman Matthews Marner
Mikheyev JT Nylander
Barabanov ??????? Kapanen
Engvall Gauthier Spezza
Korskov

with Spezza drawing in most nights, Korskov shuttling back and forth to Marlies.

Reilly ?????
Muzzin Liljegren
Sandin Holl
Marincin

Andersen
Campbell

Use either trade assets from above listed trades or go after the following UFA
Savard
Manson
Hamonic
Tanev

Regarding our 3C spot some names of interest, all must be under 2 million:
Grigorenko
Girgenson
Brassard

It will be super tight but I think we will be a more balanced team, no Barrie and a full year under Keefe should be a huge help.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Agreed on the Goat but i think Spezza, if hes at least able to play like he did this past season could be that on a Leafs team that has Matthews and JT ahesd on the depth chart where each of them is playing 18-20ish min a night. Spezza can be stable at 12-15 min a night and pot some offense on a team structure like the Leafs

But again, depends on if his age catches up

I like Spezza too ... really worried about his wheels though

 

[Mess]

Depth NHLer?

Mikheyev is far more than an effective depth NHLer. He was excellent this season all around before the awful injury. On a 47 point pace and quality penalty killer - was 2nd in PK mins per game.

He's up there as having one of the best KHL to NHL transitions.

Mikheyev is already a valuable contributor on an entry level deal. 25 loves Toronto and expansion draft exempt. Would easily fetch a 1st rounder (not that we'd ever trade him) and Dubas snagged him for absolutely nothing!

I was referring to Barabanov as being a successful depth player , which would make him a pleasant surprise like Mikheyev, was of signing a KHL UFA player.

Lots of these KHL players do not find NHL success, but are still worth the gamble to try.

Mikheyev has exceed exceptions to this point, but my original post was directed at Barabanov and his expected level of impact playing in a bottom 6 role effectively, making him a success signing also. Probably could have worded my post differently if that is how you interpreted its meaning.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Барабанов: мне понравился
Interesting stuff from the Russian site for which he gave an interview:

• Says Leafs were love from first sight, despite that many teams were interested in him.
• Was scouted first by Babcock during the 2018 IIHF World Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Maple Leafs and Arizona Coyotes were the most active. Chayka flew to Russia 2 times to speak with him.
• Around 20 NHL teams were interested. It would have been interesting if he had joined Washington and played with Kuznetsov and Ovechkin.
• Had a big FaceTime interview with Arizona and with Toronto.
• He was sure that he was coming to the NHL from a long time.
• He is thankful to Chayka and and feels honored from his great interest.
• He spoke with all his friends who have played for Toronto.
• Nikita Zaitsev was very supportive and said only positive things about Toronto. (didn't expect this!!!)
• Souperman was very happy and told hm to come right away.
• When he signed his new 2 year contract with SKA in 2018 he knew that is his last contract in the KHL.
• He is going to try to speak only English when he comes over, but he jokes that Mikheyev will be his best buddy.
• He has a dog.
• He can't say he has had a role model, but he has always liked the game of Sid.
• Also liked Pavel Datsyuk.
• The Russian community thinks he will succeed, because he has the size of Crozby, so he is not that small.
• He is a heart and soul player.
• His favorite saying is "You can achieve anything with consistency and hard work".

I am very happy from what I read in the interview. Let's hope for the best!!! : ))

This is best news I have received all morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What this says to me is Soupy is resigning here............................ yeah baby .................... honestly even if this guy is not that good it is worth the signing just to keep Soupy

 

[supermann_98]

I don't think a stint after being injured and leaving his natural position proves he's useless. His play at center is pretty good and encouraging, and the Leafs should keep him around. He did end up having just 4 fewer points at 5v5 than Tavares in like 130 fewer minutes

Agreed, I really liked the look of him as the 3rd line centre with Kappy and Soup on his wings. When Soup and Johnsson got hurt he got shifted to the wing where imo he never quite fit in, but where Keefe seemed to prefer him.

 

[supermann_98]

I don't think a stint after being injured and leaving his natural position proves he's useless. His play at center is pretty good and encouraging, and the Leafs should keep him around. He did end up having just 4 fewer points at 5v5 than Tavares in like 130 fewer minutes

Agreed, I really liked the look of him as the 3rd line centre with Kappy and Soup on his wings. When Soup and Johnsson got hurt he got shifted to the wing where imo he never quite fit in, but where Keefe seemed to prefer him for some reason

 

[Hart Nation]

Spezza looked faster than half our damn team on most nights lol

 

[Rogue Leader]

This is best news I have received all morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What this says to me is Soupy is resigning here............................ yeah baby .................... honestly even if this guy is not that good it is worth the signing just to keep Soupy

Damn, I never even thought of this!!! By the way he was talking about him it truly seems Soupy is here to stay. Maybe Dubas is very smarter than I gave him credit for!!!

 

[Shak19]

Spezza looked faster than half our damn team on most nights lol

Spezza still has wheels, definately faster than half the team, was quite surprised to see that.

Would be good if he returns next year.

 

[Battle Lin]

kerfoot isnt that good, but hes an nhl center, our team and prospect pool isnt stock full of nhl centers...legit 1Cs make 8-10mill, 2Cs 5-7, and not so great but good enough 3c do cost around 3...he were also hit hard by injuries and kerfoot has played and jumped around with so many different lineups, hes having off year number wise but you can see hes a good enough nhl center when he plays

i wouldn't mind an upgrade over kerfoot, but then trading him means we go out and look for a center anyways...and i really dont want a revolving door 3C with old potential guys like spezza or thornton ending their careers...you need young long term center depth

if dubas somehow geniusly finds us a better 3C than kerfoot long term and stays under the cap, then of course im all for it...but we probably have to dump wings before kerfoot, cause we can find wings in europe and we even have more wingers coming from minors, but we aint got no centers and europe isnt stock full of 40 point legit nhl 3Cs like they have wingers

 

[Menzinger]

I think the teams load management with Spezza was the right approach for an older guy so imo personally dont have too many concerns about him, even physically.

Curious to see what the teams plans are for Barabanov but eo t be able to predict it until qe see what forwards get moved out

 

[I am Canadian]

In Esports, language barriers are dealt with by having on-hand translators to make the players feel more comfortable. I remember when Ozhiganov was here, Babcock was talking to Ozhiganov in practice and said "I'm not sure he even understood me".

I don't get why the Leafs don't have a staff member that is bilingual in English & Russian. Can't be that difficult to find someone to do that. Would make Russian players feel more at home i'm sure.

 

[Mess]

I think the teams load management with Spezza was the right approach for an older guy so imo personally dont have too many concerns about him, even physically.

Curious to see what the teams plans are for Barabanov but eo t be able to predict it until qe see what forwards get moved out

He isn't a high end skill player, more of a worker with skills.

He would be expected to play in the bottom 6 most likely..

He is of similar stature to Denis Malgin, and offensively a better version of him and likely a poor man's Alex Kerfoot as the range of expectations. Malgin << Barabanov << Kerfoot

If Leafs could get 12-15 goals and 35 points as secondary depth scoring forward it will have been a successful signing if Barabanov game translates to NHL success.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

This guy has to show what he can do so I’m hoping its good solid defensive play with jam to start with. Then all the chemistry can be worked out. Its a ELC so the pressure is nothing beyond makingbthe team and working hard every shift,game week etc

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Agreed on both points. I think with Mikheyev they do another one year deal just over a million to ensure he is 100% healthy and back to normal then they complete a 3/4 year deal mid season.

Trade Kerfoot, AJ and Dermott IMO.

2020-2021 Line Up With a flat Cap

Hyman Matthews Marner
Mikheyev JT Nylander
Barabanov ??????? Kapanen
Engvall Gauthier Spezza
Korskov

with Spezza drawing in most nights, Korskov shuttling back and forth to Marlies.

Reilly ?????
Muzzin Liljegren
Sandin Holl
Marincin

Andersen
Campbell

Use either trade assets from above listed trades or go after the following UFA
Savard
Manson
Hamonic
Tanev

Regarding our 3C spot some names of interest, all must be under 2 million:
Grigorenko
Girgenson
Brassard

It will be super tight but I think we will be a more balanced team, no Barrie and a full year under Keefe should be a huge help.

You never ever trade young defenders who can skate and have jam. Especially ones who show bits and pieces of excellence. It has been the MAIN Leaf error past 60 years. We have to give our 3 kids 3-6 years more of development time. Then we should have one of best defenses in NHL. In CAP era you can't just buy a defender core.

 

[Ciao]

In Esports, language barriers are dealt with by having on-hand translators to make the players feel more comfortable. I remember when Ozhiganov was here, Babcock was talking to Ozhiganov in practice and said "I'm not sure he even understood me".

I don't get why the Leafs don't have a staff member that is bilingual in English & Russian. Can't be that difficult to find someone to do that. Would make Russian players feel more at home i'm sure.

I would splurge on qualified language interpreters for all non-English speaking players.

 

[Funk21]

You never ever trade young defenders who can skate and have jam. Especially ones who show bits and pieces of excellence. It has been the MAIN Leaf error past 60 years. We have to give our 3 kids 3-6 years more of development time. Then we should have one of best defenses in NHL. In CAP era you can't just buy a defender core.

If he plays the right side with Muzzin because Liljegren isn’t ready then sure but he is not a long term option in my opinion. I really don’t see our window opening up until another year or two because of the cap and the time it will take to develop Sandin and Liljegren.
Unlike some people here I actually think Liljegren is ready for the big show. He just needs to build his confidence and minutes. The longer we delay Liljegren the more we hurt our team prospectives.

If we are able to somehow get into the late first round there are a number of big RHD who are D focused. They are exactly what we need.

I know we disagree on this this take but that’s why we are fans and not GM’s.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

If he plays the right side with Muzzin because Liljegren isn’t ready then sure but he is not a long term option in my opinion. I really don’t see our window opening up until another year or two because of the cap and the time it will take to develop Sandin and Liljegren.
Unlike some people here I actually think Liljegren is ready for the big show. He just needs to build his confidence and minutes. The longer we delay Liljegren the more we hurt our team prospectives.

If we are able to somehow get into the late first round there are a number of big RHD who are D focused. They are exactly what we need.

I know we disagree on this this take but that’s why we are fans and not GM’s.

We can disagree on different players and those are all fair comments. My point is very simple. We have given up on young promising defenders like Carlyle and Stralman for too many years. The reason is very simple. Our fans/do not have the correct expectations for how long it takes to learn defense in many thousands of different situations on da ice. People mostly think a defender either has it or not. While I agree you can sorta tell if a guy has da skills fairly early on you can't know for a good 5-7 years of development whether a guy is going to be a top end defender. And some guys have da skills but never fully get it too. and that's all ok.
Dermy has all da skills. He is our best skater other than Rielly (and he is damn close too). He is willing to take a big hit to make a play (he is not afraid). And he has decent hands. And he is versatile in that he can play both left and right side effectively (I think our only guy who has done so successfully). A guy with all da skills you never trade. Never ever. Will he develop who knows but he shows signs when put under extreme pressure of making it. And he is ready and willing to learn from Muzzy.
Sandin has a lot of skills but he is a weak straight line skater. Could be his leg strength but he can't keep up in a fast game right now. Unless he improves that most key skill he will reside on bottom pair.
Lily is a better straight line skater today than Sandin (although his lateral skills are nowhere close). Lily is also stronger physically with a better shot today.
Bottom line is all 3 kids are still in DEVELOPMENT mode. Our Leafs have done a horrendous job over past 60 years of developing defenders. And I have told everyone who is anyone on Leafs that this is our main problem/issue.

 

[Cobra777]

Seen other highlights on the tube of him man can he deke and stick handle and skate, lovely hands as well