Latest on Ryan O’Reilly, Craig Anderson and Eric Staal, plus the latest on the Lightning and Capitals.
Ryan O’Reilly is a hot topic in the NHL rumor mill.
SPORTSNET: Luke Fox cites Elliotte Friedman’s belief the Colorado Avalanche are ready to trade forward Ryan O’Reilly, though the catch is interested clubs will need assurances they can re-sign O’Reilly, who’s eligible for UFA status next summer. Friedman suggests O’Reilly’s contentious contract history is a motivating factor.
TSN: Bob McKenzie also notes O’Reilly’s contract history and UFA status next season, suggesting those are factors which could affect efforts to trade him. Because O’Reilly still has a season remaining on his contract, McKenzie points out the Avalanche aren’t in any rush to move the 2014 Lady Byng Trophy winner. McKenzie also suggests shipping O’Reilly to Buffalo for defenseman Tyler Myers might be a good fit for both clubs, suggesting O’Reilly’s leadership and experience would be a stabilizing influence on the young Sabres, who could end up selecting Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel in this year’s NHL Draft. McKenzie’s colleague Darren Dreger notes the rumors linking O’Reilly to the Toronto Maple Leafs but claims Leafs GM Dave Nonis hasn’t spoken to Avs management in over a month. Pierre LeBrun claims the Buffalo Sabres have interest in O’Reilly, but he also said there’s no certainty the Avalanche will move the winger.
NBC SPORTS: Jason Brough lists the Maple Leafs, Sabres, Arizona Coyotes, Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals as possible destinations for O’Reilly.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: Jonathan Willis speculates over what the Oilers could offer up for O’Reilly, suggesting defensemen Justin Schultz, Darnell Nurse or Oscar Klefbom as trade bait.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Sabres GM Tim Murray claims he’s not shopping Myers and it’ll take a major offer for him to consider it. O’Reilly would be of interest to Murray but he’ll want assurances he can re-sign him. He’s not going to ship out Myers for a player who’ll bolt next summer via free agency. The Avs seek a top-two defenseman. The Leafs could offer up Cody Franson but he’s a UFA this summer. Jake Gardiner isn’t top-two material yet. They’ll likely want Morgan Rielly in return. The Coyotes could offer up Keith Yandle. Brough wonders if the Canadiens could move Alexei Emelin, but his no-trade clause says no. The Capitals could offer up pending UFA blueliner Mike Green. Right now, if the Coyotes really want O’Reilly, I’d say they could make the best offer. I don’t believe the Oilers have anything to seriously interest the Avs.
OTTAWA CITIZEN: Ken Warren reports Senators GM Bryan Murray dismissed trade rumors about his starting goalie Craig Anderson, but said he intends to trade forward Colin Greening or place him on waivers. Murray maintains he’s still seeking a top-six winger.
NICHOLS ON HOCKEY: Pierre LeBrun believes the St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers have the depth in forwards to be trade partners with the Senators.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: With Robin Lehner struggling there’s no way Murray will part with Anderson. Greening will likely be demoted as the Sens have been trying to move him for some time. Blues forward Patrik Berglund might be available. The Flyers need a top-two defenseman and I don’t believe the Sens have what they need. Not saying they can’t do a deal with the Senators but I doubt it’ll be a significant deal for either club.
ESPN.COM: Pierre LeBrun reports Eric Staal has yet to discuss his future with Carolina Hurricanes GM Ron Francis. While Staal insists he wants to stay, LeBrun wonders if the Hurricanes captain might reconsider waiving his no-movement clause if Francis wants to move him for assets to be used in a rebuild.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I believe Francis wants to know if Staal not only wants to stay next season but if he also wants to remain long-term. That will likely factor into whatever plans Francis has. If Staal is non-committal beyond next season, Francis could ask him to waive his movement clause.
NBC SPORTS: Mike Halford reports Matt Carle’s abdominal surgery has Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman considering a trade to bring in a defenseman, though he acknowledged the trade market is currently thin for blueliners. Halford speculates they could pursue a gritty blueliner and wonders if Carolina’s Tim Gleason might be an option.
THE WASHINGTON POST: Alex Prewitt reports Capitals head coach Barry Trotz believes his club needs a piece or two to become a playoff team which can win. Trotz cites his top-line right wing and second-line center positions as areas which could use improvement.
All aboard the ROR express!
They been trading this dude ROR for 2 years now..just trade him already..
In all honesty time to parachute the Santorelli Winnik Booth contracts for picks if the Leafs want them back try and sign them in the summer, see if they can dump Bozak on the Caps or any other team looking for a 2 c…funny the Caps let Grabovski walk…trades are a coming.
Booth has been useless so you get almost nothing for him, maybe a 4th.
The other two have been key role players and have no term left so would get you second-third round picks?
And what does that accomplish for the Leafs? If you want to retool or rebuild, you got to move significant pieces.
If you want to retool or rebuild you need draft picks and more opportunity to see what you have in your own system not older players taking roster spots…they currently dont have a second round pick this year, no saying any of those guys are fetching thst but picks no matter the round help, more than Winnik, Santorelli, Booth will for 3 or 4 months.
You can do it with picks over a couple years, but those 2015-17 picks aren’t going to be in their prime for 6-7 years.
By that time, you current group of young core players – Kadri (24), Gardiner (24), JVR (25), Kessel (26), Bernier (26) – is out of their prime if not leaving via FA.
I think you gotta do it with prospects, but I’m not opposed to anything as long as they make big changes.
I can tell you that full-blown rebuilds are painful, almost as painful as watching the Leafs in the Pal-Hal days. Sabres are in a full rebuild and the end of the pain is about 2 years away. That’s 4 seasons of bad hockey. Not every hockey market can sustain itself in a full 4 year rebuild. It’s almost like having an expansion team.
Never going to happen in Toronto…I can see them moving, or at least trying to move out some significant players but full fledged blow it up wont happen…too many dollars at stake, they need sizzle to sell those expensive tickets, and seeing the “stars 8f tomorrow” wont cut it…not to mention unless rookies come i and wiin scorimg titles and trophies in the first 2 years half the media and fams will want to ship them put as busts in year 3.
Parachute Booth for a pick?
Cannot give him away.
And after last night its pretty safe to assume, Staal will never be a Leaf 🙂
Dion looked like a young Bob Probert laying the mitts to Staal last night lol.
@ Shticky …yes that is absolute !
There is no fix for thsi group …not even ..R O R he would have no impact into this fiasco….
NONIS NEEDS TO GO !!
Bring it down to the wood like Calgary and bring up all your young guys on the Marlies and let them show you what they got ….
If you loose its not any different or worse than this.
I want to see , Leivo, Nylander, Brown, Loov , Percy , DeVane in the NHL full time for the rest of the year to see what it is we got coming up to fill in the rebuild ….cuase this is a BIGGER issue.
When Matt Frattin is your best call up boy ….what is coming up in the rebuild ??
So you mean Calgary… the team managed by the guy that Toronto fired? So you want to do it like the guy you fired went and did it on another team…? Makes perfect sense!
In all fairness Calgary was already a mess when Burke got there, they waited about 2 years to long to trade Iggy. J-BO had a rough couple of years too and they got less then they should have for him. But thats a whole other story, maybe we just got lucky the Avs matched that offer sheet and there wasnt a Kessel type player Burke wanted to trade all our picks for.
Hi Shticky, I watched the leafs play last night and I have to say I wish I didn’t. I didn’t tune in to the game till 3mins was gone in the 2nd period, the Carolina coach was having a tantrum on the bench over a give away. I thought the Leafs must be having a good game the. I saw the score and it was three to nothing for Carolina. Carolina!
I watched the rest of the game as I went about my evening chores and I gotta tell you what I saw looked a team intentionally tanking it and doing nothing to hide the fact. If I closed my eyes and listened to the commentators it was even worse.
I know it was just one game, so I will hold back my opinion of them intentionally tanking the season, but it followed 4 games where they scored only 1 goal and the excuse was that they were playing tough teams.
You watch them lots, they are your team. Do you think they are purposefully tanking to get closer to if not in top 5 of the draft. Do players like Kessel want to be traded and gave up cause he was pathetic last night?
It was embarrassing to watch, three jersey’s were tossed on the ice, the first happened before I tuned into the game. E. Staal defending his brother (although the hit looked clean to me) lost a fight to Dino but made me wish the Sens would trade for him.
Yet it was only one game. But man the Oilers right now are a better team.
They showed some life last night… with 4 minutes to go in the game.
You’re right – this group does look like it’s thrown in the towel to some degree. Now they’ve got the forwards backchecking, but they literally just stand around with their sticks in the air in the defensive zone, covering nobody.
What a disgrace…
When does Bernier get some blame? .890 sv% since Dec not sure how many games you win with that snd still kinda baffled at the number of people who really stretching things in to everyone elses fault and the majority not even begining to question the obvious things. These games are looking alot worse than they should becsuse of the goaltending…but ya lets listen to how untouchable Bernier should be. Avg out his career as a “starter” numbers…he is pretty average, and if you average out the number of starts (not minutes) Reimers numbers are pretty much the same…why not keep the cheaper one?
Out shooting people playing better defensively, shooting a terrible 3% shooting percentage…Id say if they even get average .910 goaltending these games are alot closer than they look, the shooting % will come back up eventually, and no its not rose colored glasses, Ive said all year they are not built right and wont make the play offs, just being realistic.
You can blame the goalies all you want, I can understand you frustration with Bernier. I did not see him play on only high lights of the goals scored during the portion of the game I watched and they all seemed to be on Bernier. But His defense is making it hard for him to make a save yet Reimer did not get scored on.
In the end yeah all the games would of been closer if their goalies saved more pucks but 3-0 loss is not any better than a 1 – 0 you need to score goals before you put the blame on the goaltender.
Sv% has nothing to do with the defense. Again it was around 30 shots not 40, defensively they have been playing better, but getting blown out of games. yes a loss is a loss, but if youre not down by 2 or 3 after a period or 2 makes ot a little easier on the guys mentally, they dont think they have to score 4 or 5 to win…
Bernier isnt helping but hey lets blame The guy who is stll averaging a point a game for not scoring enough. lol
Shticky, While i don’t always agree with you, I do enjoy your/our conversations on this do I want to echo the previous question….are the leafs tanking and more specifically, are the players tanking to get out?
Last nights game was an embarassment. Plain and simple. They looked like they were playing to get out of town. That’s another one of the many problems with leadership on that team. I hate to do it but I’ll give phaneuf credit for trying to change the momentum that it didn’t work, those players are way too far gone I believe
shtick…defense has nothing to do with sv%?? not at all lol so your telling me that if the defense are allowing grade A scoring chances a lot( which the leafs do) that its the goalies fault that they are losing?? wake up
Bernier is a good goaltender, that’s it. Nothing happened in LA that would lead us to believe he’d be an all star.
I think he has potential to be very good…but I dont think he has been yet this year and consistency is an issue as much an issue with him as anyone else… 2 seasons in and so far I wouldnt say either him or Reimer have been that much better than the other for anylength of time .890 over the past few games is brutallast year when Reimer went a month posting those kinda numbers he was “just ok” and everyone had his bags packed and his bus ticket punched but Kyper Simpson Millen and the boys say how great Bernier is…it has nothing to do with defense its a pecentage of shots stopped, earlier in the year his sv% with worse defense was around .920 if he posted a .910 or higher last night its a 2 -1 game, with4 mins to go…still probably results in a loss but much easier game to maybe steal a point or late win if you are going in to the third down by a goal or 2 instead of 3 zip going in to the third. thats as much of an issue over the past month or so as anything else…
why do you keep saying save% has nothing to do with defense it makes no sense? so your saying if the leafs give up 4 breakaways and bernier stops 2 of them has a bad save percentage its his fault??? why don’t you just watch the game instead of paying so much attention to the stats!
Further proof you dont watch games jello…at the beginning of the year up until dec he wasfacing around 40 shots a night (terrible D) and his save percentage was around .920
Over the past month or so his shot totsls have gone way down…less shots means better D amd his save pecentage has dropped by quite a bit the past month its bedn .890. Last night he only had 13 shots against him he let 3 in..not good goaltending when you are only giving up 14 shots in a game and your goalie lets in 3 watch a game or 2 of the team you seem to know so much about. His past 5 games he has only faced about 100 shots or about 20 shots a night…thzts not bad D an NHL goalie shouldnt be letting in 14 goals in 100 shots, there are lots of goalies who have better save percentages than that in shoot outs where there is no D and every shot is a clear breakaway from a good scoring position…again feel free to comment when you have a clue what you are talking about. Watch some games instead of sports center before you open your yap.
shticky.. you need to start watching some games have the scoring chances changed? no they have actually gotten worse with the less shots! start paying attention before you speak your stupid
I wouldn’t say they are intentionally tanking in a hope to land McDavid or Eichel. I think they are tanking cause the dressing room is lost. There are obviously guys that get along with each other, but as a team, I don’t think these guys like each other. Sure Dion is going to say the right things in public, what would you expect him to say? “I’m playing with a bunch of unmotivated, soft skilled babies?…and my game sucks cause I’m making $7mil as season for the next 7 years now and want to be able to walk when a retire as a filthy rich millionaire married to a Hollywood hottie?”, or “there is a ton of talent in this room, but absolutely no chemistry. I can’t play with these guys anymore”. It is time to change the core, bring in a bunch of young guys with NHL potential and see if the new group can develop some chemistry.
As for the core, Phanuef will be an above avg defenceman again on a decent team where he isn’t expected to shoulder the load, Kessel will find his way to a team with a bonafide number one C and will have at least several more seasons of 35+ goals and 70-80pts in an environment that is more suited to his “shyness”.
good to hear. I am not accusing them of tanking. I am wondering though if they are. You could very well be right. They are not longer playing for each other and no longer playing for the logo on their chest. Last night they just showed up and played for the paycheck.
I don’t really know what a tank job looks like but I think I am starting to form a good reference point.
They were not tanking but they r that crappy geez. Last year n this year n its not obvious?
Shticky ur daft. Blow it up n get on with it. Aside from Kessel up in the scoring race each season there’s nothing else. MLSE coffers can stand the hit if they want a winner. Heck with a winner listen to Shticky n make money instead.
That slapshot at Phaneuf was GUTLESS and next time Staal is in front of a slapshot ….might want to think twice.
You mean gutless like the Leafs effort for the last 5 games? I thought Eric showed a ton of heart last night, the slap shot was just a big F-U to the once proud Maple Leafs. He would be a better leader then Dion at this point. Who knows maybe thats exactly what the Leafs needed to get going again.
Ehh I think he was just mad Dion crushed his little brother than ragged dolled him…say what you want about Dion but, I think he stepped up pretty well last night. Aside from Clarkson and Kadri, no one else following was more of the issue than Dion not leading, not real sure what people expect of him. He has looked better this year, than last year imo still not a number 1 guy and ya maybe a little overpaid but in the right position I think he makes a team better. Way too high of expectations, can put up points plays hard doesnt miss games and drops the mits…what more do you want? Is he Chara or Weber? No…few are.
I meant more along the lines like Dion looks like he has lost it with this team. I dont think the will is there anymore for him and he either wants a change or some new teammates. I thought at one point he was going to be the next captain of the Flames,
As for Staal, he showed alot of heart going after Dion after that hit (Looked worse then it was can only imagine how it looked out of the corner of Eric’s eye). And i didnt think the slapshot was gutless but more of a giant smack in the face after all the jersey tossing.
Too bad Dion doesn’t play like that every night.
Again agreed, but realistically sthere needs to be “that guy” who does…instead they continue to build the bottom with the Gleason Robidas Ranger Polak and Komisareks of the world instead of filling tthee bottom in with cheap youth like Rielly Percy and Gardiner and adding to the top, sme as you have 2 decent top line wingers no center, and a pretty decent 2 C playing with scrubs and a 10 million dollar third lne, with at least 5-8 mill out with an injury or scratched on any given night, it makes no sense. 15 million bucks or more that may see 12 minutes in a game.
It doesn’t look like these guys are interested in playing hockey anymore this season. So no more optional pracrices, and instead of trying to implement a system they they have no interest in, just bag skate them til collapse every practice. Get these guys into shape, torture the hell out of them, and the men will be separated from the mice.
iluvleafs…. thorton tried the same thing against phaneuf the other night wasn’t phaneuf voted most overrated player by the players a couple years ago?
What I found to be most telling about the Staal slapshot at Phaneuf, was how not one Leaf stepped up and got in Staal’s kitchen. Imagine the reaction if someone had tried that on Gilmour back in the day! Just shows the lack of heart and togetherness on this team IMO.
Agreed, where is Polak the warrior that all the analysts ponder of they only had more guys like that or Winnik after that (not to say those guys havent looked good at points just its the same guys that are constantly picked out and on but and others dont even get mentioned)..somenights people should try and watch a Leaf game on mute. Might see the game a little differently.
I think that nobody standing up for that means there is something very wrong in that dressing room!
Good, last thing Leafs need is a 30 year old who’s going to want 7×8.
The Leafs have been terrible for years and have never had any problem selling those expensive tickets. The “sizzle” they have isn’t working and unless Leaf fans want to have a mediocre team forever they will need to rebuild properly…and you know what? They’ll still sellout for the 4 years if they do.
Umm they did t sell out last night.
What sizzle? The sound of fans burnin up year after year after decade maybe. Phaneuf showed heart as for the rest…
Wont happen, as much as some may like it to, again just being realistic its a fan base that wont sit thru it. Hate to sound like a broken record but teams like Detroit LA MTL Boston NY Rangers Flyers giant markets will never just “blow up” there is way too much riding on it not just tickets but cable packages with their own networks etc they wont go thru 5 and 6 seasons of finishing last trying to pedal hope (and reallistcally alot of the corporate snobs have no idea who prospects are soo..) smaller markets have a tough enough time selling $35 tickets to those teams, bigmarkets with giant arenas and infastructure need those tickets and merch to sell at high pricepoints blowing up will hurt the bottom line much more than selling $300 tickets and finidshing 9th or 10th.
…and Polak would look great in a Lightning jersey.
Methot is going to walk end of season and the Sens season is done as much as that hurts to say. I’d say he could be a good fit for the Bolts if they are looking for an experienced defenseman with some grit and no long term obligations.
The Sens may still sign him. Due to his injuries this year I can see them coming to a 1-2 year contract at less than he wanted. Then he can play well, hopefully stay healthy and sign a bigger number after the contract expires.
But if his demands don’t lesson he will be traded, I would think Anaheim, Dallas and San Jose be the spot he will land. Some where in the west.
I actually think this TB idea makes a lot of sense. Tampa has a plan, and Carle’s injury threw a wrench in it. TB would very likely look for a short-term fix, so a pending UFA would make a lot of sense. As real Cup contenders, I think they’d be willing to give up additional assets for a guy like Methot to help them on a playoff run (over a crappier UFA dman, for example). Sens would likely be very happy with the asset(s) TB send their way.
This is providing the Sens don’t re-sign Methot before March 2, however, which I believe is their hope.
Well…I’ll connect the dots….Washington needs a #2 center….Colorado is looking at trading ROR.
Different conferences….this could be a really good fit Washington. I do not know what would need to come back, as I don’t follow Washington, but I am sure they could work out salary cap and players.
NO trade is saving the Flyers season …sell off the contracts for picks, be patient and stick to the plan.
Personally, I also think it is not a wise idea to make long term plans based around Staal…..make your franchises plans, and follow it. If Staal fits..he fits, if not..move him. I understand he has a NMC, but he has been on the down slide for a few seasons now…that I think we can all agree on. If next year is the last of his contract, look at your options. At what cost is keeping Staal a benefit to the team? What salary does he make? They might just be better to cut bait and swim. What if they get one of McDavid or Eichel? Where does Staal fit then?
I just think unless you have a major piece in his prime (Crosby, Stamkos, Tavares), you don’t make long term plans around most players.
No offence, Leaf fans, but I don’t think the Leafs have what it takes for ROR….both with him wanting to be there long term, and the pieces/ salary cap space to get it done. Colorado is not going to give him away…they are going to look for a major haul coming back.
Kadri doesn’t fit, as they already have Mckinnon and Duchene. Franson is a -12 in his last 10 games, with 6 points. I get it…he is a big young dman…scoring lots of points……he is also a defensive liability, and an upcoming UFA. He has little value when it comes to trading him…..a draft pick or struggling prospect is what you’ll get, not a guy like ROR.
Just my $0.02
Dismissing Emelin moving to Colorado, or any other deal involving any player with a NTC, ignores the obvious fact that a NTC doesn’t mean the player cannot be traded, only that they can only be traded with their agreement. If Emelin is not happy with the way he is being/expects to be used then he might not mind a move to a Colorado team that experiences less of a media microscope.
Absolutely true, ght120. But I do think that unless there are reasons to believe a player is unhappy (e.g. Emelin has been benched a lot recently, is playing under 12 min/gm, etc) that we should assume that they wouldn’t want to waive it.
Lots of baseless speculation on trade sites, including from the media! For the sake of sanity, the NTCs should probably be assumed to be maintained unless we hear differently.
Send don’t have the D Philly would want in a deal. Totally agree with Lyle on that point. But what about Winnipeg? Soon they’ll have 9 healthy D on the roster with Morrissey looming on the horizon? Could he or Chariot be available? My thought is Philly would be very interested.
* Sens.
The Jets do make sense for ROR but again he needs to sign an extension to make him even more attractive for traders
Question ………who is running this team ????
The board ???? Bell – Rogers……. are the worst owners ….EVER !!!!!!
This is a Dave Nonis team …he came with Burke almost 8 years ago and has done the heavy lifting as far as the players and signings.
HE HAS TO BE FIRED TODAY !!!!!!
Liewicki is not allowed to talk about the leafs anymore he is on his way out back to L A he has a gag order by ownership!
Shannahan has no Hockey operations experience.
The coach is a minor league coach at best !
There is nothing left to do but DOWN TO THE WOOD and do a REAL rebuild with your young players who are desperate to get NHL contracts and will play desperate fast young hockey on a daily basis.
FIRE NONIS TODAY ….
HIRE SHERO…..TOMORROW !!!!
There is nothing left to say about this topic .
The sky is falling!!! OMG The sky is FALLING!!!
Back checking…lol
To: MR. Ron Moore
Have you ever heard of the term:
” if a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound “?
In other words you know what is being said on here on a daily basis YET you still frequent this site and READ ALL the posts before you hone in on your victim to scrutinize.
In saying that If you didn’t troll this site ( TREE) you wouldn’t know what is being said,( FALLING )you could simply make it up in your own head from past references rendering you to be stupid for knowing what you are going to read here on a daily basis….( making a sound ) and still commenting on it the way you do ( stay silent )
You should have one negative comment that you simply copy and paste as your reply on daily basis as this seems to be the common sum of your intellect.
Definitely backchecking….
RANGERS – CANES
Is it possible with the Rangers cap ….that they can make a trade for Eric and Jordan Stall ???
Stepan
Auclair
Hagelin
1st Rounder
Thoughts
Stepan is 9th in the league in Points-per-Game. No one would trade him for Eric Staal-backwards move-Stepan hitting prime and the #1 center Rangers have been after for a decade.
Rangers could move Zuc but they would change the team chemistry-the one move they could use is a tough winger to upgrade from Tanner Glass.
I admit I always felt Marc would join his brothers in Carolina for 6mil+. Glad to see him stay.
Yeah, I can’t see any reason that NY makes this deal. From the cap perspective it doesn’t even come close to working. NY would be taking on 14.25 per and and sending back 5.325 putting them WAY over the cap. But cap issues aside, No way would I send Stepan to Carolina for E.Staal straight up. Never mind adding anything to it. With M.Staal signing an extension, I was hoping the Staal brothers reunion talk would go away…….I also can’t imagine NY has any desire at all to send Duclair anywhere at this point.
Is it just me or did the Boston Bruins trade rumors die off completely…? The team still looks like they struggle with netting pucks and seem to be having defense breakdowns at pivotal times in the games they are either tied in or ahead by a single goal. Hoping Bruins management is still looking to improve the roster, as great as it is to have Pastrnak with the big club… there’s still work to be done.
Agree they totally died once Pasternak came up and they started winning.
Also agree they still need to make some sort of move. Eriksson or Kelly I would still try to move with some assets if we could grab a top 6 guy. Eberle or Simmonds would be a upgrade. Smith or Krug could be added to a trade.
@DAVE
Eberle or Simmonds an upgrade aaah geez ya think?
@gordie
Eberle has 2 more goals than Eriksson
Kelly doesn’t score much but penalty kills and sticks up for his teammates they aren’t as bad as you think.
@ Silver Surfer – Shero? No thanks. Being at the bottom and getting Crosby, Malkin et al is not genius. They won the lottery. After the last cup win he was never able to put the pieces together to get far again. That is why he got fired.
The best Leaf players last night were Polak, Kadri, Clarkson and Santorelli. The rest were pretty much awol.
Is ROR a bonifide number one centre? Is he significantly better than Kadri or Holland or Bozak when you factor in who they all play with, and ice time given? If so, do what you need to do to get him. Otherwise fans will have to be patient to trade or draft a bonifide number one centre, and move out one of Bozak Kadri or Holland.
In Shero’s case, he inherited the top end players on the team you reference (Crosby, Malkin, etc.). Shero’s first pick was for Jordan Staal. Sure any idiot can find some (keyword is some) success with top talent like that, but not a cup win.
As a Pens fan, I can go back to that post 2005 time period where you had a lot of starpower and no results. Shero came in and made the key depth moves – Adams off waivers, drafting Staal (before you say that was a no brainer, look at Yakupov, Daigle, Stefan, etc.), hiring Bylsma, good trades for Guerin and Kuntiz, etc.
Sure he hadn’t won the cup since 09, but there were several factors out of his control – Fleury crapped out the one year, Crosby getting injured, manoeuvring around the cap as the talented youth got off entry level/sophomore contracts. His firing had as much to do with his lack of recent success (due to things outside his control) as it did the team wanting to go in another direction. I think he’d be a decent fit for the Leafs at this point as he has an ability to find value which they have lacked for years.
ROR is better than any Leaf C.
A new extension is at the crux of everything. A 2-way top 2 C helps any team get better.
Apparently the Leafs have recalled both Percy and Leivo. Wonder if a trade is coming down today?
Staals slapshot was gutless, and classless. His brother gets rocked with a clean body check, then he spears Phaneuf, who then punches him up. Then he fires the puck and skates away like a coward and stays on the bench till the game is over. I do not usually stick up for Phaneuf, but I lost all the admiration I ever had for Staal last night. As for Staal moving anywhere from Carolina, he has the dreaded GOOTS disease. Get Out Of The Spotlight. Vinnie Lecavalier, Rick Nash, Brad Richards, the Staals, etc. do not want to play for any team in Canada because they do not have the stones for it. Shame.
Perhaps it has more to do with wanting to win than not having the “stones” for it?
So stay with the Canes? Not sure I see a connection to winning there, also Id point out that currently there are some Canadian teams that are looking pretty decent…no one said Leafs Oilers or Sens. :-p
I was more referring to Richards, Nash etc…… But did anybody honestly think in the off season Calgary, Vancouver or Winnipeg would be anywhere near as good as they have been? I just can’t stand the BS talk of Canadians playing in the US. It is a little mind numbing to be honest. It is right down there with the “Lazy Russian” conversations. Canada has 7 teams, The United States has 23. There is obviously going to be a LOT of Canadian players playing outside the Canadian markets.
I think the argument is more about star players not coming to big Canadian markets but lining up to play for team Canada come Olympic time. I’m not a leaf fan more of an interested leaf observer but I am still holding out hope Stamkos goes back home. To at least set some precedents for other stars.
murph…. as I said earlier thorton tried to hit phaneuf with a dump in to in san jose who know what phaneuf or anyone is saying on the ice
Caps and Avs could be a fit. Green and Kuznetsov for ROR, Holden and a 2nd round pick or two 3rds.
Before you argue on the Caps giving up a young talent like Kuzetsov consider he is only a year younger than ROR, but ROR is by far the better player at this point in time. And Green is a UFA who will want a big salary and then will get hurt anyway so the Caps won’t resign him this time around so getting a depth D plus a good pick or picks for Green is a solid return.
I think that would be a tempting offer for the Caps.
What I’d like to see from the Avalanche is a gutsy trade proposal for a number 1 d-man, for example Karlsson and Greening (just to be nice and take that contract) for ROR, 2016 1st, a second or third pairing roster D, a D prospect of Ottawa’s choice, and the option to trade picks in the first round of the 2015 draft if Colorado has a lower pick or take a 2nd. Or something like that. They could also make a similar offer to Montreal or Chicago (although much these are probably less likely to happen). I think something like a Norris winner plus bad contract for ROR, multiple picks, D, and prospect might work as long ROR signs.
@ NYR4LIFE Carolina is in 28th place (Leafs heading there too!) and has been at the bottom for years. If he wants to win, Carolina has less of a chance than any team in Canada. He is comfy. Simple as that. Leafs had a horrible game, Staal had a good game and their goalie stood on his head. Staal is a great player, would love to see him as a Leaf, but that move last night was bush league.
I can’t say that I agree on him having less of a chance in Carolina than any Canadian team. Edmonton? Ottawa? I don’t think he wants to be a part of a re-build process at this point in his career. And if he is going to be asked to do it……Why not just stay where he is?
Edmonton doesn’t need ROR adding Macdavid or Eichel will give them two top line centers who are still young but will be good.
Trading nurse would be dumb also he will be a top defenseman in a couple years.
They should move Eberle to Boston for Subban,a young defensemen like Krug or Morrow and a young prospect like Koko or Spooner. That would give them their number one goalie they will need and a couple good prospects and cap space.
Sorry didn’t think about Bostons cap space. Maybe add Kelly or Boston can move some salary elsewhere.
I think Subban is going to have to get a game or two under his belt in the NHL before we declare him a #1 goalie.
Oilers announced today that they would be interested in trading their 1st round pick (not Pittsburgh’s)for a player who is further along in development. Let the speculation begin.
Maybe Buffalo will swing a deal and potentially get both McDavid and Eichel.
I think Dion showed a lot of heart last night. I’m not saying it was his best game but he will drop the gloves if need be. We’ve been missing our heart and soul guys and it’s showing.
I’m tired of watching Clarkson drop the gloves and get dummied every time. He can’t fight, has hands of stone and can barely stand up on the ice. I still don’t understand why the won’t put him in front of the net like they did in Jersey. That’s how he scored 30.
As far as Kessel is concerned I can’t handle it anymore. Send him somewhere else. No character, no heart, no determination. It’s getting ridiculous and I don’t see a solution besides dropping him.
Nah. Phil is misunderstood. He’s a top player in this league who gets 80 pts with his eyes closed and just needs insulation! BAHAHAHAHA!!
PJ, what don’t I understand? Haha
lol exactly pj I mean he has 1 even strength goal in the past 19 insulation for a 8million dollar player is all it takes!
Ya hes terrible only 1 goal in the padt 15 games and is exactly 1 point behind Nash, Stamkos and 2 benhind Taveres….smh
And, of course, the Leafs would NEVER deal him straight up in a one-for-one to get any of Nash, Stamkos or Tavares! In a New York Minute they would.
Not what I am saying…I accept him for what he is, of course Id take a center over a winger…or a guy like Nash who is a bit better defensively but fact is he is still an elite point producer. What Id rather do is get a center for him to play with. I dont think trading Kessel helps anything, he is not the problem, him Bozak and JVR playing on the same line against other toplines is the problem…should be playing either with a way better defensive Centre and left winger or on the second line like Kane imo. Top 6 is built wrong not Kessels fault.
Was Nash not hugely over paid CBJ if this is the criteria? How many years did he get them into the playoffs?
You guys make no sense you say all these negative things but in no way have any idea how to make it any better.
What team in the NHL has an $8mill dollar complementary player? Weather you like it or not Kessel is the corner stone of the Leafs franchise at this moment, could a trade happen sure but you are going to be disappointed at what comes back.
Shticky, are you even watching him play? If you think that’s an acceptable way for an 8 million dollar a year guy to play then Im worth a solid 2 mil. He doesn’t have those intangibles that we need. He seems to not care at all out there. He’s set in his ways, it’s not like he’s 20 and you can change some bad habits.
Ok the contract is signed now what? Can they revoke it? How can they trade it if even you a spectator can see he is over paid?
What I see is a guy who hates to lose losing lots. Id be pissed off and depressed too. lol
shticky…..you are blind at what ppl are saying you are so caught up with stats that you don’t see the intangibles!! he is by far one of the worst defensive players in the league and when a team is losing and the highest paid player isn’t even trying in his defensive zone don’t you think that is a major problem? jeeesus
Unless I rattled my zipper jello Id prefer if you kept your mouth closed around me….thanks
What I see is a guy who has tons of raw talent but isn’t interested in putting in extra work to be a better all around player and more of a positive impact to his team. He made it clear in Boston that he wasn’t interested in conditioning or any of the extra work his team mates were doing around him. That’s why Boston sent him packing and opted for a core that didn’t include Phil. Fast forward to today and not much has changed aside from the Bruins cut bait before Phil got his big pay day and now the Leafs are married to this overpaid, outmatched, core player. Too much cap hit for too little impact and it’s only going to get worse as he ages.
The Kane (6.3 mill) and Kopitar (6.8mill) comparisons are misguided. These guys play for GREAT teams. Cup Champions. Having players like Kane and Kopitar fill out your top 6 on a Cup contending rosters with players like Doughty (7mill) and Keith (5.5mill) in the fold is easier to manage and really both Kane and Kopitar do not cheat the D zone like Phill does. But the Leafs have a below average club and are paying Phil (who isn’t better than any of these guys) more money (8mill). It’s lunacy really.
well put pj! everytime shticky throws an insult you know if realizes he is wrong! lol
Kane makes 10 mill starting next year Bobby Ryan makes 7, Ill take Kessel at 8 mill. Go on about backchecking and trying hard all ya want lol Kane doesnt backcheck generally off the ice as the puck crosses the red line yes I do watch a few Hawk games and yes there are infact stats that say the same thing. Without Hossa Toews Sharp Keith and Seabrook the Hawks dont see a final let alone does Kane win an MVP.
so funny hearing you try to stick up for the most 1 dimensional player in the league only cause he wears blue and white! lol
No thanks to ROR from a Sabres perspective. He’s not offensive. Something the Sabres need. Sabres also have a tonne of centers coming up so ROR would just be to expensive as a 3rd line center once Reinhart and McEichel are ready take over. Plus we still have Grigorenko, Girgensons, Ennis and Compher as centers. If anything we need a scoring wing. So the Sabres won’t be giving up Myers for ROR.
Ever think about renaming this forum to “Leafs trade rumours” 🙂 Seems to me that any trades speculated about is some how always connected to the Leafs. That may have been true in the pre Cap era but I suspect that before any one discusses the rush for players throughout the league going to TO, fans should look at the TO Cap info
http://stats.nhlnumbers.com/teams/TOR?year=2015
I would classify this as trolling, one thing Lyle doesn’t do is favor a certain team (I believe he is a Habs fan). The Leafs are all over the news right now and if you haven’t noticed this is a collection of rumors from around the league.
ROR has been mentioned here just as much as the Leafs have over the last month or so …
@DINO
Leafs r always all over the news. Rumour just in…
Insert same story n pick a year
I’m a flames fan living in Calgary I know this all to well. I was also born in 80s and grew up with every Saturday night being a Toronto or Montreal game. But the truth is the Leafs are the biggest draw in Hockey and with that comes the most media coverage. Its the same in baseball with the Yankees (Go Yankees) they dominate a lot of media coverage because of the huge loyal fan base. Truth is you choose to participate and so do a lot of other people so just deal with it.
quit trolling dino!! lol
Expand into Toronto n watch that team move forward faster.
Rather that than a pathetic team making the most money.
Fans deserve a hockey team not the Cubs of hockey.
@Gordie – I agree another team in Ontario would be good for the game and the fans. Don’t think that changes much for the Leafs but more Canadian teams is always a +.
@Jello – Slow at work I’m trolling everywhere today lol
dino…. lol just messing with you!!
@FRED
I prefer Leafs Reruns Forum.
Same place wrong year.
totally agree fred
95 comments and counting and well over 80% relate to the Leafs, as if the other 20 teams don’t exist. And if anyone dares question some of the proposed trades or comments negatively towards a Leafs player – he/she is a “troll.” Lyle, don’t look now but you’ve just become the Toronto Sun North.
What are you talking about? I don’t think there’s any Leafs fan right now is so stupid as to think any of the players on the team are flawless.
It’s just a lot of the anti-Leafs guys come on and say Phaneuf, Kessel, Lupul, Gardiner are untradeable because their deals are so bad and that goes against what we hear from McKenzie, Lebrun, etc.
All the Leafs are movable except for Clarkson.
And how often are those guys right? Their overall record is probably lower than Edmonton’s save %. Moveable where? Who do you see with cap space to accommodate long-term $5 to 8$ mil cap hits?
You take salary back, like Clarkson for Semin. Not saying that specific trade would happen, but just saying that’s how it works – you take a bad contract back to even out the cap or you hold some salary.
You are called a troll because all you do is leaf hate. You expect to keep bashing Leaf players and not have anyone question your opinion, doesn’t work that way. With a large contingent of Leaf fans, who btw generate money for this site due to hits you can expect opposition, specially because you’re opinion are so redundant and repetitive.
You are absolutely insane if you think Kessel can’t be moved. The Leafs might not get an ideal return since they are dealing from a place of weakness but Kessel can be moved easily in the off season.
You not even a little wrong, you are a lot wrong. You’re valuation of kessel is on par with the Leaf fans who come on here and suggest ridiculous trades like Bozak and a 2nd for Hall.
8 Million is less than you think, its not 1940 which is when you were a teenager watching hockey. It’s 2014 and an elite scorer can take up 8 Million. Patrick Kane makes 10 million starting next year. Before you go on about his cups, he did that on the back of Toews, Seabrook, Keith, Hossa and role players like Bolland, Bickell, Buff etc.
Kessel outplayed him on the Olympic team this year.
It’s simply frustrating to hear the hate spewing out of your mouth. We get it, Leafs are terrible, the fans are idiotsr and ignorant and players have no value. That is your post day in day out. Talk about a broken record.
Rant over.
*Mic drop*
*Slow Clap
Bahahahaha!
Post of the day!
That’s been building up for a few days now hasn’t it?
mdz…. to bad the leafs core wouldn’t bring the effort you just did!! lol by the way georges opinion is worth the exact same as yours…… just saying lol
I’m not a Leaf hater…but this can be said for both sides, with a slight change for Leaf fans..
“You are called a Leaf homer because all you do is leaf love. You expect to keep over-rating Leaf players and not have anyone question your opinion, doesn’t work that way. With a large contingent of non-Leaf fans coming to this site, you can expect opposition, specially because you’re opinion’s are so redundant and repetitive.”
I think Kessel and all Leaf players can be moved. My issue is that the price for the Leaf player is ridiculously high, while the price for the player coming back to the Leafs is bargain basement low. The Leaf fan even goes on to point out the good assets of the incoming player and the reasons to trade the outgoing player….and still post a one sided trade.
Took the words right out of my mouth Gary. Just don’t expect them to see any logic in what you say.
Your problem, Mdz, is that you can’t distinguish “hate” from “pragmatism” – I’ll wait while you look it up … Hell, even Lyle was accused by some dips*^t of “hating” Stewart when he kept saying the Sabres were simply asking too much for someone whose game has been in decline for some time. Take a long walk, cool off, and then come to the realization that, as long as some see proposed Leafs trades in here as being off the charts they will voice their opinions. Do I “hate” the Leafs? Not at all. If anything my emotion towards them is more in the nature of pity. I just don’t see their individual worth as being anywhere near what some think they can get in return for them.
Thanks George, however, I don’t need your condescending attitude towards my English skills. It’s my second language; however I still excel at it enough to hold a conversation.
I call it like it is, my posts are not limited to “leaf’s love’ either Gary. I openly question the scouting, the bad contracts that exist and admit that some of these will be extremely tough to move. I counter trade proposals if needed and I also don’t support them unless a logical argument can be made.
My problem is with George who thinks every Leaf proposal is bad; doesn’t matter what it is. Kessel can’t be moved? check out Lyls’ assesment today; matches exactly what I said.
When you come in with nothing but aggressive rebuttal to anything that contains the words Maple Leafs that makes you ignorant. Furthermore, having an aloof attitude and stating “I’ll wait while you look it up” makes you a giant douche. Show some passion and don’t act like a little b**ch.
You don’t know it yourself George but YOU.ARE.A.TROLL
I do not think every Leafs trade proposal is bad. And you simply cannot go back and pinpoint “every” in that context. That ‘s just generalizing BS! What I do refute are the repeated canoes for battleships proposals and unrealistic high-cost long-term salary dumps of the likes of Phaneuf, Clarkson and he perpetually-injured Lupul. And I will continue to do so whether or not your think skin can take it. And by the way, I never said Kessel can’t the player can’t bed moved – what I keep saying is Kessel’s contract/term can’t be moved. Huge difference. If, when it happens, I will admit my error in judgement. But I don’t expect that will ever happen because the deeper it goes into his term and the older he gets, if he doesn’t do anything about his overall approach to both his game and his conditioning, his trade value will wither away into nothing. Just my opinion Mdz, and if you don’t like it, fine. Could not possibly care less. And please, for the edification of everyone, how does stating my opinion make me a “troll?”
“… other 29 teams …” Damned faded script.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that it looks like some Leafs are auditioning for trade deadline day. Kessel @ 8 mill a season should not be outshot by Polak in consecutive games. Polak is a warrior, and Franson JVR, and Kadri are both playing like they actually want to remain in Toronto. But I think whether or not he’s admitted it to himself or others, Kessel wants out. He isn’t just going through a bad streak, he legitimately looks like he would rather be somewhere else. Maybe he’s hurt, or maybe suffering from something psychological, but I think it’s more that he’s mentally finished with the spotlight that is Toronto. He’ll be requesting a trade before the deadline if he hasn’t already. Could also be that he has already, but it hasn’t gone beyond Kessel and upper management.
I don’t think Phanuef has asked for a trade, but I doubt he’d oppose one either.
Hello,
For some strange reason some are focusing on the fact that Kessel makes big money. The trade off is goals for money. My opinion is both are irrelevant at this point in the game. Not only that but if the return isn’t equal value that’s okay. 8 million off the payroll is a good thing. Removing someone who has no leadership skills that is getting paid 8 million (and this is not an attack on Phil Kessel but real constructive criticism for Leaf’s brass), removing someone who doesn’t prepare physically for the season and jokes about it with the media, someone who is openly irritated with even the notion that “he” might be part of the problem…. I mean come on guys. Ask yourself the question…”If I was the GM of any team in the league would I pay 8 million and make him the highest paid player on the team? Would I invest such focus onto a player whose only talent is scoring goals?” Phil does not even try to get into the opponent’s skating lanes as as a sort of “defensive tactic”. Unfortunately due to injury and lack of depth when he is in a slump, there really isn’t any scoring threat on the Leafs right now and he knows that. He knows he’s the only bonafide “elite” player on the Leafs. Now this invites more questions for the brass upstairs, knowing that Lupul, Bozak and Kessel gave a good showing for the first line on the team, what do they do? Exactly…trade for van Riemsdyk. They needed a number one centre or a number one goaltender and they bring in a winger! Tear that team down, bring in the exorcist, smudge that room, and make the players place pyramids under their bench. Sittler claims to have had a pyramid under his seat the night he scored 6 goals and four assists, the record Gretzky couldn’t break. They need to shake that funk out!
The main issue trading Kessel is getting a top 2 D man or top 2 C in return. Thats hard to do let alone find. Any other trade is a lateral move n better be good inside of 3 yrs. Thats what any deal involves.
Kessel for Yandle is best out there atm. Question is does that change the Leafs lot uf Arizona ever wanted less cap room? or ROR is option ‘B’ if a C is wanted.