Confirmed with Link: TOR acquires F Taylor Beck from NSH for F Jamie Devane (UPD: Signed - 1 year/875k)

[Turk Broda]

James van Riemsdyk - Nazem Kadri - PA Parenteay
Mark Arcobello - Shawn Matthias - Richard Panik
Daniel Winnik - Peter Holland - Taylor Beck
Leo Komarov - Nick Spaling - Sam Carrick

Morgan Rielly - Dion Phaneuf
Jake Gardiner - Roman Polak
Martin Marincin - Matt Hunwick
Stephane Robidas

Jonathan Bernier
James Reimer

No Lupul and Bozak? I hope you are right, but it seems like wishful thinking at this point.

 

[The Missing Piece]

I would find it hard to believe that any team's worst pro contract is a 2-way deal like Devane has.

Worst in terms of lowest chance to produce meaningfully at the NHL level. Not worst as in Clarkson.

 

[ACC1224]

I don't know much about Beck but wasn't Devane thought to be a key piece going forward?

 

[The Missing Piece]

I don't know much about Beck but wasn't Devane thought to be a key piece going forward?

Lol No.

 

[ACC1224]

Lol No.

Swore I read that.

 

[egd27]

You'd play those guys 4th line minutes on a bad team?

Based on some of the proposed line ups, the "4th" isn't that much less skilled than the 2nd or 3rd.

I think we may need to adjust our thinking about how minutes will be doled out this season.

 

[hobarth]

What is the benefit of bringing Nylander up next year?

He learns to play in the NHL, why does everyone suppose that the AHL is as good a learning environment as the NHL?

 

[HarrisonFord]

I don't know much about Beck but wasn't Devane thought to be a key piece going forward?

I thought he'd be our enforcer of the future at one point. He's an absolute monster, he can skate, and play a shift without being a complete liability. Seems like the new Leaf philosophy is if you're in our minor league system, you better project to be in the top 9

 

[Jack Bauer]

He learns to play in the NHL, why does everyone suppose that the AHL is as good a learning environment as the NHL?

Maybe because it's existence is to be the #1 learning environment for the NHL?

The players in that league are lacking something. Whether it be size, experience, play in a certain zone, 1 skill they really need improvement on, etc.

Think of it as going to Jr High on your way to High School. The absolute smartest and brightest kids might get to skip a grade or 2 on the way but the majority need some improvement in certain areas. Maybe for 1 kid it's Math and another it's English or Science.

There's no reason to rush a Nylander when we're trying to develop the best 21-25yr old Nylander that we can get.

 

[Turk Broda]

Our prospects will not be rushed into the NHL. Shanahan, Dubas, Babcock, and Hunter have all stated this. Marner returns to the OHL, Nylander continues to develop at the AHL. This is what is best for the future of this team. Finally we have a management group that gets this. Detroit has done it successfully for years.

 

[Pholus]

yea why not it's not going to hurt them and what about Richard clune ?

Clune doesn't have an NHL contract

 

[MacerV]

Based on some of the proposed line ups, the "4th" isn't that much less skilled than the 2nd or 3rd.

I think we may need to adjust our thinking about how minutes will be doled out this season.

Yeah 3 3rd lines. Yah us.

 

[diceman934]

I love how people keep referring to Detroit when talking about our prospects...when was the last top 10 draft pick that Detroit had....when you are drafting in the twenties you are not expecting your picks to come out of Jr and play in the NHL right away....these players take time.

The closer you pick towards the top of the draft the more skill you are drafting and the more ready for the NHL these players are.

I would hope that our management group understands that we can not rush players but as well understand that if the player is ready they are ready and do not allow a preconceived notion that a player must take a certain path.

 

[likeabosski]

Swore I read that, the posts was probably conveniently deleted.

Jamie Devane is the AHL version of Frazer McLaren. He's a goon.

John Scott recently signed with the Arizona Coyotes. So it seems like there is still some employment available for face puncher specialists in the NHL.

I still have yet to see evidence that goons actually protect their team mates. If you want to land a cheap shot on one of the other team's star players, there's nothing stopping you if one of the tough guys aren't playing on his line. I read Derek Boogaard's biography. And someone concussed one of Minnesota's star players in the playoffs. Derek Boogaard wasn't on the ice so he couldn't go after the guy. Or else he would have been given a 10 game suspension for leaving the bench to join a fight. It's stupid. This whole enforcer thing. Why doesn't the NHL just crack down on head shots, knee-on-knee hits and other cheap shots and let's be done with it? It's not good for NHL revenues for the league's star players like Sidney Crosby to be sidelined by post-concussion syndrome due to a hit to the head.

 

[Turk Broda]

I love how people keep referring to Detroit when talking about our prospects...when was the last top 10 draft pick that Detroit had....when you are drafting in the twenties you are not expecting your picks to come out of Jr and play in the NHL right away....these players take time.

The closer you pick towards the top of the draft the more skill you are drafting and the more ready for the NHL these players are.

I would hope that our management group understands that we can not rush players but as well understand that if the player is ready they are ready and do not allow a preconceived notion that a player must take a certain path.

That's not always the case. Drouin was drafted 3rd overall and did not make the jump to the NHL right away. There are countless other examples. I believe that management is of the belief that rushing a player into the NHL could cause greater damage to a players development, then being patient with a player and being certain that they are ready. Babcock said it himself, the NHL is not a development league. Detroit is a great example of a team that gets this. Babcock understands this. Connor McDavid is NHL ready, but these types of prospects are few and far between.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

That's not always the case. Drouin was drafted 3rd overall and did not make the jump to the NHL right away. There are countless other examples. I believe that management is of the belief that rushing a player into the NHL could cause greater damage to a players development, then being patient with a player and being certain that they are ready. Babcock said it himself, the NHL is not a development league. Detroit is a great example of a team that gets this. Babcock understands this. Connor McDavid is NHL ready, but these types of prospects are few and far between.

I think that the further a player is from the NHL, there is more risk associated to draft them and scouts will tend to rate them lower. I suspect that Tampa thought Drouin was NHL ready when they drafted him. Heck, maybe he actually is "NHL ready" but just can't crack enough minutes on Tampa's roster yet given other surprises in development. What a nice problem to have

 

[Rogie]

He learns to play in the NHL, why does everyone suppose that the AHL is as good a learning environment as the NHL?

Seems like a good point!

Calgary brought up Gaudreau and threw him to the wolves - and he succeeded!

Either he can play or he can't! What does it say to him if you keep in the minors when he's better than most of the players on the Leafs?? I think it says mgmt doesn't think you are as good as the player on the Leafs? Is that right?

People keep going on and on and on about the Wings and how they kept players in the minors for so long - as if they were developing them in the minors.

Didn't they keep players in the minors longer because they had better players on their team?

Also, doesn't a person develop MORE when playing against the highest level of competition available?

 

[diceman934]

That's not always the case. Drouin was drafted 3rd overall and did not make the jump to the NHL right away. There are countless other examples. I believe that management is of the belief that rushing a player into the NHL could cause greater damage to a players development, then being patient with a player and being certain that they are ready. Babcock said it himself, the NHL is not a development league. Detroit is a great example of a team that gets this. Babcock understands this. Connor McDavid is NHL ready, but these types of prospects are few and far between.

You naming an example of a player who was not ready does not change my opinion.....having a preconceived plan about a path of development for all prospects is stupid.....always the players should determine their readiness...their are not many players drafted each year that are ready for the NHL following their draft, but a year more of Jr and they are. The need to have all players follow the same path to the NHL is to me not a great idea.

If a player is ready, then they are ready. You your self agree as you used Connor McDavid as an example of a player that is ready...and if the Leafs Drafted him you would expect that he would start the year as a Leaf. That is my point!

 

[likeabosski]

That's not always the case. Drouin was drafted 3rd overall and did not make the jump to the NHL right away. There are countless other examples. I believe that management is of the belief that rushing a player into the NHL could cause greater damage to a players development, then being patient with a player and being certain that they are ready. Babcock said it himself, the NHL is not a development league. Detroit is a great example of a team that gets this. Babcock understands this. Connor McDavid is NHL ready, but these types of prospects are few and far between.

Yeah the Leafs are obviously in no rush to move along the prospects. The Leafs have 24 players on their main roster now. 1 of them will go down to the minors (probably Casey Bailey since he's waiver exempt and lacks pro experience. The other 23 guys I think are all multi-year pros with more NHL games under their belt). They stocked the cupboard with hungry vets on 1-2 year contracts who are seeking redemption and/or have something to prove. And this is by intentional design. They want to make it difficult for the prospects to make it onto the Leafs' roster. And they want to make it difficult even for the vets to get ice time in order to force them to work hard and compete. Babcock and management don't want Leafs' players to be friends of complacency.

If Mitch Marner and William Nylander are not good enough to make the Leafs' Top 6, they shouldn't be playing in the NHL. Marner projects as a future first-liner and Nylander a future Top 6 forward at least. If you play on the third-line, your offensive production doesn't have to be as good. But you have to be a decent forechecker/backchecker, etc. at least. If you're on the fourth-line, you need to be good at defense. Basically the less value you provide offensively, the more value you have to provide defensively. It's important for hockey players to play to their strengths. It's more productive for Top 6 projected guys like Marner and Nylander to hone their offensive skills in the OHL and AHL respectively than to play a game they are less suited for in the NHL (bottom 6 hockey).

 

[burpsalot]

Did anyone state that?

Bailey's whole reasoning for signing was playing with the NHL club and there's no reason to demote him. His scouting report basically says he has all the tools to succeed as a 2nd line RW and just needs time to adjust. I'd put him in the lineup over Frattin.

Yes.

He signed to burn the one year & to play with the Leafs since he wasn't allowed to go to the AHL until this year.

 

[Mess]

Ok, what is the context of this post?

You keep bandying it around, when it doesn't say anything except a ranking of 3 prospects. Are they his top-ranked prospects for the team, or just his ranking of those particular prospects, since each was viewed as bringing a similar element to the game?

I think it really shows just how bad the prospect pool was under the last GMs and why it was considered bottom 5 overall and how much things have improved now since Shanny arrived.

The new management team has really cleaned up the previous inherited prospect pool with Devane, Biggs, Broll, Ross, McKegg, MacWilliam etc etc all sent packing recently leaving very little remaining.

Leafs top 10 prospects are now all mostly acquired in the last 2 years.

 

[IBeL34f]

I think it really shows just how bad the prospect pool was under the last GMs and why it was considered bottom 5 overall and how much things have improved now since Shanny arrived.

The new management team has really cleaned up the previous inherited prospect pool with Devane, Biggs, Broll, Ross, McKegg, MacWilliam etc etc all sent packing recently leaving very little remaining.

Leafs top 10 prospects are now all mostly acquired in the last 2 years.

No it doesn't, not without context. I've butted heads with Mentalist on a number of occasions, but it's pretty sad to see this post come up over and over and over again without anything else behind it. There's not even a link to the thread that it's from, just a stand-alone post that says nothing of substance.

For all I know, he just ranked those 3 prospects relative to each other, and it had nothing to do with the rest of the prospect pool. If that's the case, why is everyone bashing so hard?

 

[Ricky Bobby]

Yeah the Leafs are obviously in no rush to move along the prospects. The Leafs have 24 players on their main roster now. 1 of them will go down to the minors (probably Casey Bailey since he's waiver exempt and lacks pro experience. The other 23 guys I think are all multi-year pros with more NHL games under their belt). They stocked the cupboard with hungry vets on 1-2 year contracts who are seeking redemption and/or have something to prove. And this is by intentional design. They want to make it difficult for the prospects to make it onto the Leafs' roster. And they want to make it difficult even for the vets to get ice time in order to force them to work hard and compete. Babcock and management don't want Leafs' players to be friends of complacency.

If Mitch Marner and William Nylander are not good enough to make the Leafs' Top 6, they shouldn't be playing in the NHL. Marner projects as a future first-liner and Nylander a future Top 6 forward at least. If you play on the third-line, your offensive production doesn't have to be as good. But you have to be a decent forechecker/backchecker, etc. at least. If you're on the fourth-line, you need to be good at defense. Basically the less value you provide offensively, the more value you have to provide defensively. It's important for hockey players to play to their strengths. It's more productive for Top 6 projected guys like Marner and Nylander to hone their offensive skills in the OHL and AHL respectively than to play a game they are less suited for in the NHL (bottom 6 hockey).

I see it the same way.

The cream of the crop will rise to the top and it's better a prospect be a day late than a day early.

Too much is being made about a logjam with our roster. Injuries always happen. Every single year at least a few players miss 20+ games in a season due to injuries which creates an opportunity for a deserving youngster.

I also expect at least half dozen names that start the year with the Leafs to be gone by at the latest the deadline. All of Polak, Matthias, Spaling, Parenteau, Arcobello are pending UFAs.

 

[HoweHullOrr]

Trade deadline is when teams are willing to trade those picks for rental depth players that are having good years. They're worth almost nothing in the offseason. If Winnik can get us Sill, a 2nd, and a 4th, I'm sure the majority of the players we picked up in this offseason (Including Beck) can get at least a third.

Pretty sure it was Winnick and (plus) Santorelli for those players we obtained - no?

If Beck could return a 2nd or 3rd, why wouldn't Nashville just do the deal themselves and flip him for the 2nd/3rd?

 

[ACC1224]

Pretty sure it was Winnick and (plus) Santorelli for those players we obtained - no?

If Beck could return a 2nd or 3rd, why wouldn't Nashville just do the deal themselves and flip him for the 2nd/3rd?

Santorelli went to Nashville with Franson.