Player Discussion Sam Lafferty

[andora]

I am thankful that he has cut the stupid stick penalties out of his game

 

[Ernie]

I don't get why people would want to trade away useful depth on a playoff team but I guess that's just me.

 

[Peen]

Give him the Benning special 4 x 3M

Roussel was actually a very good player when we signed him at 28 like Lafferty is now.

One knee injury and he goes from good 3rd liner to looking like a middle six AHLer in the aftermath.

Has to be 3 years or less for me

 

[Bitz and Bites]

I don’t get some of the takes on here. Lowball a valuable player because he doesn’t have “pedigree”? Trade him because he might want too much on his next contract? Let him walk with a plan to replace him with a guy who’s never played an NHL game?

Lafferty is a player who’s spent years honing his craft to become an all around good, versatile player who can thrive in a variety of different roles while bringing speed, tenacity, grit, and decent offence which are all things this team has been lacking for years. He’s found a really good fit here with his skill set playing under Tocchet’s system so hopefully he recognizes that and will want to stick around and sign a reasonable contract in exchange for some longer term stability. I’d be looking to sign him on a 3 or 4 year deal which would take him through most of his prime years while the team is in in its competitive window.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

I don’t get some of the takes on here. Lowball a valuable player because he doesn’t have “pedigree”? Trade him because he might want too much on his next contract? Let him walk with a plan to replace him with a guy who’s never played an NHL game?

Lafferty is a player who’s spent years honing his craft to become an all around good, versatile player who can thrive in a variety of different roles while bringing speed, tenacity, grit, and decent offence which are all things this team has been lacking for years. He’s found a really good fit here with his skill set playing under Tocchet’s system so hopefully he recognizes that and will want to stick around and sign a reasonable contract in exchange for some longer term stability. I’d be looking to sign him on a 3 or 4 year deal which would take him through most of his prime years while the team is in in its competitive window.

Its because we are not in a position to overpay for 'certainty' if you can even call it that in Lafferty's case.

We need to find a Lafferty before he breaks out.

Also. Laff or Lane Pederson or Kuz (to a lesser extent) producing on EP40s wing should by now come with a massive asterix.

 

[Bitz and Bites]

Its because we are not in a position to overpay for 'certainty' if you can even call it that in Lafferty's case.

We need to find a Lafferty before he breaks out.

Also. Laff or Lane Pederson or Kuz (to a lesser extent) producing on EP40s wing should by now come with a massive asterix.

I don’t recall saying that we should overpay him. In fact, I just said that I hope he signs a reasonable contract in exchange for long term stability. What that number is going to be is up for debate and depends on how the rest of the season goes.
I think good teams should pay to retain players who prove to be a good fit with their system rather than trying to save a few nickels here and there by bringing in a new player like the Leafs did when they jettisoned Laff to sign Noah Gregor at a cap savings of what, 400K? I’ll bet they would happily reverse that if they could.

Sure, finding the next Lafferty is great in theory (and this management group has a good track record of bringing in guys who are able to contribute) but there are no guarantees that these will always work out and finding a guy who’s can do all that Lafferty can do is a big ask.

I get what you’re saying about the Pettersson effect, as of now you definitely want to pay Lafferty mainly based on his bottom six work as opposed to his scoring bump playing with a top player but if he continues to produce there then that’s another tool in his toolbox that will need to be adjusted for.
It’s not like it’s a bad problem to have when a player thrives in an expanded role except when you have too many inefficient contracts too make it work when it’s time to re-sign them. I think this management group is smart enough to keep space available for a player like Lafferty.

 

[F A N]

Roussel was actually a very good player when we signed him at 28 like Lafferty is now.

One knee injury and he goes from good 3rd liner to looking like a middle six AHLer in the aftermath.

Has to be 3 years or less for me

Agreed. I think 2-3 years sounds right.

 

[Siludin]

Same with this dude

 

[biturbo19]

I think an additional peripheral sort of factor if it comes down to making tough calls on which depth guys to retain, is just how much an apparent positive impact Lafferty has on Hoglander's effectiveness. Just from the eye test, but also browsing WoWy stats that confirm, shows an absolutely staggering GF% with those two together. That duo together is probably singlehandedly responsible for a big chunk of our exceptionally special PDO.

So you're not just getting a very good depth player who plays a direct, energetic game...you're also probably elevating Hoggy's game too. It's a bit of a 2-for-1 proposition.