UFA defencemen- Is one of them the answer?

[cupcrazyman]

Could we possibly have Gudas & Clifford on the same Leafs team?

Brian Burke would certainly approve.

He probably would but he's still too busy yelling at those draft day bingo balls !

 

[Kiwi]

Justin Holl just got $2M a year for 3 years.

One of those players was a pending UFA, playing on our shutdown pair, in the top 4, on the right and the other isn't doing any of those things

I like Dermott but he needs to be squeezed, hard because he has almost no leverage in this negotiation

 

[All Mod Cons]

One of those players was a pending UFA, playing on our shutdown pair, in the top 4, on the right and the other isn't doing any of those things

I like Dermott but he needs to be squeezed, hard because he has almost no leverage in this negotiation

Squeezing RFAs is not our forte

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Justin Holl just got $2M a year for 3 years.

Dermott is an RFA stuck on the 3rd pairing, Holl is a pending UFA who is also a top 4 RHD. So Dermott should be pretty cheap to sign for 2-3 years

 

[Man Bear Pig]

Yay, let's get Tanev!

He'll be the best choice for... keeping our trainers and medical staff really busy.

He'll likely spend more time in sickbay than being an effective partner for Rielly ON THE ICE!

We'd be lucky to land Tanev on a cheap deal. The guy is a fantastic shot-blocker who gets hurt because he sacrifices the body so often. He'd be ideal beside Rielly. But hey, keep looking for that perfect solution with all that cap space we have.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

Dermott is an RFA stuck on the 3rd pairing, Holl is a pending UFA who is also a top 4 RHD. So Dermott should be pretty cheap to sign for 2-3 years

Top 4 seems like a bit of a stretch for Holl. He's fine on the 3rd pair, but nothing more, ideally. He looked exhausted after signing that contract.

 

[kb]

Squeezing RFAs is not our forte

It is if you look at the whole body of work.

Or does that $2 million give or take bother you that much?

 

[kb]

Top 4 seems like a bit of a stretch for Holl. He's fine on the 3rd pair, but nothing more, ideally. He looked exhausted after signing that contract.

Yet he and Muzzin dominated against top competition.

 

[Al14]

We'd be lucky to land Tanev on a cheap deal. The guy is a fantastic shot-blocker who gets hurt because he sacrifices the body so often. He'd be ideal beside Rielly. But hey, keep looking for that perfect solution with all that cap space we have.

It better be a cheap deal because he would likely spend more time in an ice bath than on the ice as Rielly's partner. JMHO.

 

[BlueBaron]

Tanev might be the right solution depending on price. His injury time will ensure Dermott still gets important development time. We just have to hope he is fit for the playoffs.

 

[Funk21]

I voted for both Tanev and DeMelo. Obviously Tanev has the proven record but his injury issues create concern. DeMelo looks to be an intriguing option but don’t know if he can sustain first pairing mins over the long run.

Either option likely means both AJ and Kerfoot gone. Suspect Dermott to depending on price, certainly if Tanev is signed IMO.

 

[kb]

I voted for both Tanev and DeMelo. Obviously Tanev has the proven record but his injury issues create concern. DeMelo looks to be an intriguing option but don’t know if he can sustain first pairing mins over the long run.

Either option likely means both AJ and Kerfoot gone. Suspect Dermott to depending on price, certainly if Tanev is signed IMO.

This might be an unpopular take, but I think that Dermott was taking that next step up just before the season was shut down, and other than being traded for expansion reasons, I would not let him go.

 

[qqaz]

This might be an unpopular take, but I think that Dermott was taking that next step up just before the season was shut down, and other than being traded for expansion reasons, I would not let him go.

I wouldn't call it unpopular. Maybe debatable, though. The problem is that Dermott only really fits on the team if he can play on the right in the top 4. We don't know yet if he can do that. And management will have to make a call on him this offseason, before we have an answer.

I like Dermott enough. But I prefer a known quantity. Dermott/Holl/Lehtonen is pretty unknown to have on the right going into next season.

 

[kb]

I wouldn't call it unpopular. Maybe debatable, though. The problem is that Dermott only really fits on the team if he can play on the right in the top 4. We don't know yet if he can do that. And management will have to make a call on him this offseason, before we have an answer.

I like Dermott enough. But I prefer a known quantity. Dermott.Holl/Lehtonen is pretty unknown to have on the right going into next season.

I think Liljegren will be in the mix too, but more importantly, the flat cap will most likely present the Leafs a great opportunity to get a vet RD on a cheap contract - knowing there is no cap increase forthcoming.

 

[qqaz]

I think Liljegren will be in the mix too, but more importantly, the flat cap will most likely present the Leafs a great opportunity to get a vet RD on a cheap contract - knowing there is no cap increase forthcoming.

I hear you. That's one of the reasons I started this thread. With a bunch of 2nd pair (ish) RHD on the market, and most teams pinching pennies, there could be a cheap deal to be had with someone on the list.

 

[Its not your fault]

I only voted for TJ Brodie because of how Kyle Dubas was going to trade Nazem Kadri for him last year on July 1, 2019 and that didn't happen since Kadri was able to veto the trade. So because of that I wonder if Dubas might still be interested in Brodie as a UFA?

I hope not.

 

[Tairy Greene]

I thought Dubas might try to keep one or both to help save face on bad trades, but looks like it'll be tough. Plus both players are awful, so we're better off without them.

Barrie was a bad trade, Ceci was a good one.

 

[The Iceman]

We're going to have to move 2 of our 3rd line guys just to be able to fit Dermott and Mikheyev in. There's no room.

One authors roster attempt. Thought minimum was $750 but this is Johnsson out and $2 million to spare

 

[kb]

One authors roster attempt. Thought minimum was $750 but this is Johnsson out and $2 million to spare

Pretty decent attempt. The numbers are what I would expect from our RFA's.

Having said that, I'm not sure how comfortable the team would be with 4 of our D have a combined 59 games of NHL experience, and Dermott only having 157 games himself. So that's 216 games of NHL experience on D outside of Muzzin and Rielly.

 

[namttebih]

I think Liljegren will be in the mix too, but more importantly, the flat cap will most likely present the Leafs a great opportunity to get a vet RD on a cheap contract - knowing there is no cap increase forthcoming.

That sounds like a hungry Ceci at $1M per.

 

[BertCorbeau]

Cap space plays a big implication here. Tanev might make the most sense despite the risks with his health. He might be the cheapest and shortest term available, lessening the potential of deadweight on the books.

Otherwise I like Brodie, DeMelo, and Braun.

 

[Its not your fault]

Guys only have so many years to win a cup. I think Covid might have people thinking more about family's safety over dollar value. Toronto is safer then any state you may have to wait a week for a few names to go places but again there only so many spots open and some of these guys will want to be a 3 threw 5 over being a 6 to 7th on the depth chart.

 

[nuck]

I wouldn't call it unpopular. Maybe debatable, though. The problem is that Dermott only really fits on the team if he can play on the right in the top 4. We don't know yet if he can do that. And management will have to make a call on him this offseason, before we have an answer.

I like Dermott enough. But I prefer a known quantity. Dermott/Holl/Lehtonen is pretty unknown to have on the right going into next season.

That was my thought. With Sandin knocking on the door they really should have been auditioning TD hard on the right side. The coming expansion and a flat cap means they will probably have to take some gambles on who to keep, and I think Dermott will fall as a casualty to the need for a proven RD. He gets a dinky "show me" deal except he fights for 3rd pair minutes with Sandin so tough to show much unless there is an injury. Or else he is dealt with Kerfoot and/or Mango to clear some cap space and fades into obscurity like Ian White or maybe plays another 700 games like Jason Smith. I like his A game quite a bit and he could be close to being a solid top 4 guy but there doesn't seem to be a path on this club.

They have no time left to audition him so if he gets dealt it is unlikely to be for any kind of a return, unless another GM has already been sniffing around him for a while.

Now how much does Dubas like Hamo, Brodie or Tanev, and would the one he really wants even want to come to TO for a number the club would pay? Maybe Dermott sticks around by default unless there is a trade involving him and an inbound RD. Maybe he has the playoff run of his life and forces the club to keep him.

We sort of know what Dubas wants but not who he really likes. Was the attempted trade for Brodie just taking the best of a few narrow options or does he see it as a solution? The lineup is a bit different than when that move was being explored. Maybe Brodie legitimately has no interest in TO although I thought it was Kadri that killed the deal.

For me it will be most interesting off season yet for Dubas.

 

[smitty10]

Hamonic, Gudas or DeMelo would be nice.

 

[The Nic]

We'd be lucky to land Tanev on a cheap deal. The guy is a fantastic shot-blocker who gets hurt because he sacrifices the body so often. He'd be ideal beside Rielly. But hey, keep looking for that perfect solution with all that cap space we have.

Completely agree... maybe we can afford a player like Tanev (or Gudas) who can provide a dimension that we don't really have now. Honestly though... the real answer on defense has to be found in the Dermott, Liljegren, Sandin, Lehtonen group. It's true that there's not a lot of NHL experience there... but talented kids are playing all over the league, last time I looked.