NHL Rumor Mill – October 10, 2020
Plenty of notable talent remains in the NHL’s UFA market. Check out the latest on Alex Pietrangelo, Taylor Hall and more in today’s rumor mill.
PIETRANGELO
STLTODAY.COM: Tom Timmermann took note of the Vegas Golden Knights trading center Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets yesterday. He speculates it was done as part of an attempt clear sufficient salary-cap space to sign former St. Louis Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.
Alex Pietrangelo remains available entering the second day of NHL free agency (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Cap Friendly indicates the Golden Knights only have $1.875 million in cap space. They must shed more salary to come up with enough for Pietrangelo. The Las Vegas Sun’s Justin Emerson isn’t ruling out a splashy signing, suggesting Marc-Andre Fleury and defenseman Nate Schmidt could become cost-cutting trade options.
TORONTO SUN: Terry Koshan reports Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas put in a call yesterday to Pietrangelo’s agent but that’s as far as it went. Dubas admitted the Leafs were never close to signing the former Blues captain, shifting instead to signing former Calgary Flames rearguard T.J. Brodie.
HALL
TVA SPORTS: reports Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin indicated former Arizona Coyotes winger Taylor Hall was a player he was watching closely in the UFA market. He added signing Hall would depend upon the number of years and the annual average salary. TVA Sports also speculated the Habs could have an interest in Dallas Stars winger Corey Perry.
NBC SPORTS BOSTON: Nick Goss notes the Bruins have around $15 million in salary-cap space, suggesting they use it to pursue a forward. UFA options could include Hall, Tyler Toffoli, Mike Hoffman, Evgenii Dadonov or Craig Smith.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hall is reportedly willing to consider one- or two-year deals with an eye on testing the free-agent market again for a more lucrative deal. That will undoubtedly make him attractive to playoff hopefuls like the Canadiens. The Bruins, however, could have the upper hand if they still feel their Stanley Cup window remains open.
BARRIE
THE PROVINCE: Patrick Johnson reports the Vancouver Canucks have been connected to former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Tyson Barrie. The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames were also linked to Barrie.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: David Staples notes conflicting reports among TSN insiders linking Barrie to the Oilers. Ryan Rishaug and Darren Dreger said the club is in the mix for the blueliner, but Pierre LeBrun said Barrie was too expensive for the Oilers. That view is shared by Staples’ colleague Jim Matheson, who also reported the Oilers could be interested in UFA goalie Thomas Greiss or trade with Carolina for Petr Mrazek.
LATEST ON THE RED WINGS
THE DETROIT NEWS: Ted Kulfan reports Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman isn’t done making moves to plug some holes in his roster. He signed winger Bobby Ryan and defenseman Jon Merrill yesterday. The Wings need a goaltender as well as another defenseman and another forward.
MLIVE.COM: Ansar Khan suggests Thomas Greiss would be the Wings’ best option for a short-term goaltender.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Cap Friendly indicates the Wings still have over $25 million in cap space. If yesterday’s signings are any indication, however, Yzerman doesn’t intend to make an expensive splash in the UFA market. With so many goalies coming off the market yesterday, Greiss is now the best of the remaining bunch.
Hall to Bruins makes sense for both
With $15,395,186 cap still available to sign 4 (including RFAs DeBrusk and Grzelcyk) they certainly have enough
Them or COL for Hall George and crrob
If what he really wants is a shot at the cup, a 1 yr deal with the Avs seems like the better play.
Sakic still has Zadorov, Graves and Burakovsky to sign.
All good players.
It is next year when he has some bigger tickets in Makar and Landeskog.
It has been quiet in Boston, not sure what they are up to.
Do they still see themselves as contenders?
Is Jacobs just getting tight as his businesses are hurting?
Waiting for bargains at the end?
I dunno.
Ray it has been reported that Boston put a short term offer in for Hall.
I agree there is better options for Hall.
A 2yr deal would be nice for Boston.
If not still some decent talent available that won’t cost as much.
Burakovsky just re-resigned – $4.9 for 2 years
Taylor Hall will be leaving big money on the table if he signs short term.
AVS & SAKIC
If the Avs can open the door to a dal to get
M .A. Fleury they are golden
…I think he is the missing piece to get to a Conference Finals and or Finals !
they still have lots of cap space and I do not see then resigning Landeskog to a long term deal of significant money if he wanst to stay as they need to keep Makar and MCkinnon so they might cut ties with him …a la Pietriangelo ..
They are positioned the best right now to take on MA Fleury and possibly Hall …!
I believe the Avs see Landy as a core piece so I doubt they just walk away after this year. They can afford all of Landy, Makar and Mac if they manage the rest of their contracts carefully. There is always the possibility they sign Hall long-term then trade Landy but that doesn’t sound like something Joe would do.
MAF is an expensive experiment. He might still have gas in the tank, he might not.
Agree with NMAvsFsn. Landy is very popular here. It’s an odd dynamic though where Landy is the captain but it’s MacKinnon’s team. I can’t see the Avs offering Hall more than a one-year deal. Sakic is a GM who is likely already considering who he’ll protect from the expansion draft next summer. Fleury only makes sense if the Avs send a goalie the other way.
I don’t see the Habs signing high end Hall or low end Perry.
I believe they could though sign someone like Haula, Athanasiou, Janmark , Colin Wilson or Craig Smith.
A versatile forward who can play center if required during injuries, but can also play the wing on a line with KK & probably Amira.
Duclair might help solve some of the “cultural” issues Timmins has encountered post the Draft.
He does have issues, but they are the same issues as Athanasiou.
He should be coming in at $2.5 to $3 mill given his lack of defensive play, but he’s acting as his own agent and that is often a problem/ false savings.
Gauthier also could be signed, and for the same reason.
Keep the salary here down to just over a million, make it a one-way, and he can be safely stashed on the farm as a backup C.
rich
Rich, what cultural issues?
Tuch, yes. Perry maybe. Gautier? Why him? He is big but he also is a center that neither scored nor played with an edge in Toronto.
Gauthier and Fortier, I’m afraid, are headed for a career as an AHL mainstay and short-term call-up to cover for injuries … not the first and certainly won’t be the last.
Yes George, even playing in Laval keep the growl lower than not signing them at all.
Just another must in the Montreal world.
Remember, Jeff Molson had to issue a public apology to the Quebec based fans because Kirk Muller didn’t speck French during Claude’s illness!!!!
Uwey, lowering the pool of GMs/coaches because of language is an insane approach to running a pro enterprise. It would be even more pronounced in Quebec City should they ever get another franchise – which is why I maintain they won’t.
In addition, it’s bad enough with Montreal having difficulty in attracting high-end UFAs due to the language issues, it would be even worse for Quebec City. There are simply too many other options now, none of which have official legislation making English persona-non-grata.
Rich: I looked it up.
Yup tiresome and idiotic alright. Timmins should have answered: Louis Leblanc, who was drafted because he was a francophone.
Another year it was all about size and the Habs drafted Mike McCarron.
I remember Patrick Roy being interviewed when he was with Colorado and the subject turned to a francophone UFA – can’t recall his name – that Montreal originally drafted in the 2nd round and when asked if the Avalanche might have any interest in him, responded “why would we – even Montreal wouldn’t even have looked at him twice if his name had been Smith …”
Best ever line by Roy was when he said he couldn’t hear Jeremy roenicks trash talk because his ears were plugged with his 2 cup rings.
Then to fulfill the necessity of sign a “token” francophone or two for media reasons in Montreal, there are depth players like Freddie Gauthier &/or Max Fortier.
LJ,
Well you might ask: “what cultural issues?”.
The whole thing is just too involved and tiresome to set down here, but if you Google “Trevor Timmins Québec players”, you will get a full synopsis of the last 3 days’ events in this regard.
rich
I would like to see the Habs go after Alex Tuck fits exactly what they need . Helps Vegas with there cap issue just not sure they woant to give him up.
Didn’t they draft his brother? Could be a nice fit.
Swany, I also would really like this guy but doubt Vegas will co-operate.
Too good, too young, on a really good contract.
I think they’ll shed elsewhere.
rich
TUCH
Ive been pumping Alex Tuchs tires for about 3 years now ..if anyone reads my posts ..
I wish my team had made a play for him as well..
A player that is similar that maybe had is Warren Foegel …from the canes ..doesn’t quite have the shot Tuch has ..but his over all game is very similar and scores more with his work ethic than strength and high end shot !
But this is the player that is the comparable …IMO who is an RFA
Id love to get him now in the early years ..I do not believe that the Knights want to give up a player like Tuch ..he is exactly what the league is moving toward sin the way of player development for most teams except the Leafs ..IDIOTS!
Leafs missed out on Jankowski …
Pens scooped him up for nothing another very good 3rd line centre with size and skill.
Will always be a 3rd line centre but he is the perfect build and quality for that position for any team especially for teams hard up against the cap !
The Flames have done a masterful Job as well this year with CAP …they still have just under 7 million to spend and they signed both Markstrom and Tanev to long term deals and kept all the HIGH end players intact ..UNLIKE DUBAS who opened up the coffers and dished out too much money and strapped them long term to build a team around 4 players which he now can not do !
Brodie does not move the needle for the Leafs ..it was another waste of money !
Can pretty much forget about Vegas giving up Tuch. He’s a key in their line-up just signed long-term. At this writing Vegas has $1,875,896 in cap space with 2 to sign – easily accomplished with the elevation of two ELCs,
We know they tried moving Fleury and there was talk yesterday that maybe they’d shop Pacioretty – but at $7 mil per each that’s not going to happen. And right now it doesn’t need to.
They’re more likely to try and move Nosek ($1,250,000 and a UFA next year) and/or D-man Holden ($1,700,00 for 2 years – then a UFA) to free up some wiggle room.
George, As you point out, adding 2 players in elc’s puts them right at ceiling. I don’t see any path to adding Petrieangelo. Even if they miraculously trade MAF, and don’t take back/retain salary (doubtful)they still need to add another goalie. That leaves 6 mil to sign Petro. They’d have to move mire salary. After all that, what kind of roster are you left with.
Hi Slick62 and George
I posted on the mirning Coffee side re Petro and Knights
They win’t take on Petro and Keep Scmidt
Moving Schmidt and bringing in Petro will cost a net Cap need possibly in the $2-$2.5 M range
They had discussed moving Martinez
They could… move Schmidt and Martinez… whatever they get in return from those two…. package with MAF … for a team to take him at full $7M Cap…. that tram then can retain 50% and move him for a nice return to a team happy to take MAF at a cap hit of $3.5 M * 2
Those moves give Knights $18M in space for Petro; another D and s back-up… certainly doable
i would think Boston needs Pietrangelo more than Hall, they don’t have a lot of depth back there after losing Krug
Again, if that is their goal inst ead, as I say above they have the necessary cap space
I think the B’s will be OK on the backend, but ya they need to add some depth.
They are good on the right side and Petro is RD.
Depends what Chara does and if they even want him back. Is he OK as a 6/7 D making $1.5M and killing penalties? I think Zboril will be on the big club too but smaller minutes and rotate in and out. Likely have 8 on the roster.
There might be some bargains for 4/5 type guys, but against the odds most are RD.
Charlie will run the PP play on the PK and get 25+ minutes a night, Carlo the PK and 22 minutes a night. Gerzlyk 2nd PP, Lauzon will get tougher minutes too.
So Boston signed Smith for 3.1mil. Subtract that from what’s left.
They should still have enough for either Hall or Pietrangelo – but just barely.
It was suggested that VGK is looking to move Schmidt to save cap space to sign Pietrangelo.
If they can move Schmidt $5.95M and MAF 50% retained $3.5M that’s would give Vegas enough to sign Pietrangelo
Now…they may have to give MAF away but they really have no choice. If the want to sign Pietrangelo they’re going to have to do some fancy foot work.
@ Daryl
thx for the convo yesterday ..not much panned out and the Leafs went the wrong direction ..IMO ..
But anyways good convo thx for being respectful …look forward to talking more ..
just an FYI …id still rather Risto ..than Brodie ..LOL !
Cheers – take care
Hi Daryl
Reading and responding to posts North to South… so reading/responding to yours after I posted above re Vegas moves to get Petro… its doable
I suspect there could be more “Tyler Johnson” moves to be made before the season starts.
Could the Leafs be put in a position to do so with Johnsson or Kerfoot ???
That said if no other team claims them, the cap hit savings for buried contracts is still only $1,075,000 in the 2020/21 season.
Then the only hope is to put said players on re-entry waivers & hope like Hell, another team picks up said players at 50% of their salary & cap hit.
This process could become extremely interesting for those of us entertained by such things!!!!
Hello Uwey, I believe that the CBA ratified in January 2013 eliminated re-entry waivers. Did the recent CBA reinstate them?
Kal El. Nice talking to you yesterday as well. I’ll always be respectful…it’s just a game.
Brodie will be a good partner for Reilly. He played very well in CGY with Giordano.
Now, there was an article today that said the Leafs are intent on keeping Dermott which might make Holl and Liljgren available online trade.
Do you think the Leafs could work some magic with Vegas again to help out their goalie situation…and by helping them I mean sending a good RHD over as part of the deal?
This way VGK can sign Pietrangelo.
See if this makes sense…
To TOR: Nate Schmidt, MAF (50%) salary retained.
To VGK: Justin Holl
Vegas would shave $9.45M by trading Schmidt/MAF then take back $2M on Holl. Net savings of $7.45M
TOR would then trade Fleury ($3.5M) and Johnsson ($3.4M)to CAR for Foegele.
I’m sure somebody would take two years of MAF for $3.5M a year?
@ Daryl
Cheers…
While Brodie is a decent D man and has helped out a Norris Trophy winning D man along the way ..I just don’t see him moving the needle ..sure he is a serviceable D man but as we saw in this years playoffs ..teams have leap frogged the Leafs development …and they needed a more impactful player than Brodie … IMO …
I fear Brodie is another Barrie in sheep’s clothing !
Leafs still need to size up on the wings in the top 6 ..they also need a better 3rd line that is heavy on the fore-check and the body or they are going no where …they really need to upgrade Nylander ..not his points per say but his impact on a game for 60 minutes through and through ..ive never been a fan and never will be !
leafs took wayyyyy to many Europeans in the draft and its always been said that most Cup winning teams have high Canadian player content….they really missed out this year with possibly some of the best Canadian content in the first 5 rounds ever !
Your suggestion of a deal is a lot to digest ..LOL …
The deal looks good however Id move Anderson for Foegel and keep M A fleury for next 2 cup runs.
Right now on cap friendly the Leafs have the highest salary of any team in the NHL ..they need to shed a lot of salary …but doing so they will not be able to upgrade multiple area of deficiency ! Unfortunately !!!!
Leafs miss playoffs this year with tis roster ..just not going to cut it !
All other team are improving around them and true contenders the leafs can not match in a long series….
Cheers
I don’t know how they’ll do it but, Pietrangelo just confirmed he’s going to Vegas to meet.
TJ Brodie was excellent with the Flames after the health scare incident. He was very steady and can play on the left side in a pinch. Under Gulatzun he lost confidence when forced to play the left side with Stone and Hamonic. Both a mismatch . He is not a physical player and his offence has dropped off. He is a good skater and is much better defensively then some give him credit for. He can definitely help the Leafs get the puck out of their end. I do wonder if the media circus and pressure in Toronto will cause his game to regress.
Ttutone, he’d better relish the minute attention – he should be talking to Barrie and Cecy who both wilted under that relentless focus.
He’s experienced gaffes in Calgary throughout his career but the attention they received there will seem like passing interest should one cause the Leafs a win early in the season because, from that point on, he won’t even be able to fart in public without it being headline news and the subject of analysis in the sports pages of 3 major dailies, never mind umpteen talk shows and so-called “national” outfits like TSN.
While the actual proposed trade makes some sense, CAR doesn’t quite have enough cap room to make that happen. Even then, I’m sure CAR would rather keep Foegele for about half the price of Johnsson.
I’m sure, though, that CAR wouldn’t mind a half-price Fleury.
Friendly reminder, though, that CAR has 2 serviceable goalies for this year, so there’s no reason to panic and make a bad trade.
Slick62 – re Pietrangelo going to Vegas for an interview – not only would they need to move significant can to sign him, what I read in The Athletic covering that trip has me wondering WHAT?
“Earlier Saturday, Pietrangelo said the Blues’ decision to sign unrestricted free agent defenseman Torey Krug “caught me off guard,” The Athletic reported.
Pietrangelo told The Athletic he had “nothing to say” about a new contract with the Blues.
Although Krug agreed to a seven-year. $45.5 million contract (average annual value $6.5 million) on Friday, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said Friday that the signing does not prevent them from re-signing Pietrangelo. ”
Does he think he’s David Copperfield? After signing Krug they currently sit $875,515 over the cap with 23 signed and although they could easily get under by the demotion of an ELC, they still must re-sign RFA Vince Dunn ho’s coming off a pretty good year and an ELC of $722,500. He’ll cost at least $2.5 on a bridge deal. So to re-sign both Dunn and Pietrangelo Armstrong would need to shed around $11 mil elsewhere.
So who – and where in Hell do they go? I wish these GMs would talk frankly and quit blowing smoke outta their butt-holes.
Nah Uwey, Wendel thinks they should be part of a package – along with Holl and Dermott. to get Dumba from Minnesota!
Mister Richardson, first, thanks for your excellent site; I read everything, every day. One very minor, and hopefully constructive, so-so comment, though : when you post a photograph, and the text is on the right side of it, it creates on my phone a vertical line of letters, that I kind of gave up, trying to read. May be it’s just me, I can’t back up a trailer properly, might be something wrong with my brains, ah ah ! Anyways, no big deal, and thanks again for the site.
Patrick, sounds like word-wrap at work. You can try holding down CTRL and scrolling if it’s also on your PC – or just copy and paste in Note Pad or Word – as for phones – maybe someone else has a solution – don’t use the damned things 🙂
Thanks, George, very kind ! on my laptop , now, and it’s perfect. Like every other day, I just talked too much, again 🙂
Nah, not at all Patrick – in fact, come in more often – we need fresh views and ideas
George O… could STL gain enough cap space to sign Pietrangelo and Dunn by having Tarasenko and Bouwmeester on LTIR? I couldn’t find J-Bo on STL roster…
Tarasenko is $7.5M and J-Bo is $3.25M that’s almost enough to give Pietrangelo $8.5M and Dunn $2.5M. If they can “give” Steen away with a nice pick (1st round) they’ll easily be cap compliant. Not a great long term solution but it would get them through this year.
That’s a thought Daryl. Is Tarasanko expected to be out long term?
This article, dated August 26, said he’s expected to be out 5 months. If you count from Sept 1, by Jan 1 that would be 4 months. IF they start Jan 1 – and that’s couched in cautious terms. If it goes closer to Feb 1 there’s the 5 months and so he could be back in action fairly early in a new condensed season.
https://nhltradetalk.com/tarasenko-requires-further-surgery-will-miss-start-of-next-season/
Not related to anything in particular. Rangers team site has newly aquired forward Rooney listed as #16. Meanwhile, last years #16, Ryan Strome isn’t on roster. No mention of a trade. Hmmm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy1X-2YVHUc
Nothing to that end anywhere
Lol. I think it was just a glitch on website. They fixed it. Gorton did admit before draft he was having discussions on him though.
George O- there were rumours/reports that Tarasenko’s shoulder injury was worse than first thought.
Maybe there is something going on behind the scenes in STL about Pietrangelo? Seems odd that they’d trade for then sign a RHD in Faulk before negotiating with their captain. Then to sign Krug, an offensive defenceman basically means Pietrangelo is going somewhere else.
Vegas needs to work some serious magic to fit Pietrangelo as they’re only $1.75M below the cap today. Can’t see them paying Pietrangelo $8.5M, Schmidt $5.95M, and Theodore $5M …one of those RHD has to go.,
I am going to rant about the Oilers this team has done nothing to improve them selfs. They need goaltending but let all Ufa goalies sign with everyone else what is Holland up to. Maybe that’s why Detroit let him go I just don’t understand what he is doing I know they are up against the cap but come on do something That is all
I think they signed Barrie
Nothing to that end showing yet in CapFriendly, Slick62 – and they ‘re usually right up to date
Done deal George. 3.75 for 1 year. Supposedly had 2 other teams offering more.
Yep – just saw it pop in. Also signed bsck-up goalie Anton Forsberg for 1 year at $700,000. So now they have $1,532,509 to sign 1 with RFA Ethan Bear still to re-up. He’s coming off an ELC of $720,000 so, combined with the demotion of someone like Haas or Nygard they should have enough
Robo, I would have liked to see them do more for a tender as well. Don’t we already know Smith isn’t good enough any more?
But in fairness to Holland, he didn’t have the space to work with. He didn’t create that problem.
He also has the Klefbom situation going on.
I am assuming Holland knows more than we do as he signed Barrie. Or simply rolling the dice, but that doesn’t sound like him.
In reality the tenders wouldn’t take the amount the Oilers had to spend, not sure what Holland or anybody else was going to do about that.
I would guess he still tries to create a little space moving someone like Chiasson or even Kassian who did not play well enough, often enough, last year. But am guessing he already tried to do that and it didn’t work.
Ya George, one or 2 of the low end guys will get sent down to make room.
I’m so fed up of the Habs all they do is mistakes after mistakes and for the last 15 years…. this team is a joke … instead of going after Hall a super star or going after good players on the cheap they are busy signing toilet aka oullete… Wennberg went to Florida on a 1 year contract good young 26 year old for only 2mil hey bergevin let’s trade our 70 point player domi for a guy that has injury problems and 4 points last season and give him 5.5 million just because hes 6’3 200 lbs I know we are desperate for size but 7 years for 5.5 wow you are so fired if hes a flop oh we also gave a 3rd rounder lol what a joke and domi signed for cheaper …. so basically we needed offense this off season and we go get a goalie and a dman again and trade our offense for offense even if he gets 70 points or 50 points same crap if domi stayed .. no improvement on this cheap offense. Can you go sign some offense already and get rid of your dead weight like Weal,Byron,Lekhonen,Allen… I’m so fed up of bergevin and his dman we need OFFENSE I say fire this clown if he brings no offense to the team. Also how about throwing some offers to RFA like Dubois for some offense …
The habs got what they need for now, a power forward that can skate, hit and score. He isn’t injury prone, he tried to rehab without surgery and came back too soon that’s all. He’s young and tied up for his prime years at a very affordable price which in three years will be cheap, it’s a great signing.
Folks are worried if he’s a flop yet clamor for Taylor Hall who has hit the wall, a superstar who has trouble getting 30 goals for $9 million???
Brother Hall hasn’t hit a wall at all … he’s been on the 3 cheapest teams in the league since he has entered the NHL Edmonton, Nj, Arizona holy crap I’m even surprised he got any points … Imagine what he can do on a team with some good players on it with him.
Canucks – sign Holtby….. lose Markstrom, lose Tanev…lose Stecher….
down grade in goal…2 of top 6 dman depart…Toffili on his way out the door…. Jimmy Benning must be spending his time trying on his Grampa Munster halloween costume to notice his roster leaving town…
talk about Nero fiddling while Rome burned, lol
Leafs D is defo improved. Barrie was terrible in his own end.Lehtonen who replaces him can’t be that bad. Brodie instead of Ceci is a 2nd pair AHL dman to a 2nd pair NHL Dman upgrade so huge. Still need another top end RHD. How about Dermott, holl , kerfoot and johnsson for Dumba and a mid rnd pick.
Aww come on man. Why in hell would Guerin do that? Right now the Wild have 23 signed and still have $2,000,579 in cap space with a D of Dumba, Suter, Spurgeon, Brodin, Soucy, Pateryn, Hunt and Mermis.
In what universe does giving up a $6 mil cap hit to take on almost $11 mil (Dermott is an RFA who’s going to want $2 mil – just like Holl), and replacing a solid D-man like Dumba with two maybes and a couple of run-of-the-mill bottom 6 F like Kerfoot and Johnsson, improve his team?
Jaysus
George you are linear thinking again. All 4 leafs players are an upgrade to the wild lineup from their slugs at the bottom and again you ignore almost $3m in the exchange as Minn no longer has to pay 4 slugs the $700k league minimum. Please try to fully reason out your responses and be more accurate. Your responses sometimes sound like a politicians ignoring the big picture for a “sound bite”
“improvement” according to your peculiar brand of one-way “linear thinking” – but what the hell, here I am I’m trying to rationalize with someone who admittedly and firmly believes in all the nonsense he continually posts about the franchise that hasn’t won squat in over half a century pulling off the same kind of nonsensical moves he advocates.
If such a move is so logical then even you must think Dubas is an idiot for not seeing it, and if, on the other hand, you believe he’s made the effort and the roadblock is because Guerin is too stupid to see the benefits, then why waste the effort? He’s not going to get smarter overnight.
Linear thinking my ass.
Wendell you make no sense again. Why bring in both Dumba and Brodie for the right side when Pietrangelo is guaranteed to be a Leaf?!?!
Lol Canadian King. Its not my fault. I’m from Whitby and use the same feral cat Dreger does as my primary source. Cheers.
I’m disappointed in you George. I had set it up to see if you were capable of expanded thought by scrutinizing my response. It is only 3 slug league minimums they would be able to drop with the proposed trade (2,100,000) as the 4th is Dumba’s salary replacement. (Sigh)
Sure you did Wendel. It wasn’t just another tired old “here’s some of our expendable canoes for your battleship” was it? Nah. Just more “serious” proposals to strengthen the Leafs while sending a mediocre D-man and one with “promise” coupled with a pair of F that are a dime a dozen.
Why not write to Shanahan and show how much smarter you are than his boy-wonder GM? Who knows – you may get the job – Lord knows they’ve tried everything else and this year – despite having “the top 4 F in hockey” the only thing that kept them from advancing past the play-in round was a goalie who chokes – who some team should jump at by relinquishing something useful to the Leafs.
The colour in your sky must be breathtaking.
Ron, are you suddenly a Tanev fan? I thought you wanted him gone.
You say two of the top 6 defence are gone. Would this be the defence that you bad-mouthed all year?
Like it or not, Ron, the Canucks are coming along nicely.
lol
I didnt say any of the defencemen that left were great, very good, good or even above average lol.
Tanev and Stecher were far from great…. but better than the Utica Comets that will replace them…. and who will replace Toffili?
George O- I respect your points in general on here…very well thought out…
The current management team on the Leafs should not be held accountable for the previous management. The current management team has made some questionable deals but at the end of the day good players cost money.
If the Sens have drafted well with their multiple first round pics they’ll find out in 3 years when their ELC’s expire.
Let’s keep some perspective here…Leafs haven’t won since ‘67 but the Sens haven’t won at all.
I’m of full belief that to get something you must give something.
The Leafs still need a good 2nd pair RHD. If they want Dumba I’m sure Guerin starts the conversation with Nylander.
I wonder if some teams like the Flyers are holding back on FAs until the other teams are maxed out on cap room before signing players at a greatly reduced salary…
@ Rom Jull
Interesting concept
Iam sure that will happen ..but aren’t those just the players no one else really wants anyway!
There are some decent 3rd 4th liners still up in the air ..that can fill a roll ..Iam sure you will knock off a few hundred thousand bucks here and there such as a player like Duclair ..so instead of $1.25 its just a million …here and there pretty sure that will happen ..yup!…
So the for the flyers holding off on signing players is good strategy…. but for Vancouver it’s Nero fiddling?
Huh.
Flyers dont have half their roster departing…… hence whike Fletcger fiddles nothing burns….
Bungling Jimmy wasted all his time chasing the OEL pipedream…. now his roster is gutted….
Virtanen the 2nd line winger? whose playing defence?
By your own logic Ron you can’t judge their moves… or lack there of… yet. Not overpaying markstrom when the likely heir apparent is ready for at least 1a1b duty was smart imo. Holtby could be a solid 1b. And was cheaper. And the two d lost could be addition by subtraction.
In a week if van hasn’t made some moves and philly has made some sneaky good ones then maybe your posts gel.
FLAMES —- TOFFOLI
WOW … imagine if the Flames also sign Toffoli …hahahhahahaahaha….OMG !!!
They would take the Nucks best UFAs from each position and still have left over money as I think Tofffoli gets around $4.5 mill AAV …and that leaves Flames with around $ 2 million in the bank after all the dust settles ..LMAO ..wow ! Possible !
And they still have yet to move out any players ..if they so choose al a Bennet and either Gudreau ..for an upgrade or change in scenery.
NUCKS
Id still move out Boeser and get something decent in return and keep Toffoli as I pointed out Toffoli has the same set of skills comes in at $5 mill AAV or better and gives you more man games due to his healthy status ..win win for Nucks to go this route as they also have to look down the road to sign a few big names
…move out Boeser get a nice piece or draft picks and sign Toffoli and then sign Duclair for league minimum that should give you 2 …20 plus goal scorers for the price of one and the same AAV as Boeser and more man games !
Id go that route if I was Benning ..just sayin…
Kal el. Toffoli is coming off a cap hit of $4.6 and, in a combined shortened season, just potted 24g 20a 44 pts. He’s goiung to a lot closer to a $6 mil cap hit.
How the heck do you think the Flames – or anyone else – is going to get him for $4.5?
Dang
Pens need a 3RD
Missed out on Stetcher …. could have fit him in
Dallas just absolutely hosed Psyk’s agent and got him for $750 K … 1 year
Holy shite-shooter Batman… Pskyk is one of maybe 3 ir 4 guys in the NHL that are equally comfortable playing wing or D
$750 K…. S-T-E-A-L
Fingers crossed on Jimbo getting Bowey
Lebanc got paid by SJ. Good for him and good on them for keeping their word. 4.75×4
Exactly, Slick, hope he has a great year. He deserves it.
At this point the Leafs still have weak points in their roster, they need experienced playoff performers; I was glad to hear Dubas say after signing Brodie, that they still need a solid RH D man yet.
IMO they also need a 3rd line centre (Kerfoot is not the answer), & a solid LW with grit & that can score, like a Toffoli.
Their trade bait: Kerfoot, Johnsson & Dermott.
Sign Toffoli & put a package together for a top 4 D man.
This is not all that strange if you take a macro view. 31 GMs times about $3mmless caap than exxpected plus about 3MM conservatism for another flat cap year & low revenue equals 184 MM less dollars for the entire NHL player pool. Existing contracts are not elastic downward. While the pain of the adjustment will not be uniform, that’s a lot of pain.
I don’t know that anyone did the exercise of taking the league expected payroll and reducing it– but to me it looks like a macabre game of musical chairs.
Teams like the Lightning will have to do something “extreme” and make the best of bad choices but they won’t be alone. At least they have a cup.
IF the waiver wire doesn’t work,and with re-entry no longer part of the CBA making the contract burial unproductive, the only option will be lots of artibtrations to term to earn the second buy-out period, probably with minor leaguers; or punting on a really valuable asset for picks. ABility to do that and survive depends on the fan base, Tampa might tolerate it, Leaf land likely not.
I wonder how many guys have to end up out of work before the PA proposes some kind of special category deal; a lot of the 184 MM shortfall is coming out of the pockets of guys who haven’t had a payday yet and might not get one with their team if there are unmovables ahead of them.
Anybody else here think that signing Wayne Simmonds puts the Leafs over the top?
I read the Canadian papers and you would think that Simmonds was Butch Goring, the way there are carrying on about him.
Folks, he’s washed up. That’s why he’s bounced around. They are making him out to be the Heavyweight Champion of the NHL.
From what I have read on Sportsnet and others, I feel really sad about this.
Simmonds was once a force in front of the net.
He was a goal scorer.
He also could throw down with anyone, but that was not his sole purpose. He was a legit hockey player. And a good one.
Now they are building him up as a “Goon”.
And that’s just sad.
I agree. Simmonds can fight but that wasn’t his role most times…he was more of an agitator.
For $1.5M I would prefer they targeted Perry…that guy is a PITA.
Disappointed they didn’t target Jankowski. Perfect or 4C duty.
If Keefe’s plan is to play Matthews and Tavares 20+ minutes a night they can skimp a bit at 3C.
Kerfoot is a luxury they can’t afford at $3.5M for a guy that will likely play 10 minutes a night. There is likely a $2M savings to be had here.
Johnsson is also a luxury they can’t afford. Mikhayev and Robertson can replace Johnsson…likely another $1.5M savings here.
If Dubas is offering Nylander in a trade I’d hope for
To TOR: Parayko, Perron
To STL: Nylander, Holl
This would allow STL to sign Pietrangelo, Faulk at 2RD and Holl at 3RD.
let’s put it to rest guys. Dubas is not trading his core 4 forwards. He has been crystal clear about that.
Johnsson, kerfoot, micheyev, dermott and Holl are all easily replacable so the trick is to target an old school (read dumb) GM and package a bunch of them for another difference maker (winger or rhd as centre top 2 is taken. Nylander is better on LW than RW. His best position is centre but thats a waste to put him there and not with the other difference makers.
Labanc bet on himself and got paid in the end , good on Wilson for giving him his due . I was not expecting Labanc to get the AAV and term that he did after his off year.
Methinks AP may have been a little to full of himself and perhaps overplayed his hand.
I predict he signs in Vegas, as it seems like the only market left for him, for no more than the money he turned his nose up at the Blues which Krug scooped up.
But he’ll make more money in a no tax state.
but you said Pietrangelo was signing with the Leafs…. “bank it” was the term used I believe….
TJ Brodie – difference maker?
Wayne Simmonds – difference maker? 5 or 6 years ago yes.
Pretty odd examples of “difference makers”
the sooner Dubas gets off the xbox the better the Leafs will be
trust the Shanaplan…..lol
Leafs are a mess trade Johnsson for zip they may have their big 4 but will be helicopter lines no wings and no finish.
Surprised they couldn’t have recouped a 3rd and 7th they deslt away for him, but it just furthervsupports my belief that aside from elite difference makers none of the rest of the slugs matter. Just as the panel on TSN said it wasnt Goodson and Coleman that won the cup it was hedman point kucherov and vasilevskiy.
One
Surprised they couldn’t have recouped a 3rd and 7th they deslt away for him, but it just furthervsupports my belief that aside from elite difference makers none of the rest of the slugs matter. Just as the panel on TSN said it wasnt Goodson and Coleman that won the cup it was hedman point kucherov and vasilevskiy.
One
It is refreshing to see the league is slowing starting to gravitate to my (and Dubas) way of thinking…everyone is interchangable and easily replacable except for the super elite few. Get as many as u can. Thats the new path to the Cup like TB showed.
This must be eating at the majority of the commenters and LTC who have been watched the modern team building template pass them by.
Dearest Wendel,
Please regale us with the story of the Leafs magnificent playoff run that ended in Glory and Stanley Cup triumph
what?
they didnt?
the playin round?
by Columbus?
youre telling me the Leafs didnt even make the playoffs?
guess Wendels saga of brilliance is a short story.
long live the Shanscam.
How many Cups did the Lightning win without Coleman and Goodson?
How many years were Hedmann, Point et al together and did NOT win?
That’s right ZERO.
You need both types to win it all.
Pretty sure object of the game is to win how many times are Leafs going to blame their goalie. Need more than 4 great players and of the four I say Matthews is a stud Mitch a dud and Tavares is aging and slowing down. Nylander above average but no heart. Time will tell but I see it as a recipe for disaster.