Confirmed with Link: Maple Leafs re-sign Nikita Zaitsev for 7 years, $4.5M per
- Thread starter MapleLeafs9
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I'm not personally a big fan of asking Rielly to move to his offside. He just had a career year playing his strong side. That not say he can't play the right side, but I don't really wanna see it.
Maybe move Gardiner, but I'd be hestitant to do that as well tbh. Probably mostly because I don't see how their games balance played together. They both wanna play offense. The both wanna carry. I feel like playing them together will just hinder each other.
I'd like to see
Rielly - Hainsey
Dermott - Gardiner
Rosen - Zaitsev
Carrick
If we don't make any changes. I just don't see Zaitsev as a legitimate top 4 guy.
Rielly - Hainsey
Dermott - Gardiner
Rosen - Zaitsev
Carrick
If we don't make any changes. I just don't see Zaitsev as a legitimate top 4 guy.
People have to remember that a sophomore slump happens to a lot of players and being older doesn't exclude you from that. He also had an illness where I am sure affected his strength and being a defenseman that is a huge part of being effective. I don't think he had a horrible playoffs but if he regresses again this year there is cause for concern in the meantime I think we have to give him a break on having what I think was a hard off year
Honestly he looked the same this year as he did in his rookie year. Hopefully improves, but this wasn't regression in my eyes.
LeafingTheWay
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- May 31, 2014
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Fair point about rielly playing on his offside, but you also have to take into consideration that having Gardiner as a partner >>> any right-handed D we currently have. I don't consider them offensive d-men but rather two-way D-men. They both try to transition well or drive possession whether it be by passing or carrying. I prefer having two good puck-movers together rather than have Rielly or Gardiner dragged down by their 'defensive' partners. They do all the heavy transition work on their own pair. You saw it last playoffs when Hainsey/Zaitsev relied super heavily on Rielly/Gardiner each to do the transition work.
Menzinger
Kessel4LadyByng
The problem with the “wait and see” approach is that he’s got a NTC that kicks in soon and an awful lot of term left on his contract
CantLoseWithMatthews
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- Sep 28, 2015
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Yeah it would be smarter to get rid of him than gamble on him. He was terrible. The chances of a complete turnaround before his ntc kicks in is tiny
Jimmy Firecracker
Fire Sheldon.
ToneDog
56 years and counting. #FireTheShanaClan!
If we had 6 other solid dmen we could consider moving him and his contract but as things stand, he is our 4th best dman and we only have 5 dmen that Babs has confidence in. Unless we can acquire a couple of solid replacements we gotta hope/risk that he can turn it around and find his game.
ShaneFalco
Registered User
It's a head-scratcher for sure. 7 year deal with a NTC after a year in the league. Can still work ok if he finds his game again, or could be a terrible contract
Even if we do end up wanting to trade him, which will depend on how he does this coming season, I can pretty much tell you his NTC list right now:
Buffalo
Ottawa
Montreal
Vancouver
Edmonton
Calgary
Winnipeg
Colorado
Columbus
Minnesota
Either way, there will be teams that need D, even if he's bad enough that we want to trade him, that won't be on his NTC and would be willing to take the risk that he figures it out. What we might get back is another question, but wanting to move him now, when he could still become a reliable piece, to get ahead of his limited NTC makes no sense.
AppsSyl
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- May 28, 2015
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Lol.
His NTC doesn't kick in until after this season, and even then it is only a 10 team no trade list. People here are acting like it is a full NMC.
He had a lot to deal with last season, and people here have turned on him pretty hard after a good 1st season. I think he is more likely to return to his 2016-17 form than his 2017-18. He also had some of the toughest usage in the league.
He also had no PP time last year and had 2nd PP unit time the year before.
Lets give the guy a chance.
srnd9399
Registered User
I agree. Not ready to write him off just yet. Assuming he is healthy/in shape at start of season, I think we'll see an improvement over last. We had forwards not contributing in their own end and just got rid of a few of them. I feel our offense has improved from a defensive standpoint, so this season we should be able to see more clearly who isn't going to cut it.
Hoping for another record breaking season for our team!
1specter
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- Sep 27, 2016
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Why is it Tiny? He broke his foot and lost strength/mobility, then got the flu and lost like 10 lbs. I don't understand how people overlook those things. He also looked a lot better in the playoffs and had good stats.
AppsSyl
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He also became a new dad. People who don't have kids, don't realize how that messes with your sleep and routine, and with his injury plagued season, it would have been that much more difficult for him. Hockey players are creatures of habit, having gameday naps and meals at certain times, and if his sleep is dramatically altered with a newborn in the house, it would probably effect him and the amount of energy and focus he has.
nuck
Schrodingers Cat
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This years WC showed he still has an A game and that he probably shouldn't be cast as the stay at home partner for a rushing defenseman. I am not sure they have much choice there unless Gards is moved for more defensive RD and then they run Hainsey - Zaitsev while they wait for Dermott to ripen a bit more.
Gary Nylund
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- Oct 10, 2013
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Exactly this. I've seen this same BS here over the last few years - "ship him out for a bag of pucks", "fire him into the sun". Among others it's been said about Kadri, Gardiner and now Zaitsev. It's all well and good not to like a player but someone has to go out there and play.
Notsince67
Papi and the Lamplighters
- Apr 27, 2018
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I disagree. Even the advanced stats point to a style change where possession was a secondary consideration
CF% dropped considerably
His blocked shot went up considerably per game
Shots attempted went way down per game
Defensive zone starts went from 52.3 to 61.9.
Either his injury was limiting his mobility in the 60 games he played or Babcock is trying to change the nature of his game to be more defensive, of which he is failing. This could be a short term development move to more quickly adapt him to smaller ice after a lifetime on the big ice...I don't know.
We will see next year. What is clear is that he has to be a top 4 D to justify his salary on this team.
I still like this deal, I think by the end of it I think we'll be happy we locked him in long term for cheap.
Jmo89
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- Mar 21, 2010
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Obviously it depends on someone's personality, but if he's a worrier (like me) the first year of having a child can be pretty nerve-wracking as well. I know I worried a ton for both my daughter and my wife; I still do, but especially that first year. We also don't know the personal side of these players lives. Maybe his child was sick alot, maybe his wife had post-partum, etc. Hockey players are still human and still feel stresses at home.
Im not penciling him into the top pair or anything, but I definitely think he has a good chance to improve this upcoming season with both his health being better and child being a year older.
