Question about JML...

[Rockmorton]

Hi all.

Flames fan here, hoping to get some info on John Michael-Liles.

With our captain and #1 D man down for a stretch, there is talk on some Flames boards about acquiring a replacement. One if the names kicked around is Liles.

Some have strong opinions on his game, I'm curious about the Leafs fans perspective?

Is he caught in a numbers game? Has his game fallen off a cliff? Is he a decent defenceman on a lousy contract? I haven't seen him play since he was with the Avs, where he was a top pairing guy with decent offensive chops. What's changed? Any insight would be appreciated.

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[WHLfollower]

Hi all.

Flames fan here, hoping to get some info on John Michael-Liles.

With our captain and #1 D man down for a stretch, there is talk on some Flames boards about acquiring a replacement. One if the names kicked around is Liles.

Some have strong opinions on his game, I'm curious about the Leafs fans perspective?

Is he caught in a numbers game? Has his game fallen off a cliff? Is he a decent defenceman on a lousy contract? I haven't seen him play since he was with the Avs, where he was a top pairing guy with decent offensive chops. What's changed? Any insight would be appreciated.

He is a decent left hand d-man, defensive minded slightly on the smaller size, Quick feet, and average hands. The BIGGEST problem his contract it was decent at best when had a larger cap and now the cap is reduced that contract becomes a burden. I would love to ship him off at a discount of 40% which close to 1.5 mil (leafs keeps on their books) of his contract a year and get back a 2nd draft pick or a two 3rds if we are lucky.

 

[glasses91]

Def. numbers game...

He should be playing in the NHL.

It's crazy no teams have picked him up. It's just a bad contract I guess..

 

[MuchoMacho]

He had a concussion and fell down the depth chart. I'd say he's pretty close to have recovered but hasn't earned his spot back because the Leafs have a lot of PMD's, and LHD that are younger then him and took his spot on the roster. I think if he was traded to a team that could use him, his contract would be a non-issue and he'd be able to produce on a regular basis. I think the Leafs would be willing to trade him for very little return, as long as it wasn't salary coming back or the Leafs retaining salary.

 

[Pinto]

Numbers game. The guy is an NHL defenceman no doubt about it.

 

[IWD]

Hi all.

Flames fan here, hoping to get some info on John Michael-Liles.

With our captain and #1 D man down for a stretch, there is talk on some Flames boards about acquiring a replacement. One if the names kicked around is Liles.

Some have strong opinions on his game, I'm curious about the Leafs fans perspective?

Is he caught in a numbers game? Has his game fallen off a cliff? Is he a decent defenceman on a lousy contract? I haven't seen him play since he was with the Avs, where he was a top pairing guy with decent offensive chops. What's changed? Any insight would be appreciated.

He's a solid 4-6 powerplay specialist/puck mover who, really, just got caught up in the numbers game. Great teammate, but he eventually just became too expensive for our cap. Franson is probably the guy who took over his role because he can slot into the 3-5 PP specialist range, put up similar numbers and throw his 6'5 frame around. He didn't have the youth or potential of Gardiner/Rielly, nor the physical game of Fraser, and we needed the cap space.

He's good with positioning, but let's call a spade a spade. He's a 5'10 puckmoving defenseman, so he's really just limited by his size and age. Another three inches and 20lbs, and his skillset would likely have him in the top 3 on a lot of teams.

 

[Glenn Isildur Healy]

After JML got a concussion, his play suffered big time. I still think he is a great #5-6 guy who can play on the PP and should be on some NHL team

Mind you, beyond his actual play and contract, we also have a ton of offensive defensemen (Phaneuf, Rielly, Gardiner, Franson)

I wouldn't mind trading Liles with any prospect not named Finn, Percy, Leivo, Gauthier for a pure cap dump

 

[sommervr]

Liles had been playing great in the AHL as well.

 

[Frelimo]

He's not one of our top 7 D and was cut. He wasn't really sent down for cap reasons as others on here have said. If he beat out Ranger (for example), they could keep JML and send down Ranger and there'd be no difference on the cap.

That said, he's still NHL caliber, we just have better options with more upside to fill his specific role.

 

[Joey Hoser]

He's capable of playing top 4 minutes and running a powerplay. People strongly overstate the dropoff of his play after the concussion. His contract isn't even that bad. If JML at 3.75 is the worst contract on your team, then you don't have any really bad contracts.

He was just redudant on the Leafs, with Phaneuf, Franson, Gardiner and Rielly being more important cogs in terms of offence from the defence.

 

[Atomos2]

He's a solid 4-6 powerplay specialist/puck mover who, really, just got caught up in the numbers game. Great teammate, but he eventually just became too expensive for our cap. Franson is probably the guy who took over his role because he can slot into the 3-5 PP specialist range, put up similar numbers and throw his 6'5 frame around. He didn't have the youth or potential of Gardiner/Rielly, nor the physical game of Fraser, and we needed the cap space.

He's good with positioning, but let's call a spade a spade. He's a 5'10 puckmoving defenseman, so he's really just limited by his size and age. Another three inches and 20lbs, and his skillset would likely have him in the top 3 on a lot of teams.

This. Basically, the only reason he's not desirable for this team is because of his contract and the fact that we have 4 capable offensive dman with better physical tools(including age). I still think he's capable of playing 20 mins a night, but he's prolly better for the 4-6 pp specialist role like described above. Can also provide a little more veteran leadership too.

 

[Kessely Snipes]

I think he was definatley lost in the shuffle. He is a NHL dman, although overpaid. If the Flames really wanted him I bet the Leafs would retain some salary.

 

[The CyNick]

not a horrible player, but horrible contact. I wouldn't pick him up if I were the Flames

 

[pucci2001]

Hi all.

Flames fan here, hoping to get some info on John Michael-Liles.

With our captain and #1 D man down for a stretch, there is talk on some Flames boards about acquiring a replacement. One if the names kicked around is Liles.

Some have strong opinions on his game, I'm curious about the Leafs fans perspective?

Is he caught in a numbers game? Has his game fallen off a cliff? Is he a decent defenceman on a lousy contract? I haven't seen him play since he was with the Avs, where he was a top pairing guy with decent offensive chops. What's changed? Any insight would be appreciated.

Definitely just pushed out due to the amount of Dmen we have and the fact his contract is one of the larger ones though I do think it is semi reasonable salary, its not an albatross by any means.

Personally I think he is a good vocal guy in the room and he is a good offensive minded dman, a bit undersized, he can make plays in his own end but he isn't known for them but he isnt a liability back there. With a guy like him forwards might have to adapt to covering him if he pinches or rushes if not he will look awful. Easily NHL caliber dman, on and off the ice.

He hasn't said a peep to the media about being sent down, Leaf fans dont usually speak ill of him either like our old LACK group(Lombardi, Armstrong, Connolly, Komisarek) that should speak volumes since usually leaf fans are *****ing about something lol. Honestly as a leaf fan some games I would prefer him over Ranger but I just really think the leafs are trying to force Ranger to succeed so they can save the cap space and have another defensive minded guy back there since we have a huge amount of offensive minded dmen such as Rielly, Gardiner, Dion, Franson.

Sorry it is a bit long winded but yeah, all in all he is a decent pick up for anywhere on the 2nd/3rd pairing and on the PP he has the ability to shine. Hope this helped, we will take Monahan for him

 

[Ricky Bobby]

He really should be in the NHL and for a team like the Flames/Sabres he'd make sense as a stop gap who's known as a very solid professional in the dressing room.

Yes, he's overpaid but losing teams would have to overpay/over term any half decent free agent to play for them so to rebuilding his contract isn't as bad.

 

[jmart21]

He's certainly still an NHL dman. He's just caught in a numbers game that's driven by his salary and the fact he's not really a typical RC player.

Would certainly do well in a place like Calgary; no doubt in my mind.

 

[7even]

not a horrible player, but horrible contact. I wouldn't pick him up if I were the Flames

Flames have like $12M in cap space. Adding JML for 4 would be like nothing, especially given that his contract expires when Monahan's ELC does, which is pretty much the only cap pressure the Flames should be worried about.

 

[SprDaVE]

Definitely NHL caliber. I think he's a solid #5 guy but doesn't look out of place in a top 4 position.

He's a solid skater with good offensive instincts and skill. Really good veteran on and off the ice, always doing charity work and you only hear great things about him. He's soft along the boards though and isn't the best in terms of positioning defensively.

If it wasn't for Gardiner exploding on the scene and Rielly playing so well, he'd definitely be playing with the Leafs. It's a numbers (both roster and cap) game for sure.

I always thought he'd look good in Calgary. Leafs can retain 50% of his salary and likely won't ask for much back. He would fit into a high tempo style of hockey the Flames appear to be playing. With Giordano gone for awhile, I think your Flames would be wise to get him while his value is very low.

 

[hotpaws]

small-soft-weak defensively

he can still be useful in a limited role as a pmd and on the pp

Nonis would eat some contract and need nothing back so just tell the Burkester to make a call and take his mistake off our hands

 

[Patience]

NHL level talent who is overpaid and fading. No one is taking a chance on him without shedding another unwanted contract.

 

[firstemperor]

He was our PP QB when he was healthy pre-concussion. Did a good job at it too, he's not overly imposing because he's small but he's good at carrying the puck out of the zone, etc.

He's definitely an NHL d-man but we already have too many young PMD and his size/grit is an issue relative to what others on the team bring. He would be a good PMD still but he's overshadowed here. If he was younger or bigger, he'd be on top 4 even with his existing contract.

The main problem is his contract and his redundantness- due to the fact he provides no size, grit, and we already have enough PMD.

Flames can have him for free if they eat a portion of his cap. Strictly speaking, I think he would look good on Calgary but I can see why people are weary of eating his cap hit straight up (because he is overpaid).

 

[SprDaVE]

He was our PP QB when he was healthy pre-concussion. Did a good job at it too, he's not overly imposing because he's small but he's good at carrying the puck out of the zone, etc.

He's definitely an NHL d-man but we already have too many young PMD and his size/grit is an issue relative to what others on the team bring. He would be a good PMD still but he's overshadowed here. If he was younger or bigger, he'd be on top 4 even with his existing contract.

The main problem is his contract and his redundantness- due to the fact he provides no size, grit, and we already have enough PMD.

Flames can have him for free if they eat a portion of his cap. Strictly speaking, I think he would look good on Calgary but I can see why people are weary of eating his cap hit straight up (because he is overpaid).

Agreed on all fronts.

 

[Dangles McGavin]

He should be playing over Ranger.

 

[Duke Silver]

His contract was never that bad in the first place, and becomes even more appealing once the Leafs retain 25-50% of it.

 

[member 147413]

He's a number 1 dman stuck behind 7 elite number 1 dmen.