Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign Polak to 1 year deal @ 2.25M

[MJ65]

He is horrible....He lacks the ability to see the ice and thinks he should carry the puck up ice like he is a gifted D man who them gets himself into trouble and gives the puck away. If anyone watched the playoffs you would have seen him give the puck away time and time again..when he had options.


I'm not a fan of this signing. I also think that he plays as a 6/7 as we have 8 d man at least that is better.

I think you are being too critical, he is signed for a year @ $2.25 M and we all know that he will be traded by the trade deadline, so essentially he is here for half a season

 

[diceman934]

Here's a pretty good article for ppl who are willing to have an open mind about this signing: http://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/2016/7/7/12099026/roman-polak-man-or-myth

Polak may not have been the best ufa out there, but that best available guy would not have signed a 1 yr deal for ~$2m.

A piece that left out many variables that happened last season.. read the article and the author believes if Hunwick is not there this season Marincin is gone off the roster.That alone tells me that the author is seriously lacking in common sense.

Then using data such as TOI yearly totals to slot Polak into how much he was used without taking into account him not playing at the start of the year...and his very limited use for a period of time makes the numbers used skewed.

Polak is not a needed D man at this point. He offers only a little toughness but at a cost of quality. When the puck stays in your zone longer and when you see the giveaways and add up all the pros and cons...I believe we signed him as insurance.

The names Babcock mentioned who he thinks he could help are going to be Marlies. With maybe some call up time as injury replacements or a trade.

 

[diceman934]

I think you are being too critical, he is signed for a year @ $2.25 M and we all know that he will be traded by the trade deadline, so essentially he is here for half a season

How is the trade deadline only half a season...and why are so many saying this!

2.25M is a lot of cap room that we could use right now...on skill and ability we have better D man then him who will be on the Marlies.

If we were a cup contender I can see the need for him as a depth D man...however we are not. We have the work ethic example in our top D man covered, so that is not a need.

I trust management knows what they are doing....maybe they are going to trade Hunwick sooner then the deadline and we needed some more experience D man...

Maybe that is it....we needed some more experienced NHL D man as we will be lacking in that area....not because he is so good etc, it also explains Babcocks comments as to who he will be role modelling for.

 

[Pholus]

A piece that left out many variables that happened last season.. read the article and the author believes if Hunwick is not there this season Marincin is gone off the roster.That alone tells me that the author is seriously lacking in common sense.

I'm going to assume you're referring to this point:

If Hunwick is moved out by some set of circumstances that moves Rielly to the left side, that knocks Marincin right off the roster.

I originally interpreted this to mean that the Leafs LD depth would go:
-Rielly
Gardiner
-Hunwick
-Marincin

That being said, I agree the author's point isn't really clear here.

As far as his numbers being skewed, I think you could make a case that the time he missed was off-set by his increasing usage starting around the time Phaneuf was traded.

I will agree with you that moving the puck is not a strength of Polak's game, but with Rielly/Gardiner/Zaitsev/C. Carrick/Marincin all being strong - decent puck movers, I feel like Polak's strengths & weaknesses combine well with those players' strengths and weaknesses.

Shanahan's quite about Polak coming back as a depth guy would agree with your point about him being insurance, and if he's worth a 2nd/3rd rd pick at the deadline next year, that seems like some pretty good 'insurance' to me.

 

[UllmansTiger]

The names Babcock mentioned who he thinks he could help are going to be Marlies. With maybe some call up time as injury replacements or a trade.

Just curious, who is that?

 

[saltming]

Just curious, who is that?

Valiev and Neilsen I think it was. Not sure about the second name.

 

[WilliamNylander]

Have a feeling Polak is Marlies bound.

Hearing Babcock say he will be a good mentor for Valiev and Nielsen seems to say he'll start the year in the AHL and have to wait for injuries to get a call up

 

[Once]

Have a feeling Polak is Marlies bound.

Hearing Babcock say he will be a good mentor for Valiev and Nielsen seems to say he'll start the year in the AHL and have to wait for injuries to get a call up

Well it all starts at training camp and preseason. They will get exposure to it then and throughout the season when other guys go down. He will be our 7th man.

 

[UllmansTiger]

Valiev and Neilson I think it was. Not sure about the second name.

Oh, really? They're both waiver exempt, non issue to me, I doubt Polak will start in the AHL to mentor them but I guess we'll see.

 

[saltming]

Have a feeling Polak is Marlies bound.

Hearing Babcock say he will be a good mentor for Valiev and Nielsen seems to say he'll start the year in the AHL and have to wait for injuries to get a call up

That doesn't make sense to me. Why sign a guy for 2+ mil to send him to the marlies? They could have found someone who would have accepted an ahl contract for that.
I admit I was perplexed when Babcock said that but it made me wonder if they were coming up, which isn't likely either imo.
Maybe Babs was just thinking that having roman on the big team shows the kids on the little team what they have to do to be a pro?

 

[saltming]

Oh, really? They're both waiver exempt, non issue to me, I doubt Polak will start in the AHL to mentor them but I guess we'll see.

Ya my post just below yours says the same.
It was a weird thing to say.

 

[TheCLAM]

What's the deal with the Polak hate? He play a solid role on SJ road to the cup, and had 3 solid series.

People are crapping on the guy acting like we signed him to a Jeff Finger contract.. Guess what injuries are going to happen.. I'd rather have Polak who can virtually play the right-side on any pairing than any rookie we have. Valiev/Nielsen are too young to step into the NHL and need more seasoning. We signed a serviceable NHL dman to a great 1 year contract that we can flip to a contending team. I'm not sure he'll garner two 2nd round picks, however, gaining a third would be solid. It's called asset management.. We have another wave of UFA's that could garner some interest on the open market.

Injuries happen, players will be called up. I don't see any rookie we have ready to make the jump over Polak. If he plays terrible you waive him and take the 1.3 cap-hit for the rest of the season.

Calm down and think rationally.

 

[ShaneFalco]

I think they give him the C and first line minutes

 

[Once]

There should be the proper role model pros in place when you are a young prospect being called up to the NHL. Look at Edmonton, why have they experienced difficulties developing their youth? Lack of mentorship, leadership, and pro support. This is what Polak provides. Along with Hunwick and maybe Rielly.

Can't bring Valiev or others up to be role modelled by a second year pro in Marincin and first year NHL pros Carrick and Zaitsev

 

[Unhealthy Scratch]

Part of it is mentorship, but the other part that a lot of people seem to be leaving out is that this is another case of the Leafs effectively buying extra draft picks like they did with Winnik and Matthias last season.

As long as they're healthy, I think Polak and Hunwick are both gone by the trade deadline.

 

[diceman934]

I'm going to assume you're referring to this point:



I originally interpreted this to mean that the Leafs LD depth would go:
-Rielly
Gardiner
-Hunwick
-Marincin

That being said, I agree the author's point isn't really clear here.

As far as his numbers being skewed, I think you could make a case that the time he missed was off-set by his increasing usage starting around the time Phaneuf was traded.

I will agree with you that moving the puck is not a strength of Polak's game, but with Rielly/Gardiner/Zaitsev/C. Carrick/Marincin all being strong - decent puck movers, I feel like Polak's strengths & weaknesses combine well with those players' strengths and weaknesses.

Shanahan's quite about Polak coming back as a depth guy would agree with your point about him being insurance, and if he's worth a 2nd/3rd rd pick at the deadline next year, that seems like some pretty good 'insurance' to me.

I just think the whole article was a hot mess with information that was skewed to make his point but not based on reality. He further lost me with the line up projection on D and his associated comments regarding Marincin.

Marincin will not be exposed to waivers at all, his play away from Polak was very good and makes him a keeper at this point.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

I think they give him the C and first line minutes

1st line center by November, Matthews to the Marlies.

 

[TheCLAM]

There should be the proper role model pros in place when you are a young prospect being called up to the NHL. Look at Edmonton, why have they experienced difficulties developing their youth? Lack of mentorship, leadership, and pro support. This is what Polak provides. Along with Hunwick and maybe Rielly.

Can't bring Valiev or others up to be role modelled by a second year pro in Marincin and first year NHL pros Carrick and Zaitsev

Carrick came into the league young, oversight but agreed.

 

[UllmansTiger]

Ya my post just below yours says the same.
It was a weird thing to say.

Yeah, I think his meaning is for camp in the fall, if and when they get called up ( Valiev more so than Nielsen ) and just a guy to be around in general. The most telling part of it ( now that I've seen it ) to me was the 'he's a good man' quote, another part of the leadership group. I mean, the guy came back with his face half ripped off from a puck, if anything they'll see what that kind of toughness is all about, even if he's not the best dman in the world.

 

[Once]

Carrick came into the league young, oversight but agreed.

Still needs a full season under his belt

 

[saltming]

Yeah, I think his meaning is for camp in the fall, if and when they get called up ( Valiev more so than Nielsen ) and just a guy to be around in general. The most telling part of it ( now that I've seen it ) to me was the 'he's a good man' quote, another part of the leadership group. I mean, the guy came back with his face half ripped off from a puck, if anything they'll see what that kind of toughness is all about, even if he's not the best dman in the world.

I agree. Personally I am glad he's back. Prototypical 5 6 defenseman. Solid warrior and leader.
I remember Rielly, I think, saying that when roman came back in that game with his face ripped off, it boosted the whole team.

 

[diceman934]

What's the deal with the Polak hate? He play a solid role on SJ road to the cup, and had 3 solid series.

People are crapping on the guy acting like we signed him to a Jeff Finger contract.. Guess what injuries are going to happen.. I'd rather have Polak who can virtually play the right-side on any pairing than any rookie we have. Valiev/Nielsen are too young to step into the NHL and need more seasoning. We signed a serviceable NHL dman to a great 1 year contract that we can flip to a contending team. I'm not sure he'll garner two 2nd round picks, however, gaining a third would be solid. It's called asset management.. We have another wave of UFA's that could garner some interest on the open market.

Injuries happen, players will be called up. I don't see any rookie we have ready to make the jump over Polak. If he plays terrible you waive him and take the 1.3 cap-hit for the rest of the season.

Calm down and think rationally.

He played 3 solid series? When? It was most certainly not for San Jose as he was bad in each of those series. As well if he was solid in this series why did they not offer him a one or two year deal as they still had a need for a 5/6 D man?

Polak can not play the right side of either of the top 2 pairings and we saw him struggling playing on the 3rd pairing last year. Carrick came in last year and was a huge upgrade over Polak.

Is this comtract going to hurt us...no.
Could he be taking minutes away from younger players who are ready for a small role on the team...a real possibility.
I can only guess that the management group thinks that they want an experienced vet around to play a small role while being a role model for our Marlies players who are pushing for an NHL job.

 

[diceman934]

There should be the proper role model pros in place when you are a young prospect being called up to the NHL. Look at Edmonton, why have they experienced difficulties developing their youth? Lack of mentorship, leadership, and pro support. This is what Polak provides. Along with Hunwick and maybe Rielly.

Can't bring Valiev or others up to be role modelled by a second year pro in Marincin and first year NHL pros Carrick and Zaitsev

Please do not compare us to Edmonton. ...not at all similar.

We have Rielly and Gardiner who are good D man....Look at how Marincin played at the seasons end being paired with Rielly and how Carrick played with Gardiner...we are miles ahead of Edmonton in structure as well with Babcock as our coach.

I will also point out the obvious but it appears many missed it: Polak managed to make Marincin look horrible to many...but the reality is that Polak makes his partners look bad time and time again...remember he was Gardiner partner when he looked bad as well.

 

[diceman934]

Still needs a full season under his belt

He is more than ready. ...
He will be a Leaf for sure. We will not expose him to waivers.

 

[TheCLAM]

He played 3 solid series? When? It was most certainly not for San Jose as he was bad in each of those series. As well if he was solid in this series why did they not offer him a one or two year deal as they still had a need for a 5/6 D man?

Polak can not play the right side of either of the top 2 pairings and we saw him struggling playing on the 3rd pairing last year. Carrick came in last year and was a huge upgrade over Polak.

Is this comtract going to hurt us...no.
Could he be taking minutes away from younger players who are ready for a small role on the team...a real possibility.
I can only guess that the management group thinks that they want an experienced vet around to play a small role while being a role model for our Marlies players who are pushing for an NHL job.

SJ choosing not to re-sign Polak has nothing to do with perceived value. It's common players are traded for and walk via free agency. I don't see how a contract dictates a players standing in the league, especially a depth player. There's no need to cry wolf over the signing. Look at SJ D-depth Burns, Martin, Vlasic, Braun, Dillon, Schlemko and Mueller.. No point making a signing when the $$$ clearly went to Boedker/Hertl.

We don't have any other prospect other than Carrick on the right-side.. We literally have Zaitsev, Polak and Carrick as RHD. You've listed one example, rank our top RHD based on natural position. If Polak is in the top 4 of the RHD.. you can clearly see the trend. Zaitsev hasn't set foot on NA ice and Carrick is basically a sophmore. You have to think in terms of LHD/RHD not just D. Some play the left-side, others play the right-side.

I respect, but I don't see the merit of any of your points for a 1 year vet UFA signing that inevitably will be flipped at the deadline. I like the passion of making this team better, but the writing in on the wall. You'll likely see Hunwick/Polak out the door at some point this season.