The Out of Town Thread CVIII - Free Agency Edition

[RealityBytes]

If they are there for transition and build the structure it's fine but anything over 3 years will be too much imo. Even 3 years is stretching it.

There is a lot of smart hockey minds there and they are the pros, but it's not an overnight process. The Leafs are rebuilding their entire organization, not just going for one run at a cup. Time will tell, but the changes they have made, including those to their minor teams, their scouting, and so on, sure look positive. They have tons of money and are using some of it.

It's like watching a giant sloth turn into a giant dragon.

 

[Whitesnake]

Didn't want Lemaire anyway. AT one point, people thought Lamoriello would just retire...now he's the DG of the League and he's the second coming? In the end, yep, it does give the Leafs more professionnalism. But it still means nothing as far as putting something on the ice. And while I would take Babcock on my team any day of the week....he is not perfect either. More respectability....but that could mean nothing when all is said and done. But since they can't do a whole lot as far as putting some great players on the ice....they are putting some great people in the stands. Fine.

 

[Whitesnake]

Ilya Nikulin interested in coming in NA? Would love it. Always thought Nikulin was extremely solid defensive d-man. Incredibly reliable....players would just go as far as they could from him as he'd always block them or get the puck away from them. Not incredibly physical, but good first pass. But just plain great defensively.

 

[Sterling Archer]

Looks like Toronto has better coaches than players these days. It'll be interesting to see the results of that.

Would have liked him on the Habs to help MT out considering he could use the help and experience.

 

[cajmonkey]

You write this:

It's not the same thing and they don't send the same message. There is a very huge difference between a guy that punch a taxi driver and a other that get filmed punching his wife. Our society doesn't have a problem with violence against taxi driver.

And then these:

Every major sports need to have policy about violence made by their players toward women.


But they need to send the message to every men, that if you get into a sexual/conjugal violence investigation this will be taken seriously.

Really?

You state that we don't care about a man punching another man, we do care about a man punching a woman, so in your opinion, the logical step is to reinforce the already accepted notion that punching a woman is bad? Really?

Shouldn't we be working on changing the perception concerning violence by men against other men?

Let's face it, major sports always were bad for the image of women. They used them as sexy sides for the males athletes. And it needs to change.

"Sports" didn't do anything. Attractive women choose to be with successful men, and somehow "sports" is at fault? That makes no sense whatsoever.

If you're speaking of attractive women being used as a marketing tool, well, again, sports didn't do that either.

Of course, you need a trial. Accusations need to be proved, I know.



Yes, the guy can be innocent. If it happen, his reputation will be restore. You don't have to worry. Every medias will jump on that case to support the poor man that was attack by the mean girl.

I think you're underestimating the stigma of being labelled a rapist.

 

[19VJ17]

There is a lot of smart hockey minds there and they are the pros, but it's not an overnight process. The Leafs are rebuilding their entire organization, not just going for one run at a cup. Time will tell, but the changes they have made, including those to their minor teams, their scouting, and so on, sure look positive. They have tons of money and are using some of it.

It's like watching a giant sloth turn into a giant dragon.

It might look positive but IMHO it could easily turn into a gong show.
The 6 headed dragon addition
Shanny-Dubas-Hunter-Lou-Lemaire and Babcock.
Babcock is going to ice a team that will be competive, hard working so I don't think they will be a last place club like the Edm was. That will derail them getting top 3 picks IHMO.
This reminds me of the NYR signing all the top free agents for years. How did that work out for them?
As always it should be a interesting year in Tor.

 

[VirginiaMtlExpat]

Looks like Toronto has better coaches than players these days. It'll be interesting to see the results of that.

Would have liked him on the Habs to help MT out considering he could use the help and experience.

It also has better coaches than Montreal has. We could use an upgrade, even if just an assistant. If the Habs sputter despite the strength of their on-ice talent, while Toronto surprises despite trading away its most explosive player, this difference will become glaring.

 

[RealityBytes]

It might look positive but IMHO it could easily turn into a gong show.
The 6 headed dragon addition
Shanny-Dubas-Hunter-Lou-Lemaire and Babcock.
Babcock is going to ice a team that will be competive, hard working so I don't think they will be a last place club like the Edm was. That will derail them getting top 3 picks IHMO.
This reminds me of the NYR signing all the top free agents for years. How did that work out for them?
As always it should be a interesting year in Tor.

As I said before, this is not even close to what the Rangers did, the Leafs are rebuilding their organization, not just going for one shot at a cup, nor just going for a top three pick.

Aside from everything else, if you ever read the items that were written about the Indiana Pacers a few years ago and the dread of a treadmill team in sports, even if the Leafs are only barely partly successful it still re-energizes and draws to their fan base to see change like this. Dynamic change from even a bottom team draws more energy and fans than a team that runs the treadmill hard but gets nowhere every year and just gets boring to its fans.

It's an entertainment business to make money and whatever works to get fans, works.

 

[Adriatic]

It's great what the Leafs are doing. Those are very solid hirings and it's all people that will mesh and work well together. Shanahan knows Babcock very well, Babcock is in love with Lemaire, Lamoriello and Lemaire are like 2 peas in a pod. On paper this is a dream team.

 

[Andy]

It's great what the Leafs are doing. Those are very solid hirings and it's all people that will mesh and work well together. Shanahan knows Babcock very well, Babcock is in love with Lemaire, Lamoriello and Lemaire are like 2 peas in a pod. On paper this is a dream team.

Yeah, it's a pretty strong management and coaching group. The fans and media in Toronto just need to be patient and wait for the cupboard to fill and develop. I have no doubt that Babcock, Shanahan, Dubas, Lamoriello and Lemaire know that this is a long-term fix. This is a great staff to right the ship with, no doubt.

 

[Sterling Archer]

It also has better coaches than Montreal has. We could use an upgrade, even if just an assistant. If the Habs sputter despite the strength of their on-ice talent, while Toronto surprises despite trading away its most explosive player, this difference will become glaring.

Coaching isn't even a close IMO but neither is the manpower on the ice. At the end of the day it's the players who play on the ice so I wouldn't be betting any money on Toronto out playing Montreal anytime soon. If they do, you're 100% right that the coaching will be under all the pressure.

 

[19VJ17]

Anyone got any information on the NCAA prospect free agent Robbie Russo.
Should MTL be interested in signing him?

 

[Bergevillain]

Anyone got any information on the NCAA prospect free agent Robbie Russo.
Should MTL be interested in signing him?

Defenseman? Bergevin is interested.

 

[mpp9]

So how'd Gonchar look last season? Can he be passable on a bottom pairing at ES and help run a PP still?

 

[FlyingKostitsyn]

So how'd Gonchar look last season? Can he be passable on a bottom pairing at ES and help run a PP still?

Well he's getting old obviously. but in a diminished role he wasn't a liability and can still help the PP, I was pissed he wasn't used in the playoffs since he would have been useful.

 

[Brainiac]

More importantly too many outdated and out of touch chiefs.

Lemaire and Lou have not been great for the Devils lately don't see why they should do any better in Toronto.

Agreed 100%.

In strategy games, it doesn't help much to play the game in consultation.

Of course, in hockey, it helps to consult other guys on your moves. But the Leafs' staff I get the feeling they'll start going in all kind of directions with no clear plan in mind.

 

[Hope Of Glory]

So how'd Gonchar look last season? Can he be passable on a bottom pairing at ES and help run a PP still?

Pre-injury, he looked great honestly. Was much more solid than anticipated when we got him for Moen. Was a good #4-5, even. But after his injury, he looked like he lost a step. Anyway, seems like a great guy to have around the youngsters. Beaulieu said he helped a lot in his progression.

 

[19VJ17]

Defenseman? Bergevin is interested.

haha very true.
Just read this about Russo:
Russo is a very solid puck mover from the back end and is not afraid to use his body. He is also a great leader and a very hard worker. Forced to sit out the second half of the college season in 2013-14 season at Notre Dame due to academic issues, Russo appeared to use the time away as a wake up call. The former USA U18 team captain added bulk entering his senior season and according to Fighting Irish head coach Jeff Jackson "has learned to be better defensively (and is) a complete defenseman

 

[donghabs98]

So how'd Gonchar look last season? Can he be passable on a bottom pairing at ES and help run a PP still?

He looked pretty good early on surprising many including myself on how effective he was on the 2nd pairing. Power play wise he still has a big shot and can move the puck. As the season wore on particularly after he was hit from behind by Clarkson his age started to show. Gonchar should suit well in a 5-6 role. The big thing about Gonchar is he is a good mentor for young defenseman. He did wonders for Beaulieu.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

He looked pretty good early on surprising many including myself on how effective he was on the 2nd pairing. Power play wise he still has a big shot and can move the puck. As the season wore on particularly after he was hit from behind by Clarkson his age started to show. Gonchar should suit well in a 5-6 role. The big thing about Gonchar is he is a good mentor for young defenseman. He did wonders for Beaulieu.

Yep, he deserves a lot of credit for that. Put him with a young guy on the third pairing and he can still have some use, so long as you give him a few games off here and there.

 

[Non Player Canadiens]

You state that we don't care about a man punching another man, we do care about a man punching a woman, so in your opinion, the logical step is to reinforce the already accepted notion that punching a woman is bad? Really?

Shouldn't we be working on changing the perception concerning violence by men against other men?

Sorry to jump in here, but no, we shouldn't care as much. One is way more of a problem than the other.

 

[mpp9]

He looked pretty good early on surprising many including myself on how effective he was on the 2nd pairing. Power play wise he still has a big shot and can move the puck. As the season wore on particularly after he was hit from behind by Clarkson his age started to show. Gonchar should suit well in a 5-6 role. The big thing about Gonchar is he is a good mentor for young defenseman. He did wonders for Beaulieu.

Sounds good to me. Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

[Hackett]

So how'd Gonchar look last season? Can he be passable on a bottom pairing at ES and help run a PP still?

Its hard to say. Gonchar held up better than expected, and got 2nd pairing minutes for a stretch, and didn't look out of place. However, after a late season hit from behind by Clarkson, gonchar missed a chunk of games, and never really looked the same. At the end, he was nothing more than a spare part.

As for the PP, he still has the smarts to be an option, but I would not rely on him, neither do you have to have him run the PP with letang in the mix. One thing that he has certainly lost is his ability to maintain the zone. PKers should be targeting his side to shoot pucks out of the zone. That was one aspect of gonchar's game that I found impressive in his younger days.

 

[googlymoogly]

Its hard to say. Gonchar held up better than expected, and got 2nd pairing minutes for a stretch, and didn't look out of place. However, after a late season hit from behind by Clarkson, gonchar missed a chunk of games, and never really looked the same. At the end, he was nothing more than a spare part.

As for the PP, he still has the smarts to be an option, but I would not rely on him, neither do you have to have him run the PP with letang in the mix. One thing that he has certainly lost is his ability to maintain the zone. PKers should be targeting his side to shoot pucks out of the zone. That was one aspect of gonchar's game that I found impressive in his younger days.

For awhile the Gonchar-Beaulieu pairing were impressive until his injury.

 

[Hackett]

For awhile the Gonchar-Beaulieu pairing were impressive until his injury.

Yeah, so the question is... Did he lose something after that injury? At that age, you are more likely to be one injury away from retirement.

Or was it just a matter of gonchar needing more time to get his rythym back? Sometimes, older players just need more time.

I can't decide one way or the other.