Confirmed Trade: [TOR/PIT] Jared McCann for Filip Hallander and 2023 7th round pick

[TheKrebsCycle]

I’m not sure McCann is better than Kerfoot defensively. That is really the whole reason we are getting rid of McCann because Blueger is a better 3C.

I didn't love Kerfoots 5 on 5 defense but he is dangerous patrolling the top of the zone on the PK due to his speed and seemingly very long stick . You've probably seen McCann more than I have so I'll take your word for it. All told I'd still rather have McCann. Maybe Seattle takes him, maybe they take Kerfoot or Dermott. I'd just personally rather McCann. I think he'd work better in the Leafs lineup as he could potentially be a complimentary finisher both at 5 on 5 and pp, which are areas that need addressing.

 

[threeVo]

but he was on pace for 30 points the last 5 seasons...

the leafs hate is straight up cringey sometimes

edit: location = buffalo. makes sense why you're so miserable and I'm not just talkin bout the hockey team.

Buffalo is fine I live in Vegas tho

 

[CatchyTune]

Except you could have just kept McCann who is better and would help next years roster over whoever you lose.

If we lose McCann, we dont actually lose anyone off of last years roster and only lose Hallander value wise.

If Seattle takes Kerfoot, McCann immediately replaces him.

Theres no bad scenario here. You're trying too hard.

 

[CatchyTune]

Why would Seattle take Dermott? Considering what was left unprotected on defense, he doesn't seem like the type of defender Seattle would want to add ahead of them. McCann/Kerfoot, on the other hand, seem like exactly the type of forward an expansion team would take hoping that a bigger role results in a breakout year (ala William Karlsson for Vegas).

Yeah I dont know why either. Just listing him as a potential option. Before we got McCann, Dermott looked like a likely pick.

 

[Nothingbutglass]

If we lose McCann, we dont actually lose anyone off of last years roster and only lose Hallander value wise.

If Seattle takes Kerfoot, McCann immediately replaces him.

Theres no bad scenario here. You're trying too hard.

I dont get why you cant grasp this. McCann upgrades Kerfoot. He's better in every way. You had him in a trade. The expansion list is separate. The good scenario is protect him and if Kerfoot is taken, you save money.

 

[CatchyTune]

I dont get why you cant grasp this. McCann upgrades Kerfoot. He's better in every way. You had him in a trade. The expansion list is separate. The good scenario is protect him and if Kerfoot is taken, you save money.

Who would you protect McCann over on our protection list?

 

[hamzarocks]

Who would you protect McCann over on our protection list?

We should have gone 7 and 3 option. We went with the wrong option at 4 and 4. Justin Holl is not a special player, he is very replaceable and we have an NHL-ready RHD in Lilijgren who is being developed into a bust with how little chance the team gives him.

The leafs offensive group is heavily depleted and we need quality, top 9 players, after losing Kap, AJ, Brown, Hyman (this year) along with a few others in the past few years. McCann is a better player than Holl, Dermott, Kerfoot etc. There was no reason to sacrifice a better and younger player than those guys who plays our weakest position (LW) for those players. We lose one of them and our team isn't hurt very much.

 

[Nothingbutglass]

Who would you protect McCann over on our protection list?

Holl. 7-3-1 you'd have more options as well.

 

[A1LeafNation]

They clearly value Holl over Kerfoot and McCann.

Don't blame the thinking that a top 4 RD is a scarce asset in this league.

 

[CatchyTune]

We should have gone 7 and 3 option. We went with the wrong option at 4 and 4. Justin Holl is not a special player, he is very replaceable and we have an NHL-ready RHD in Lilijgren who is being developed into a bust with how little chance the team gives him.

The leafs offensive group is heavily depleted and we need quality, top 9 players, after losing Kap, AJ, Brown, Hyman (this year) along with a few others in the past few years. McCann is a better player than Holl, Dermott, Kerfoot etc. There was no reason to sacrifice a better and younger player than those guys who plays our weakest position (LW) for those players. We lose one of them and our team isn't hurt very much.

Holl. 7-3-1 you'd have more options as well.

They clearly value Holl over Kerfoot and McCann.

Don't blame the thinking that a top 4 RD is a scarce asset in this league.

Agree with the last quote. Wont find another top 4 RHD for $2 million.

hamzarocks, Liljegren will at worst be our 7D unless we make adds on defense. So im not concerned about his playtime. I agree we need top 9 forwards, but we are only losing 1 at most and every name listed is replacable.

Holl is getting underappreciated here. The defense sucks for years, and when we finally stabilize it we want to cast away a contributing member in the ED.

 

[Nothingbutglass]

They clearly value Holl over Kerfoot and McCann.

Don't blame the thinking that a top 4 RD is a scarce asset in this league.

Except he's only a top 4 RD on the Leafs when he's paired with Muzzin and he only discovered this skill at age 29. He's a replaceable bottom pairing D to Seattle and the rest of the league.

 

[hamzarocks]

Agree with the last quote. Wont find another top 4 RHD for $2 million.

hamzarocks, Liljegren will at worst be our 7D unless we make adds on defense. So im not concerned about his playtime. I agree we need top 9 forwards, but we are only losing 1 at most and every name listed is replaceable.

Holl is getting underappreciated here. The defense sucks for years, and when we finally stabilize it we want to cast away a contributing member in the ED.

I really hope Lilijgren is our 7D, I just don't ever find Keefe + Dubas hyping him up and talking well about him like they do for Sandin. I really want to see a Muzzin - Lilijgren pairing sooner than later at least before Muzzin starts to decline.

Holl is a decent player, I don't think he is a true top 4 defender and he and Muzzin will continue to falter as a pairing as they did in the 2nd half of the 2021 season, as both are not the fastest and Muzzin has injury problems.

I just don't see how Holl is a big value player when his role as a shutdown guy and we already have Muzzin and Brodie who can play that role as a pair if need be. Moving holl for me would give us the opportunity to see what we have in Lilijgren and to a lesser extent Dermott. We have seen young defenders play well when given clear roles on their teams top 4 defense (McAvoy, Hughes, Makar, Girard, Carlo, Heiskanen, Myers, and others). Giving that role and opportunity to Lilijgren whose been developed to play a style that should suit Rielly or Muzzin well-made sense to me and would show we are committed to developing our young defenseman.

 

[krutovsdonut]

so i like the gambit. identify the player you expect to lose. acquire his replacement in advance at a discount from a team that cannot protect him, then expose both and take whichever remains. this trade is a win for the leafs if seattle takes mccann. i think if a week ago you say the leafs lose hallander and a seventh in expansion most leaf fans would be good with that.

not sure the leafs are ready to carry the cap on both mccann and kerfoot though. so if i am seattle i tell the leafs i am taking dermott unless they sweeten.

 

[CatchyTune]

I really hope Lilijgren is our 7D, I just don't ever find Keefe + Dubas hyping him up and talking well about him like they do for Sandin. I really want to see a Muzzin - Lilijgren pairing sooner than later at least before Muzzin starts to decline.

Holl is a decent player, I don't think he is a true top 4 defender and he and Muzzin will continue to falter as a pairing as they did in the 2nd half of the 2021 season, as both are not the fastest and Muzzin has injury problems.

I just don't see how Holl is a big value player when his role as a shutdown guy and we already have Muzzin and Brodie who can play that role as a pair if need be. Moving holl for me would give us the opportunity to see what we have in Lilijgren and to a lesser extent Dermott. We have seen young defenders play well when given clear roles on their teams top 4 defense (McAvoy, Hughes, Makar, Girard, Carlo, Heiskanen, Myers, and others). Giving that role and opportunity to Lilijgren whose been developed to play a style that should suit Rielly or Muzzin well-made sense to me and would show we are committed to developing our young defenseman.

Say we move Dermott...

Rielly-Brodie
Muzzin-Liljegren
Sandin-Holl

 

[biturbo19]

Toronto paid Hallander to make sure Kerfoot didn't get taken or have a replacement for Kerfoot if Kerfoot did get taken.

It makes perfect sense.

Yeah. It’s a bit funny on the surface to trade for a player in McCann that you’re just going to immediately expose/lose in the expansion draft. But it makes sense at that low acquisition cost, as a way of keeping your depth for cheap.

Whichever of McCann/Kerfoot the Leafs lose...they’re virtually interchangeable and nearly indistinguishable. So when the dust settles, you can look at it as just losing Hallander in the expansion draft. Which is next to nothing. All the while, keeping Holl who is the more important and harder to replace piece to the Leafs right now. Plus presumably keeping your defensive depth intact with Dermott.

So whether there’s some small side deal in place to have Seattle take Kerfoot over McCann or not...either way, the Leafs basically lose nothing they can’t or haven’t already replaced out of the deal.

I’m not always a fan of the way Dubas runs his shop in general, but this is a pretty smooth piece of business.

Really, the worst thing that could happen for the Leafs, would probably just be Seattle not taking the bait, and snapping Dermott away. Which would leave the Leafs trying to unload one of Kerfoot/McCann. But I’m sure at that point, post-expansion, you can easily recoup at least a Hallander caliber prospect or pick out of someone with more cap room who struck out in Free Agency looking to bolster depth.

So at least coming out breaking even pretty much no matter what. It’s just a little bit...outside the box strategy.

 

[hamzarocks]

Say we move Dermott...

Rielly-Brodie
Muzzin-Liljegren
Sandin-Holl

Yea if we do that we have a stacked defense, the issue is I don't see why Seattle takes Dermott over McCann? They have better options at defense, especially LHD than say center.

If we lose Dermott that's the 2nd best scenario for me, with the best being Kerfoot (use his 3.5M to get 2 players, Brassard at 3C for 2-2.5M and 1-1.5M for a quality 7D who can rotate with Sandin if he struggles)

 

[Pandaman11]

It only cost Hallander and a 7th to keep your roster in tact. Francis was charging more. In that sense its a good move.

Why? Without McCann, it's the same protection list

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDo]

Why? Without McCann, it's the same protection list

if you don’t trade for McCann you lose a different player, so after the ED, you are down a player. Instead, you trade a 7th and Hallander for McCann and Sea takes McCann, Now after the ED you are down Hallander and 7th, not a roster player.

 

[Boondock]

I don't see McCann and Kerfoot as being equals. McCann is 2 years younger, has a lesser cap hit, has shown better offensive instincts and is still under team control after this contract. If I'm Seattle I take McCann 10 times out of 10. The Kraken will also have lots of #4/5/6 LHD to chose from in the ED so I don't see Dermott being particularly enticing. I think the Kraken would be wise to take the best player with experience playing C over LHD.

 

[TML1967]

I don't see McCann and Kerfoot as being equals. McCann is 2 years younger, has a lesser cap hit, has shown better offensive instincts and is still under team control after this contract. If I'm Seattle I take McCann 10 times out of 10. The Kraken will also have lots of #4/5/6 LHD to chose from in the ED so I don't see Dermott being particularly enticing. I think the Kraken would be wise to take the best player with experience playing C over LHD.

McCann is only cost controlled for 1 more year, Kerfoot is 2. Its not a huge difference, but its something!

I wonder if Leafs worked on a deal where the give up a mid pick to have them take Kerfoot.
Like, if the had a deal with Seattle before the move saying "We are trying to bring in someone to replace Kerfoot after you take him. Its McCann. If we trade for him, who do you take? And if its McCann, what about Kerfoot and a mid tier prospect (SDA, Hollowell/Duszak type)

I just really hope they were smart enough to have come to an agreement on Kerfoot being Seattles pick before they made the McCann trade. If not, I'd have preferred they let Kerfoot be the pick and try and trade Hallander and the 7th to Seattle for McCann.

 

[DFF]

if you don’t trade for McCann you lose a different player, so after the ED, you are down a player. Instead, you trade a 7th and Hallander for McCann and Sea takes McCann, Now after the ED you are down Hallander and 7th, not a roster player.

the real loss is you keep Kerfoot instead of McCann in that case

 

[Boondock]

McCann is only cost controlled for 1 more year, Kerfoot is 2. Its not a huge difference, but its something!

I wonder if Leafs worked on a deal where the give up a mid pick to have them take Kerfoot.
Like, if the had a deal with Seattle before the move saying "We are trying to bring in someone to replace Kerfoot after you take him. Its McCann. If we trade for him, who do you take? And if its McCann, what about Kerfoot and a mid tier prospect (SDA, Hollowell/Duszak type)

I just really hope they were smart enough to have come to an agreement on Kerfoot being Seattles pick before they made the McCann trade. If not, I'd have preferred they let Kerfoot be the pick and try and trade Hallander and the 7th to Seattle for McCann.

McCann is under team control after this contract due to his RFA status, Kerfoot is not. Less cost certainty but more team control.

 

[Mr Knies Guy]

the real loss is you keep Kerfoot instead of McCann in that case

How I see it. McCann is superior in almost every way, including defensive ability, size, younger, better offensive upside (ie: he actually has a shot)., save a bit of cap, and controllability beyond his contract due to RFA.

 

[ToDavid]

I'm seeing a lot of "either/or" takes on this trade, not necessarily just on here. I think there's two things that can both be true at the same time.

1. If Seattle takes McCann it was still a good trade and a net benefit to the team. They effectively paid a B prospect (if that) and a 7th to protect the entire roster (as it was going into the offseason). Far cheaper than what Seattle is rumoured to be asking to make deals.

2. That said, McCann is a good player who would have improved the roster next season. Protecting him over Holl would have been my choice, not to mention that going 7F-3D gives you more protection slots than 8FD to begin with.

Protecting McCann > Exposing McCann > Not making the trade at all

 

[Tairy Greene]

I haven't seen much of McCann and as much as I don't mind Kerfoot, I hope Seattle takes him. I just want this team to look a bit different next year. Holl's not the sexiest player ever, but he's solid enough and we cannot have either Sandin/Llijgren as a 3rd pair or in our top 4 hence why we need to protect him.