New Line combos and roster thread

[Stephen]

One thing I'm kind of curious about their thought process with Kampf is why they didn't revisit Riley Nash at near league minimum, and then maybe give the savings on a little more to Jani Hakanpaa? I guess we'll see.

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[Menzinger]

One thing I'm kind of curious about their thought process with Kampf is why they didn't revisit Riley Nash at near league minimum, and then maybe give the savings on a little more to Jani Hakanpaa? I guess we'll see.

One difference that potentially stands out is icetime. Kampf has shown ability to handle more in line with 3rd line usage, Nash has basically been a 4th liner his whole career.

 

[Antropovsky]

One thing I'm kind of curious about their thought process with Kampf is why they didn't revisit Riley Nash at near league minimum, and then maybe give the savings on a little more to Jani Hakanpaa? I guess we'll see.

Maybe a shift from rental old guys to trying to find their own younger versions of the Foligno, Simmonds and Nash. The old versions have basically failed spectacularly up to this point.

 

[Mess]

One thing I'm kind of curious about their thought process with Kampf is why they didn't revisit Riley Nash at near league minimum, and then maybe give the savings on a little more to Jani Hakanpaa? I guess we'll see.

One thing I curious about is all these teams letting their own RFAs on cheaper contracts go without qualifying offers. .. Generally RFAs are controllable assets and if you don't want them you can trade them for returns.

Chicago had Kampf as he was coming off a 2 year @ $1 mil AAV deal that need a QO that would have paid him $1.5 mil.. They decided to release him instead of qualifying or trading him. Leafs signed him for his qualifying offer amount but on a 2 year deal instead of 1.

Boston had Ritchie @ $1.5 mil RFA and qualifying him at $2.0 ml and Kase at @ $2.6 mil RFA ... Kase I get because he spent 111 of 116 days on IR and a high injury risk. However Ritchie you would think had some asset value to the Bruins ... Leafs think both players have value to them now.

Leafs spent assets in terms of draft picks for Foligno and Nash and could have had them back for less AAV combined then other teams none qualified RFAs, so other than getting younger lets hope they also got better.

 

[nuck]

One thing I curious about is all these teams letting their own RFAs on cheaper contracts go without qualifying offers. .. Generally RFAs are controllable assets and if you don't want them you can trade them for returns.

Chicago had Kampf as he was coming off a 2 year @ $1 mil AAV deal that need a QO that would have paid him $1.5 mil.. They decided to release him instead of qualifying or trading him. Leafs signed him for his qualifying offer amount but on a 2 year deal instead of 1.

Boston had Ritchie @ $1.5 mil RFA and qualifying him at $2.0 ml and Kase at @ $2.6 mil RFA ... Kase I get because he spent 111 of 116 days on IR and a high injury risk. However Ritchie you would think had some asset value to the Bruins ... Leafs think both players have value to them now.

Leafs spent assets in terms of draft picks for Foligno and Nash and could have had them back for less AAV combined then other teams none qualified RFAs, so other than getting younger lets hope they also got better.

I imagine Boston just didn't like Ritchie's game that much. They paid a lot more than what he cost to add a character player like Foligno who is unlikely to match Ritchie's offense. Not a "Bruin" type guy I guess as they exposed him in the X draft. I would have assumed they tried to move him but other clubs didn't offer anything.

Kampf was coming off a 1 goal season, so again with tight rosters there would be little interest in spending an asset on him. I was surprised he was protected but Chicago had so little to offer they only lost a 25 year old minor league center (instead of Zadorov). The Hawks also let Pius Suter go, perhaps to make further bold moves in their 1 season rebuild. Will see how much Zadorov costs the Flames as it was mentioned before the expansion that Zad's expected contract might cause him to be available.

Both players have value but the question is, will it be more than they showed the last season on not? Keefe will be Ritchie's 5th NHL coach and the youngest by 15 years so maybe he can get more out of him than Cassidy. I don't think Kampf could repeat a 1 goal result if he tried, so he is actually less of a wildcard than the more productive Ritchie so long as he is optimally used.

 

[hockeynorth]

I imagine Boston just didn't like Ritchie's game that much. They paid a lot more than what he cost to add a character player like Foligno who is unlikely to match Ritchie's offense. Not a "Bruin" type guy I guess as they exposed him in the X draft. I would have assumed they tried to move him but other clubs didn't offer anything.

Kampf was coming off a 1 goal season, so again with tight rosters there would be little interest in spending an asset on him. I was surprised he was protected but Chicago had so little to offer they only lost a 25 year old minor league center (instead of Zadorov). The Hawks also let Pius Suter go, perhaps to make further bold moves in their 1 season rebuild. Will see how much Zadorov costs the Flames as it was mentioned before the expansion that Zad's expected contract might cause him to be available.

Both players have value but the question is, will it be more than they showed the last season on not? Keefe will be Ritchie's 5th NHL coach and the youngest by 15 years so maybe he can get more out of him than Cassidy. I don't think Kampf could repeat a 1 goal result if he tried, so he is actually less of a wildcard than the more productive Ritchie so long as he is optimally used.

This is a pretty good post, I'm just going to hit on a few points...

1. It was likely more of a cap thing, with them having wanted Krejci and Rask back they needed the money and Ritchie was a wildcard.
2. They probably hoped someone would trade an asset for him since he played like a 3C option before.
3. Cassidy is the first coach to get Ritchie to play like a top six option, if Keefe can get more out of him we have a significant piece.

 

[Coachcorner]

Yeah sire, lets continue to roll and the discussion bout the roster etc lineups here. The old one came through over 1000 messages.

Mess wrote:
"We have at least 1 new assistant coach coming in replacing Dave Hakstol who left for Seattle. Dean Chynoweth might be able to provide some input to struggling specialty teams because it doesn't seem via player personnel it was addressed and perhaps the loss of Hyman vs Kampf may have at best broken even.

Kampf 1 goal in 56 games is not going to scare the opposition into thinking he is going to run up many shorthanded goals and with the added toughness added more PK opportunities are likely to occur as a result.

I haven't heard anything about Malhotra departure, but him being in charge of a struggling PP as a defensive specialist seems like an odd assignment of duties. IMO"

Yes sire, it was Chynoweth in I forgot about that man for a second. Glad we have somebody new there.... no matter whom it was. It now comes to the moneyball move, we have to hope this guy has it and sights it right. I agree the malhotra pp sight and management putting him in these roles is dirt wrong..... Dubas has to check himself before he wreck himself. Malhotra is a faceoff specialt and like you stated out: a defensive specialist. He ain't understanding the powerplay world like you and I is. Interesting to see if he stands behind our bench at all when the first small black puck drops come season time.

 

[Racer88]

This is a pretty good post, I'm just going to hit on a few points...

1. It was likely more of a cap thing, with them having wanted Krejci and Rask back they needed the money and Ritchie was a wildcard.
2. They probably hoped someone would trade an asset for him since he played like a 3C option before.
3. Cassidy is the first coach to get Ritchie to play like a top six option, if Keefe can get more out of him we have a significant piece.

The concerning thing about this post is the Keefe element, he couldn’t even get 2 of his highest paid players engaged enough to close out Montreal

 

[nuck]

The concerning thing about this post is the Keefe element, he couldn’t even get 2 of his highest paid players engaged enough to close out Montreal

I had mentioned before Keefe has no experience coaching star talent at any level. Top 10 in the league millennial stars would be even more tricky. But players like Ritchie and the other FA adds should be much more in his comfort zone so I think they could do well under him. I actually am feeling pretty positive about them.

I expect we'll see early on this year what he has learned about his use of the big 4 and if he continues to load manage Willie and JT.

 

[Maple Leaf]

Agreed sire, we need to be real hard next year

 

[TheGroceryStick]

Do we have enough suckas on this team though sire?

 

[Coachcorner]

Do we have enough suckas on this team though sire?

Now I'm like bout that there sire. And seeing our squad... looking at our lineup, we certainly DO have enough suckas. You already knew. I'm thinking like ritchie and simmonds gon be suckas. They slow, but still slimy. They hit and fight, and weight a ton. Simmonds not a ton... but still that slimey key. Marner gon have to be better, and he will Tavares as our captain... mayne that guy gon KILL HARD for us next season. Y'all can BANK YO MONEY ON THAT THERE SIRE. Remember that.

Otha suckas is like kämph.... he ain't no scorer, but a pk killa. A solid dude, but not finna score anything. Ever. Mikheyev also can't score never, (like you already knew) as y'all is witnessed his game all season long. The man is fast like that gym product... but he ain't no scorer. We can't score-a-lot with our last two lines. So it'll be difficult season sire. Our Powerplay has to be top sharp. The best. If we want to dominate some games and move into to the playoffs. I am sure our D corps will be aaaaight, with our goalies, but our last two last will not score ice hockey goals. Never.

 

[jaric1862]

Now I'm like bout that there sire. And seeing our squad... looking at our lineup, we certainly DO have enough suckas. You already knew. I'm thinking like ritchie and simmonds gon be suckas. They slow, but still slimy. They hit and fight, and weight a ton. Simmonds not a ton... but still that slimey key. Marner gon have to be better, and he will Tavares as our captain... mayne that guy gon KILL HARD for us next season. Y'all can BANK YO MONEY ON THAT THERE SIRE. Remember that.

Otha suckas is like kämph.... he ain't no scorer, but a pk killa. A solid dude, but not finna score anything. Ever. Mikheyev also can't score never, (like you already knew) as y'all is witnessed his game all season long. The man is fast like that gym product... but he ain't no scorer. We can't score-a-lot with our last two lines. So it'll be difficult season sire. Our Powerplay has to be top sharp. The best. If we want to dominate some games and move into to the playoffs. I am sure our D corps will be aaaaight, with our goalies, but our last two last will not score ice hockey goals. Never.

How about one more thug for our back end?

 

[jaric1862]

One thing I'm kind of curious about their thought process with Kampf is why they didn't revisit Riley Nash at near league minimum, and then maybe give the savings on a little more to Jani Hakanpaa? I guess we'll see.

Hakanpaa is exactly what they need. I think Dallas really got a steal at 1.5...I could see him becoming the next Scott Mayfield.

 

[Bluelines]

Now I'm like bout that there sire. And seeing our squad... looking at our lineup, we certainly DO have enough suckas. You already knew. I'm thinking like ritchie and simmonds gon be suckas. They slow, but still slimy. They hit and fight, and weight a ton. Simmonds not a ton... but still that slimey key. Marner gon have to be better, and he will Tavares as our captain... mayne that guy gon KILL HARD for us next season. Y'all can BANK YO MONEY ON THAT THERE SIRE. Remember that.

Otha suckas is like kämph.... he ain't no scorer, but a pk killa. A solid dude, but not finna score anything. Ever. Mikheyev also can't score never, (like you already knew) as y'all is witnessed his game all season long. The man is fast like that gym product... but he ain't no scorer. We can't score-a-lot with our last two lines. So it'll be difficult season sire. Our Powerplay has to be top sharp. The best. If we want to dominate some games and move into to the playoffs. I am sure our D corps will be aaaaight, with our goalies, but our last two last will not score ice hockey goals. Never.

I feel like I added another language when I read your posts. I now speak English, French, a little Spanish and Jive?

 

[Coachcorner]

How about one more thug for our back end?

I'm like bout that sire.... but we ain't have that money/paper. Or the room. We might have to roll with the soft D this season... our forwards though, ritchie, bunting, simmonds and GABRIEL with mikayla demaiter will have to skate hard to own end and DEFEND jack and petr at all cost. They will fight, so we might not need a bogosian this season. Blocker wise... we ain't have that. We can't block shots enough. We ain't have that type of specialist others team have. Cause we ain't have the room.

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

I'm curious to see where Simmonds and Spezza end up in this roster. Imo we can build an optimal lineup without them.

Bunting-Matthews-Marner
Anderson-Tavares-Nylander
Ritchie-Kerfoot-Kase
Mikheyev-Engvall-Kampf (shutdown line)
Semyenov/Brooks/Maglin/Robertson

You have 16 forwards with most of them in what should be the most productive years of their careers. All of the LW's are pretty much interchangeable.

I love Spezza but I hope we don't lose any of the players above because of waivers.

 

[myleafs]

I feel like I added another language when I read your posts. I now speak English, French, a little Spanish and Jive?

Interesting. I just pass right on by those posts...I think he has some decent things to say but Im turned off by the style myself. I have a hard enough time with the english language let alone whatever that is that he is writing.

 

[myleafs]

I'm curious to see where Simmonds and Spezza end up in this roster. Imo we can build an optimal lineup without them.

Bunting-Matthews-Marner
Anderson-Tavares-Nylander
Ritchie-Kerfoot-Kase
Mikheyev-Engvall-Kampf (shutdown line)
Semyenov/Brooks/Maglin/Robertson

You have 16 forwards with most of them in what should be the most productive years of their careers. All of the LW's are pretty much interchangeable.

I love Spezza but I hope we don't lose any of the players above because of waivers.

Not a chance in hell those two don't suit up, especially Spezza. Why would you want Kampf and his 1 goal over Spezza?

 

[Mess]

How about one more thug for our back end?

Zach Bogosian 3rd pairing RHD hasn't been replaced from last years team.

 

[McSnypsky]

One difference that potentially stands out is icetime. Kampf has shown ability to handle more in line with 3rd line usage, Nash has basically been a 4th liner his whole career.

I really hope that Keefe has learned from the past and has a real 3rd line to line match with, better matchups make for more chances, also it could help reduce the TOI of the first two lines. I really hope this is they direction they are going with Kampf.

 

[Sypher04]

I had mentioned before Keefe has no experience coaching star talent at any level. Top 10 in the league millennial stars would be even more tricky. But players like Ritchie and the other FA adds should be much more in his comfort zone so I think they could do well under him. I actually am feeling pretty positive about them.

I expect we'll see early on this year what he has learned about his use of the big 4 and if he continues to load manage Willie and JT.

Them being millenials is completely irrelevant.

As for the bigger discussion around why these RFAs were let go without being qualified. Ritchie was most likely because of arbitration uncertainty, and Kase likely because of his injury history during his time in Boston. The fact that Foligno can play center, gives them some versatility positionally they need with Kreijci gone

 

[Sypher04]

I'm curious to see where Simmonds and Spezza end up in this roster. Imo we can build an optimal lineup without them.

Bunting-Matthews-Marner
Anderson-Tavares-Nylander
Ritchie-Kerfoot-Kase
Mikheyev-Engvall-Kampf (shutdown line)
Semyenov/Brooks/Maglin/Robertson

You have 16 forwards with most of them in what should be the most productive years of their careers. All of the LW's are pretty much interchangeable.

I love Spezza but I hope we don't lose any of the players above because of waivers.

Pretty sure Anderson won't be on this team. And also pretty sure he's waiver exempt. Spezza was excellent last year, he's without question on this roster. Simmonds I could see the argument either way, but he was really good preinjury last season, so I'd be inclined to pencil him in. Engvall is mediocre in all regards

 

[cannucky]

Zach Bogosian 3rd pairing RHD hasn't been replaced from last years team.

Agreed and we a really short on NHL quality D , I keep looking at how we gain on the back end and gain cap savings but theres very limited options . I wonder if Seattle is on Reilly's 10 team no go list ? The Fleury brothers could probably both be had for less than half his hit , a couple of young D one LD one RD some potential there , both over 205 lbs one 6'3" the other 6'1" , 23 and 25 years old might be worth a taking a shot , The older bigger brother is heading into the last year of his 1.3 million contract the younger is RFA .It beats losing Reilly for nothing and we are going to have to be creative to fill this team out .

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

Not a chance in hell those two don't suit up, especially Spezza. Why would you want Kampf and his 1 goal over Spezza?

I have no problem with Spezza in over Anderson or Engvall but Kampf has been one of the best defensive players in the league the last few seasons and a right shot C/W as well. He's playing.

I just think we could build a good enough bottom 6 all with defined roles without those two.

Love Spezza I just don't think the team needs him to be good.