The old 1C, 1D, 1G analysis (hint: We're a long ways off)

[ponder]

The way I see it:

1C
I think Nylander has the potential to be a good 1C, though time will tell if he's:
a) A centre at all (at the NHL level)
b) Good enough to be a good 1C

My guess is that Kadri will be a good 2C at his peak, but I don't think him being a good 1C is completely impossible, just a bit unlikely.

1D
Phaneuf is a low end 1D, definitely not a great one, but passable. I'm confident Rielly will mature into a top pairing dman, but "good 1D" is up in the air, could go either way.

1G
I personally think Bernier is a good starting goalie, and I think he will remain that way for quite a long time.


So, I see us being fairly set in goal, but 1C and 1D are more in the "wait a few years, see how the young guys develop" range. At least we have young players who have decent shots to fill these roles in the future, though.

 

[Super Mega]

Have people already given up on Rielly? He's still going to be a 1D imo.

yep and rehashing past trades with 100% hindsight

everyone is an expert GM didnt you know?

 

[666]

#1C: Seguin
#1D: Hamilton
#1G: Rask

Do you mean the $7M .919 svp Rask that fell apart when Chara was injured?

Just wait until Chara retires and you'll see how good Rask really is. Good teams always over pay their goalies but in the cap world it will hurt them.

 

[Ricky Bobby]

The way I see it:

1C
I think Nylander has the potential to be a good 1C, though time will tell if he's:
a) A centre at all (at the NHL level)
b) Good enough to be a good 1C

My guess is that Kadri will be a good 2C at his peak, but I don't think him being a good 1C is completely impossible, just a bit unlikely.

1D
Phaneuf is a low end 1D, definitely not a great one, but passable. I'm confident Rielly will mature into a top pairing dman, but "good 1D" is up in the air, could go either way.

1G
I personally think Bernier is a good starting goalie, and I think he will remain that way for quite a long time.


So, I see us being fairly set in goal, but 1C and 1D are more in the "wait a few years, see how the young guys develop" range. At least we have young players who have decent shots to fill these roles in the future, though.

I agree with this.

Add in a top pick 10 potentially even top 5 pick this year into the equation and a handful of youngsters in Leivo, Nylander, Percy, Brown, Finn that much closer to NHL roles and things start to look a little better.

Getting some youngsters in should hopefully lead to some extra capspace to dedicate to another top player in a year or two as youngsters start to grab some spots and we start dealing out some guys paid premium wages namely Lupul + Bozak. Moving Clarkson is a pipedream and we need to just ride out his contract to minimize the damage before we inevitably buy him out or deal an asset to get rid of him.

Adding in Rielly, Nylander + top pick this year (+ likely a bunch of other picks at the deadline) will simply take a few years to pay off. We aren't as bad off in the long term as some think (as long as management doesn't get shortsighted again).

 

[Bomber0104]

There's no set time frame for a rebuild. Depth pieces are irrelevant. What matters is winning - and getting the pieces necessary to create a team that has the potential to make the playoffs ever year with the ceiling to surpass that - that's how you win. Aim high.

It's pretty simple really:

1C
1G
1D

You need that to even be a playoff team every year nowadays, let alone be a contender.

God bless Kadri's heart but his ceiling is a decent 2C at his absolute peak. Right now he is a very average to below average 2C. And then you have to account for style of game - personally you need two-way players at 1/2C and for me, Kadri is just not a core winning piece. He doesn't figure into future plans, upgrade him along the way. He's a poor-man's Ribeiro.

Nylander, until he proves otherwise, is and will be a winger. He could be a slightly better Kessel in the far off future, but 1C? LOL no. I wouldn't plan on it.

Reilly? He may turn out to be a 2D someday, certainly a 3-4. I don't know if he'll ever be a 1D because he doesn't have the size to lead your PK unit.

Bernier/Bibeau - Are they current/future .925+ goalies? Because that's what it takes to go deep in the playoffs. Goalies keep getting better and now it seems like you need .930 to be considered elite, or .920 if you even want a chance.

The Leafs will be NOTHING for a LONG time to come unless they get their 1C real soon, and Leafs ownership deserves every awful thing that comes their way.

A few statements of fact....

A case can be made that the Leafs already have a #1 goalie.

There is absolutely no case that the Leafs have a #1 centre or defender on their roster or in the prospect pool.

Having a #1 centreman and #1 defenceman on your 23 man roster can mask a sub-par #1 goalie's ability

The Leafs have capped themselves out without managing to materialize either a #1 centreman or defenceman

With all this in mind, 100% organizational priority should be placed on acquiring one or both of these pieces in the short and long-term.

There can be no case made that doesn't involve liquidating this roster in order to achieve those goals.

This team is in no position to be anywhere near a salary cap when the most fundamental roster pieces are absent.

 

[Ricky Bobby]

A few statements of fact....

A case can be made that the Leafs already have a #1 goalie.

There is absolutely no case that the Leafs have a #1 centre or defender on their roster or in the prospect pool.

Having a #1 centreman and #1 defenceman on your 23 man roster can mask a sub-par #1 goalie's ability

The Leafs have capped themselves out without managing to materialize either a #1 centreman or defenceman

With all this in mind, 100% organizational priority should be placed on acquiring one or both of these pieces in the short and long-term.

There can be no case made that doesn't involve liquidating this roster in order to achieve those goals.

This team is in no position to be anywhere near a salary cap when the most fundamental roster pieces are absent.

Dion is a # 1 just not Norris level # 1.

He plays among the toughest minutes in the league. Show me any other # 1 Dman and I'll show you a better partner he has got to play with instead of Holzer, Kostka, vastly overrated Gunnarson and now Franson. A lot of # 1 probably also gets easier minutes with offensive starts, etc +have a better forward group to support especially down the middle. Rielly has potential to be a # 1 but at the very least he should become a good # 2.

Kadri + Nylander both have mid to low end # 1 potential at this point.

We also will be adding in another top pick this year.

As far as capspace I fully agree. Lupul + Bozak need to be replaced with guys like Nylander, Holland, etc over the next season or two. Clarkson is a deadweight contract that we simply need to minimize the damage before we eventually buy him out. No need to do it now though to just waste the money somewhere.

Guys like Percy + Rielly will hopefully make it so we don't pay Franson a big paycheque. They should also allow us to deal Gardiner in the next year or so because of our left D depth that can bring offence in Phaneuf, Rielly, Percy, Finn.

 

[Bomber0104]

Dion is a # 1 just not Norris level # 1.

He plays among the toughest minutes in the league. Show me any other # 1 Dman and I'll show you a better partner he has got to play with instead of Holzer, Kostka, vastly overrated Gunnarson and now Franson. A lot of # 1 probably also gets easier minutes with offensive starts, etc +have a better forward group to support especially down the middle. Rielly has potential to be a # 1 but at the very least he should become a good # 2.

Kadri + Nylander both have mid to low end # 1 potential at this point.

We also will be adding in another top pick this year.

As far as capspace I fully agree. Lupul + Bozak need to be replaced with guys like Nylander, Holland, etc over the next season or two. Clarkson is a deadweight contract that we simply need to minimize the damage before we eventually buy him out. No need to do it now though to just waste the money somewhere.

Guys like Percy + Rielly will hopefully make it so we don't pay Franson a big paycheque. They should also allow us to deal Gardiner in the next year or so because of our left D depth that can bring offence in Phaneuf, Rielly, Percy, Finn.

Too much wishful thinking. Too many assumption. And too many compromises.

Sorry.

It's great you like hamburger.

But I prefer prime rib.