Looking at viable 3C options under 3million I think my offseason targets in a Kadri swap would be Wallmark++ or Faksa+,
What is the fascination with Gudas? He's basically a clone of Roman Polak. And people couldn't wait to get Polak out of Toronto.
If we're moving Kadri I think it has to be for a D.
I know we're short up the middle which is why maybe it had to be a bigger trade or a subsequent deal for a C would be made.
Carry onI should’ve been more clear. I meant retire and leafs trade his contract to a team looking to hit cap floor.
Kadri has had success without playing with Marner before
*If we're moving Kadri it has to be to reallocate money to the D. No need to limit ourselves to direct transactions.
How much did he play with Marner in 2016-17?His highest point total while not playing with Marner during a season is 50. Wow, amazing...
No, but in this case I'd rather do both in one trade if I can. Down grading at C, then to use our other assets to get a top 4 D seems both less likely to happen plus going around in a circle.
I would like to get Faksa though if Kadri were to be moved.
if you omit the 1st month of Zaitsev's season, he's been a perfectly serviceable 2nd pairing defenseman and his aggregate numbers keep creeping back towards his first season results. I honestly think he had some post concussion issues still clearing up early in the season. Ozhiganov has been very good in his usage too. So I think I'm of the opinion that a move like Gudas is pretty unnecessary, we should be looking for someone that can handle top pair competition - if that guy is a short term solution we should not include Liljegren, but if its a long term solution (Hamilton, Parayko, etc) then I'm good with including him
How much did he play with Marner in 2016-17?
More players are acquired in trades for asset packages or signed as free agents than in 1 for 1 hockey trades
I think if you're getting 20-23 mins of top 4 minutes from Zaitsev with respectable results at his cap hit, you're not thrilled but it's fine. His $4.5M AAV will be mid-low 2nd pairing ish as a contract average if the inflation keeps up at the current rate, he's currently paid like a high end #3 in year #2 of 7 so that might actually be conservative for how far that will fall. I honestly wouldn't worry about production for a guy that doesn't get any PP time and who is schemed out of touching the puck where possible, if he can help the team to get and maintain possession while being a reasonable suppressor of chances against top 6 forwards that's good enough imoZaitsev is still someone you want to move in the very near future because his production doesn't match his cap hit at all, but with that said, he's definitely a serviceable defenseman for the rest of the season.
Ozhiganov is pretty meh, which isn't overly bad but not exactly doing great either. He's good depth. If you can push Hainsey down to the bottom pairing to replace him and find a top pairing defenseman, I think our quality improves tenfold.
I think if you're getting 20-23 mins of top 4 minutes from Zaitsev with respectable results at his cap hit, you're not thrilled but it's fine. His $4.5M AAV will be mid-low 2nd pairing ish as a contract average if the inflation keeps up at the current rate, he's currently paid like a high end #3 in year #2 of 7 so that might actually be conservative for how far that will fall. I honestly wouldn't worry about production for a guy that doesn't get any PP time and who is schemed out of touching the puck where possible, if he can help the team to get and maintain possession while being a reasonable suppressor of chances against top 6 forwards that's good enough imo
I'll disagree on Ozhiganov too, he's been very good in his usage and role. I'm not expecting big things there at all, but he's at least a good bottom pairing dman and I think there's a bit of upside there in that he might be able to do the same thing (be effective, not showy) against top 4 type competition
Our need for these guys to be offensive is really diminished by only having 2 defensemen between the powerplay units, and Zaitsev was actually fine at that last year if he's needed in a pinch
Having Faulk allows you to trade Gardiner, which is another win too.No thanks. Faulk brings nothing that Gardiner doesn't already. If we're getting a dman from Carolina, it better be one of Hamilton, Slavin or Pesce.
Brown
Gardiner
For
Simmonds
Gudas
As a base.
They couldn’t use a puck moving dman? Seriously, I don’t know. They have Ghost and Provorov. Sanhiem is up and coming. Will Myers ever get a shot? Would there be room for Gardiner?Why does Philly want Gardiner?
If we can find a less expensive Zaitsev I'm all for it, but I wouldn't cut bait on him until we had that replacement. I don't think we'll ever love the contract, but I think it's gotten a worse rap than it will deserve (he was abysmal in October/early Nov, so that would explain it)I just think the Leafs should and will be able to find a cheaper and effective replacement to Zaitsev if they can actually find a top pairing defenseman that can play the minutes we need. Maybe Zaitsev rises up and shows he can play more minutes and actually contribute offensively but it's not looking that way. I do agree he's been solid this season but the complete lack of puck ability is a big problem.
As for Ozhiganov, it will depend entirely on his next contract. He's a pending RFA. I'm not sure there's much upside there for someone turning 27 next season. If the Leafs can re-sign him on a 1 or maybe 2 year deal for around 800k, then that would be fine. If he's looking for more money than that, I don't know if he'll be around.
They couldn’t use a puck moving dman? Seriously, I don’t know. They have Ghost and Provorov. Sanhiem is up and coming. Will Myers ever get a shot? Would there be room for Gardiner?
But, they could build for the future. They should be a playoff contender. They need a goalie pronto, everyone knows that. If they had one who knows where they’d be.He's a rental and they're last place.
But, they could build for the future. They should be a playoff contender. They need a goalie pronto, everyone knows that. If they had one who knows where they’d be.