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MarsBars's rumours posts with other poster's replies to MarsBars's rumours posts

 

21 Feb 2021 20:25:28
Awesome article on MapleLeafHotStove today about what a trade with Nashville could look like.

Papetti, using the Muzzin trade as a framework, proposed this.

Preds trade Filip Forsberg (2.5M retained, for a 3.5Mx2Y cap hit on the Leafs)

Leafs trade Kerfoot, Niemela, Anderson, 1st round pick

Pretty steep price tag, but I would pay it all day for a bonafide #1LW

Leafs lines
Thornton-Matthews-Marner
Forsberg-Tavares-Nylander
Mikheyev-Engvall-Hyman
Spezza-Boyd-Simmonds

The lines are my suggestion, but the trade is 100% Kevin Papetti

Curious is anyone's read the article and has any thoughts on the prop

MarsBars

1.) 21 Feb 2021 21:13:30
Haaaaaaaaard pass.


2.) 21 Feb 2021 22:03:19
Oh great more Swedish laziness.


3.) 22 Feb 2021 00:24:09
How is that muzzin framework
Durzi (2nd round of year of trade)
grundstrom (2nd round 3 draft years prior)
1st in upcoming draft

So using that framework
Roni Hirvonen (2nd round of year of trade)
Sean Durzi (2nd round 3 draft years prior) can’t use
SDA (differ to next best 3rd round pick of that draft)
2021 1st rounder
No retaining

Since cap is issue for leafs retaining and adding kerfoot to trade is a good suggestion. He basically covers value of that retain

Kerfoot
Hirvonen
SDA
1st 2021

That’s my counter but I stand by my previous Sweden comnent.


4.) 22 Feb 2021 05:53:08
So just to clarify, that's Joey Anderson, RW. In case anyone was thinking of a particular goalie.

Niemela is the Durzi comp
Joey Anderson is the Grundstrom comp, both being young players close to being NHLers
1st
Kerfoot to make the cap work

For Filip Forsberg for this year plus a year at a 3.5M cap hit.


5.) 23 Feb 2021 14:11:35
I would seriously consider this one if Nash was going to retain that much.


 

 

10 Oct 2020 19:00:57
Leafs trade
Andreas Johnsson, Justin Holl

Wings trade
Luke Glendenning, Calvin Pickard, 4th round pick

While the Wings may not be looking to move draft picks, they already have 6 picks in the first 3 rounds next year. Their roster, quite frankly, is putrid. They need to bring in some players who will at least help them be competitive out of respect for their fanbase. Johnsson immediately slots into their middle 6 and Holl likely takes their 2RD spot - which becomes their stronger side with Stetcher and Hronek as well.

The Leafs lose on this trade, but they gain 3.6M in much-needed cap space. The Wings have 20M in cap space for this very reason.

Glendenning, along with Simmonds, make the Leafs bottom-six harder to play against, and Pickard offers much-needed injury insurance at the goalie position.

Hyman-Tavares-Marner
Mikheyev-Matthews-Nylander
Robertson-Kerfoot-Simmonds
Barabanov-Glendenning-Spezza
Engvall

Reilly-Brodie
Muzzin-Dermott
Sandin-Lehtonen

Andersen, Campbell

MarsBars

1.) 10 Oct 2020 19:54:08
Solid trade

Can’t see anything unrealistic or wrong with this one

Well done.


2.) 10 Oct 2020 20:13:36
I would do this only if Detroit retain half his salary and drop pickard we don't need him.


3.) 10 Oct 2020 21:03:46
Trade Dermott and sign hamonic to play with muzzin for 4 mill AAv.


4.) 10 Oct 2020 21:49:23
@hockey91 I was debating going Helm at half salary over Glendenning, but Glendenning only makes 1.9M so it basically cancels out - except Glendenning is a rental and Holl would have another year. But I agree, half retained would be even better

@Leafsguy handedness aside, Dermott is younger, will be cheaper short term and has more upside - I would actually prefer Dermott.


 

 

13 Sep 2020 04:09:09
Leafs trade
Alex Kerfoot, Freddy Andersen, Yegor Korshkov

Hurricanes trade
Brett Pesce, Petr Mrazek, 4th round pick

Leafs sign
Joe Thornton, 1.5M
Jason Spezza, 700k

Robertson-Matthews-Marner
Johnsson-Tavares-Hyman
Mikheyev-Thornton-Nylander.

MarsBars

1.) 13 Sep 2020 06:13:47
As much as I'm tired of the pesce trades this seems like a fair one. Both sides get what they want. Wouldn't be surprised if it was Reimer coming back not mrazek but it's a small difference really.


2.) 13 Sep 2020 07:55:13
Sorry, accidentally hit send before finishing my lineups

Robertson-Matthews-Marner
Johnsson-Tavares-Hyman
Mikheyev-Thornton-Nylander
Barabanov-Engvall-Spezza

Reilly-Pesce
Muzzin-Holl
Dermott-Lehtonen

Mrazek/ Campbell in a tandem

The only issue I see with adding to the blueline is that it still keeps Sandin/ Liljegren out of the lineup, which bums me out.


3.) 13 Sep 2020 16:30:29
So you have Nylander, a 7 million dollar player who scored 31 goals last year, on the third forward line? That makes absolutely 0 sense. Also not sure Carolina needs to add to Pesce in that trade

Hyman-Matthews-Marner
Johnsson-Tavares-Nylnader
Robertson-Jumbo Joe-Mikheyev.


4.) 14 Sep 2020 17:41:59
Yeah I was trying to put together a top line, a shut down line and a scoring third line like what they had when Matthews-Kadri-Bozak were the centres. Willy simply doesn't fit on the shutdown line, and I wanted to give Marner two high quality shooters on the top line.

Also given Kapanen's departure, I feel like Hyman has a good shot at playing RW this season and would be a great fit next to Tavares in a shutdown role.

Even in a shutdown role, Tavares and co. will put up points (not to mention JT on the powerplay) so Johnsson-Thornton-Nylander would be in prime position to be productive against softer matchups. And with how little Keefe plays the 4th line, a combination like this would simply enable Keefe to roll three lines more evenly.

Regardless, Keefe leaves the line blender plugged in and ready to use at all times, so I'm sure we're going to see a whole bunch of crazy things this coming season.


5.) 14 Sep 2020 17:44:08
Woops I mixed up Johnsson and Mikheyev- doesn't matter really though, the point is JT-Hyman as a shutdown "pair" and Thornton-Nylander as a depth scoring "pair".


 

 

03 Sep 2020 05:26:35
Leafs Trade
Freddy Andersen, Alex Kerfoot, Timothy Liljegren, 2020 2nd round pick

Wild Trade
Devan Dubnyk, Eric Staal, Matt Dumba

Leafs sign Bruce Boudreau to run the D and PK, let Haskol go and hire someone knew to run the PP (I can't say that I have any idea who that would be)

The Wild shed some salary and get some pieces for an extremely necessary rebuild.

Dubnyk and Freddy both had a down year and are rentals. Dubnyk is a few years older than Freddy, so the Wild could end up keeping Freddy if he performs well, and Dubnyk can hold the fort for a year while helping Campbell transition into a more prominent role.

The Leafs get that RHD thy've been looking for and a legitimate 3C, even if he is just a rental.

Johnsson-Matthews-Marner
Mikheyev-Tavares-Nylander
Robertson-Staal-Hyman
Hallander-Engvall-Rodrigues

Muzzin-Dumba
Reilly-Dermott
Sandin-Holl

Dubnyk-Campbell.

MarsBars

1.) 03 Sep 2020 12:06:46
Thats a terrible trade and value for the Leafs.


2.) 03 Sep 2020 12:56:14
Dubnyk is done the guy is 34 adding Staal makes little sense too only value coming back is Dumba and I’m not sure he would be a player the leafs would need.


3.) 03 Sep 2020 15:59:51
To me, Dubnyk for Freddy is pretty even value - both coming off bad seasons, both have had their moments of greatness in the past, both will be UFAs after next season. "Straight-up hockey trade. "

Staal is a huge upgrade at 3C over Kerfoot and could easily step into the 2C role following some loaded up lines. Kerfoot has 3 years left vs. 1 year of Staal, so that's a loss but its a huge upgrade to the third line's ability to drive play and score.

And then you're left with Liljegren and a 2nd for Dumba, which is less than the Leafs got for Kapanen.

Breaking it down, this trade seems to check a lot of boxes on the Leafs to do list - change up the goaltending, add a top-4 RD, improve the depth at C, improve bottom 6 scoring.


 

 

30 Aug 2020 17:51:35
Leafs trade
3rd round pick, Nic Petan

Stars trade
Stephen Johns

Dallas gets a mid round pick and a passable bottom six forward for Johns, who at best would be playing their third pair this upcoming year behind Heiskanen and Klingberg and is a pending UFA. The reduced cap hit helps their roster and this gives Fedun an opportunity to lock down a spot.

Leafs gain a rental defenseman who's defensively responsible and fairly mobile who can compete for a top 4 RD spot.

Reilly-Dermott
Muzzin-Johns
Sandin-Holl

MarsBars

1.) 30 Aug 2020 22:10:14
My guess is Johns would rather retire a Star than go anywhere else to play.


2.) 31 Aug 2020 02:41:30
Johns is only 28 years old and doesn't have an NTC.


3.) 31 Aug 2020 06:00:53
Get er done. might not even take higher than a 5th if you give them malgin instead of petan. either way I've wanted leafs to get johns since my debut on this sight 2 years ago.


4.) 31 Aug 2020 06:08:01
John's ends up on our LTIR before November and we gain some more cap relief for mid-season team adjustments.


5.) 31 Aug 2020 06:13:25
If this is all it takes then let's do it. Nothing big but a good prop.


 

 

 

MarsBars's banter posts with other poster's replies to MarsBars's banter posts

 

14 Oct 2020 18:20:05
I feel like the Leafs have basically checked off every box on the offseason to-do list, and overall I'm pretty happy with the sum of the moves

Defense - bringing in Brodie as a legitimate top 4 defenseman, the Leafs best acquisition at RD in years. Everyone's hoping he plays with Reilly, which was the hope when both Muzzin and Barrie were brought in. This time though I think that actually happens, as Brodie spent so much time as Giordano's running mate in Calgary. Lehtonen is getting a ton of hype, and some people are predicting he finds himself in a top 4 role - at least early in the season. The Bogosian signing at dirt cheap was a great move too as he's a proven right shooting defensive defenseman with size and bite - he brings stability and legitimacy to the teams depth on the right side and on the PK

Cap Space - moving Kapanen and Johnsson cleared almost 7M in cap space, and while Johnsson's return at the moment seems underwhelming, Kapanen's was highly impressive. Acquiring Hallander, Amirov and Anderson gives the Leafs a few options who could end up being cheap depth pieces in the bottom 6 for a few years, so Kapanen and Johnsson certainly weren't given away for free. Speaking of depth.

Forward Depth - as mentioned previously, Hallander, Amirov and Anderson will all be in contention to earn bottom-6 roles over the next couple years. Simmonds and Vesey will both immediately compete for bottom-6 roles. And while it seems at the moment that they would both be better off on a 4th line, they've shown that they can score and certainly have the potential to be 20-goal scorers. Boyd was brought in to compete for the 4C role and brings Cup-winning experience. The Leafs less talked about European signing, Barabanov, also appears to be in line for a bottom six role. While none of the new additions are tantalizing on their own, there will be a lot of competition for spots. The Leafs certainly got bigger in the bottom six as well, with Vesey (6'3) and Simmonds (6'4) both being vertical upgrades over the departed Kapanen and Johnsson. I'm also extremely excited to watch Simmonds throw some bombs and rack up the Gordie Howe Hat Tricks.

Goalie Depth - the Leafs quietly brought in am excellent player in Aaron Dell, who should start off on the Marlies but also provide much-needed insurance as the 3G in case injuries strike. He has very solid numbers over 4 years with the Sharks, I would be very comfortable if he had to move up to the main roster for a short stretch or two this season.

Overall I think the Leafs are better than they were prior to the start of last season. While the bottom six has lost some skill, it gained some size, bite and sheer quantity of NHL bodies. The competition for spots will be fierce. The defense is unquestionably better at actually defending, and I don't think they really lose much offense letting Barrie walk - especially if Lehtonen lives up the the hype. The Leafs have to cap space now to make it all work, and they have three NHL goaltenders and are insured vs. injuries.

All in all, on paper this has been an excellent offseason for Doobs.

MarsBars

1.) 14 Oct 2020 19:01:05
Nice counter MarsBars. Lol. I love debating with you because you are so optimistic. It’s a good balance to my cynicism. Now, here is my counter-argument to your counter-argument:

Outside of Brodie, Dubas added bottom of the barrel fringe players that he knows will make very little difference. That way, he can say at the end of the year, "See, I did what everybody wanted and it didn't work. " Then he can go back to replacing the grit with small skilled forwards.

I think the forward group is worse: how much faith can we put in Robertson? His scoring last year in the OHL may not translate into NHL success. On defence, incremental gains made, Barrie out, Brodie in. Based on reputation alone Brodie is supposed to be the better player. Barrie had an off year last year, so I will give the edge to Brodie. Bogosian is better than Ceci, slightly, maybe. At least he hits. He can teach this team how to win a cup like he did (get traded) .

IMHO this is not a better team. This team needs to balance the core. Keefe has already shown us in the playoffs he has no faith in 4 players in the bottom 6. Robertson is not built for the 3rd line, Nic Petan and Adam Brooks are AHLers. Everyone is saying great things about Hallender, Anderson, Malgin and Boyd. Why? What have they done to make us think they are going to be quality depth players to replace anything we lost? So far. The bleeding might continue more still yet.

Barabanov and Korshkov are unkowns, That leaves a bottom 6 of Spezza, Simmonds, Kerfoot and Engvall (if he returns) . That's if they sign Mikeheyev and if he can make the top 6, if not, one of these guys need to be in your top 6. Not good.

And again, as I’ve said before multiple times, none of this matters so long as Freddie underperforms again. If he let's everyone down again, all these moves will have been wasted and we will have lost fully 25% of our contention years.

Just saying.

;-)


2.) 14 Oct 2020 23:29:06
I certainly agree with your assessment of the bottom six: it's full of question marks. Kerfoot, Spezza and Engvall are the only holdovers from last year, and odds are that Spezza and Engvall will spend some games in the pressbox. Dubas is approaching this as a numbers game, hoping the competition will push some guys to perform.

But I don't see how the Leafs balance the core without subtracting from it, and that's obviously not something Dubas was motivated to do. In a world with Marner making almost 11M, it's simply not feasible to patch every hole.

Let's be honest, the 3rd line was subpar last year even with Kapanen and Johnsson, and the defense was bad. Dubas decided to double-down on being a two line team by reinforcing the defense core at the expense of the already-bad lower lines and by bringing in bottom-roster forwards with experience, size and bite.

The hope might be that the bottom six scores less but also gets scored on less. And since there are fewer defense pairs than forward lines, this bolstered defense also hopefully gets scored on less when the big lines are out as well.

There's also the chance that the team moves to an 11-7 lineup consistently, since we've seen that Keefe isn't a big fan of giving the 4th line a lot of minutes unless they're really firing.

Who knows what the details of the plan are, but based on roster construction Dubas decided to sacrifice depth offense for defense, and I don't mind the move.

Plus I want to see Wayne Simmonds smash some faces.


3.) 15 Oct 2020 04:49:21
With so many defensemen, an 11-7 lineup is almost certainly something we will see. Matthews could easily be double shifted. A couple of the other guys too if needed.

We run a rotation of 7 defensemen each night, cycling Dermott, Lehtonen, Bogosian around on the 3RHD position.

Is it optimal, no. Like you said, in order to balance the roster, one of the big four (Marner) would have to be traded, and Dubas refuses to do that. He will live or die by his studs’n’suds theory.

One option that is available is to split the skill up. Recent research suggests putting an elite player on each line. If hockey truly is a strong-link game, then it should translate to the individual match-ups as well. Leafs have four elite players. Ergo, one elite player each line. They can balance the roster that way, not the typical way. If Keefe wants to stick a thumb in the eyes of his nay-sayers, he should run the team Dubas gave him the optimal way - a true studs’n’duds roster top to bottom. Not just studs on top and duds on bottom.

As always MarsBars, it was a pleasure. Ever the optimist, it’s refreshing to take in your point of view as a balance to my own. Makes me see things a little differently. Even if we don’t agree. I actually hope you’re right and Leafs blow my own expectations out of the water and embarrass me for saying such things. But again, that cynical side of me. I just can’t see the glass half full.

;-)


4.) 15 Oct 2020 05:56:16
Doesn't work if they aren't actually elite though is more my issue. Tavares and Mathews can play with anyone. Marner and Nylander though? Probably not.


5.) 15 Oct 2020 13:07:56
Good point LL. Marner could be considered elite by some measure I’m sure. Nylander is not elite, though he might appear to be elite playing against a bunch of 4th liners.

I would also tend to want to have all elite centres. Having an elite winger try to run a line just doesn’t seem right.

I guess, my definition of elite follows along the same lines as yours: an elite player is someone who makes their linemates better. Matthews does this. Marner to a lesser extent. Tavares not so much. And Nylander not at all.

It’s a theory that has limited testing done. Until we see real world results, it will always remain exactly that: a theory.

Damn. A lot of smart commenters on this site. I guess that’s why I enjoy coming on here so much.

;-)


6.) 15 Oct 2020 16:41:24
So as to your theories how I am going to build two different lineups here based on what we currently have the first I propose is a ten by 8 roster

This is how that could like
Hyman Matthews marner
Robertson tavares nylander
Engvall/ vesey kerfoot simmonds
Spezza

Reilly brodie
Muzzin holl
Sandin bagoshian
Dermott Lehtonen

You will notice micheyev and barbanov are missing from the lineup you trade them for picks and prospects.

How this system would work is your centreman rotate through your wingers, you roll your lines and become hard to matchup against, if your guys get this down properly, you are likely to end up with the other team getting too many men calls trying to counter your system.

Your matchup game actually comes with your defenseman. You likely matchup muzzin against the first line reilly against the 2nd line bagoshian against the 3rd and dermott against the 4th. So honestly I love this concept and want to see it in action. I'm not a fan of the 7 d, defenseman thrive with the same partner. Wingers often find chemistry in different ways with different centreman.

Second option stud in each line. I would build this team this way with a stud on each line

Hyman Matthews kerfoot
Engvall tavares simmonds
Robertson spezza marner
Micheyev nylander barbanov

So Matthews has hyman as his net front banger and kerfoot was a sneaky good passer in colorado

Tavares makes those around him better. He would have to with this line

Marner feeding robertson sounds like something I want especially praying on the third lines of the opposition. This may become the second line.

That 4th line matching against other 4th lines should dominate.

My preference is the 10-8 if we have 4 superstars and a bunch of duds why not get the superstars more ice time.


7.) 15 Oct 2020 16:52:41
I actually think Tavares has been elite most of his career. He played with some really bad linemates for years and helped them play better.

On the other hand though, I have seen no signs Marner can drive a line without Tavares or Mathews. He's always had one of them. If Marner played with Johnson and Kerfoot could he have made them both 20+ goal scorers? Personally I doubt it.

Both Nylander and Marner good, not Elite in my opinion even if both are very good players.

Oddly enough, the analytics community can point out that Nylander is much, much better play driver than Marner.


8.) 15 Oct 2020 20:04:48
To the point about Marner driving a line, he drove Bozak/ JvR for two years. And before they brought in Tavares, Marner/ Kadri had the look of a very dynamic duo. I think Marner can drive a line, and he's probably better off playing away from another team's top shutdown line.


9.) 15 Oct 2020 23:03:01
That is debatable for sure MarsBar. He played well with different linemates but not to the "elite" level. Obviously much newer to the league though.

I guess I don't see him as elite personally but he definitely could be.


 

 

08 Oct 2020 04:34:23
Is anyone on here actually pumped about how this draft went? Hirvonen, Niemela and especially Villeneuve all seem like absolute steals to me. Ovchinnikov is an interesting prospect too, apparently his shot is like top 10 in this whole draft.

We won't know for like 3 years, but it seems like Dubas added a bunch of really high-ceiling prospects

MarsBars

1.) 08 Oct 2020 05:01:21
Was just reading a short snippit about each player drafted. I wouldn't say pumped about it but from most things I can find on most players it looks like rounds 2-7 were very, very good to Dubas.


2.) 08 Oct 2020 07:17:18
Sorry it was Miettinen with the top 10 shot - and who also set the all-time scoring record for Finnish junior hockey. Very interesting prospect.


3.) 08 Oct 2020 13:21:08
They might fill out a bit more, but at 18/ 19 years old, they won’t be getting much taller, if at all.

It is worth noting that Amirov is 19. So a year older than most of the other players drafted.

It’s also very hard to judge these guys because there is so little information available on them. HockeyDB has nothing on them.

The draft is the one area that Dubas seems to have done okay in so far. But not any better than half the league.

Am I pumped? No. I can’t be when I don’t know anything about these guys. And after the first round pick, which everyone in the entire world agrees was the wrong guy, it is very difficult to get excited.

The last time Dubas didn’t pick the player we all thought he should, he ended up signing Tavares and all the negative ramifications that resulted. This time I have to believe he is going to sign Pietrangelo, therefore doubling down on his stids’n’duds Theory and wrecking the team even more.


4.) 08 Oct 2020 13:38:32
The thing is, when Gauthier was drafted, he had bottom 6 potential. He lived up to that potential. Burke was vilified for drafting him.

Amirov has middle six potential. I have yet to read one scouting report saying he has top line potential. He is expected to be as goood as Kapanen IF he works out and rend reaches full potential.

Drafting a forward because you don’t expect to be able to re-sign one of your elite top line players in four years is a defeatist strategy. It’s admitting four years in advance that you have to let one of these guys walk. The cap staying flat for the next three years is not Dubas’ fault. Signing MNMT to those contracts so he doesn’t have any flexibility was.


5.) 08 Oct 2020 15:56:13
I will admit MarsBars, my dislike for Dubas makes me biased. These guys could all be steals. The biggest advantage at the draft Leafs have over other teams is the ability to scout no names like these from overseas. They are able to get in early to hopefully find these late round gems. The draft is the one area that everyone seems to agree Dubas is good at. Even I’ve admitted several times in the past that he is a fantastic evaluator of talent. I just don’t like his philosophy of drafting all these small skilled forwards when it hasn’t worked out yet. We need a balanced team. And Leafs are about as unbalanced as a teeter-totter with a fat kid on one side and nobody on the other.


6.) 08 Oct 2020 16:43:02
MapleLeafHotStove (MLHS) has pretty in-depth analysis and scouting reports on most of the draft picks - I didn't get into the 6th/ 7th round picks yet but you should check that out if you're looking for more info on the mid-round guys.


7.) 08 Oct 2020 16:51:55
Pension Plan Puppets has some good ones too, an especially deep dive into William Villeneuve - but their later round pick analyses are usually fairly brief.


8.) 08 Oct 2020 17:46:02
I don’t like MLHS, so almost never go on there, but I will check it out to se what they have to say. The PPP one I will read for sure. I usually go on there fairly regularly, and I like their analysts. They have some real good ones that aren’t biased like some other sites (EIL, cough, cough) .


9.) 08 Oct 2020 18:27:55
Yeah EIL is trash. Tanner and his goons just post the opposite of consensus to get a stir i. e Gardiner for Norris, Barrie should be resigned, etc etc

I like MLHS because they post full press conference transcripts instead of picking and choosing quotes to suit a slanted story. Granted some times they post too much, like a 2,000 word analysis on a 7th round prospect but they certainly give you all the information and let you form your own opinion.

Petrelli's great too, I think he's a very underrated Leafs pundit. I eat up everything he posts.


10.) 08 Oct 2020 23:14:35
They do draft well
But in 4 years Matthews is gone
Not good.


11.) 09 Oct 2020 00:05:54
Lol. First article I came across by Pietrelli was on why Leafs should not sign Pietrangelo. Interesting thing he points out is that Pietrangelo has been receiving more and more sheltered minutes the last three to four years. He has been moved from a all-round workhorse to being a more strictly offensive defenseman. Pietrelli even discusses how during the cup run, Parayko and Bouwmeester were given all the tough assignments against the other teams top lines while Pietrangelo was relegated to matching up against the other teams second lines.

Looks like Pietrangelo is already a player in decline and Blues know it.


12.) 09 Oct 2020 17:30:55
Yeah I read that one too. Petrelli can be wordy, so you got to be ready for a read, but he always puts together great arguments.


 

 

25 Aug 2020 17:36:03
This trade reeks of desperation on Jim Rutherford's part. Cheap young prospects and 1st round picks gain more value in a flat-cap world, and Jim just overpaid by moving both for a middle-six winger with marginal untapped upside.

Great fleece-job by Dubas. If there's anything he does exceedingly well, it's the draft. Hit another homerun Doobs!

MarsBars

1.) 25 Aug 2020 19:43:58
Not against the trade really just kind of defines value. We can't really hope for much in trading Johnson and Kerfoot anymore if that's what Kapanen is worth.


2.) 25 Aug 2020 20:03:42
Have to reiterate. Hollander a good looking prospect. Didn't think he was that highly rated. Well done.


3.) 25 Aug 2020 22:22:55
I thought it reeked of desperation on Dubas. A 1st for Kapanen (who was a 1st himself) isn't a great return on a player that can play all aspects of the game.

Rutherford traded an unknown quantity that has greater odds of never working out than working out as good as Kapanen for a player that will score 20+ goals playing beside Crosby or Malkin next year. Rutherford trades his 1st every year. Why wouldn't he again this year?


4.) 25 Aug 2020 22:29:16
@MarsBars

You are assuming Dubas keeps the 1st. Lol. I kinda suspect we see it packaged in another deal to secure a RHD. Or at least I hope we do. The 1st won't be of help for a couple years. Even Dubas can't pluck a Robertson out of the draft every year.


5.) 26 Aug 2020 07:35:43
@hockeyluvr I hope he keeps the pick, that's for sure. I have a lot more faith in Dubas' drafting than I do in his trading or contract negotiating.

Sandin and Robertson were both hits, and both of those draft classes have a few real gems. I have faith Dubas can make it three in a row.


 

 

10 Aug 2020 03:56:25
Hilarious that the defense played SIGNIFICANTLY better without Barrie and with only 5 dmen than with him.

MarsBars

1.) 10 Aug 2020 08:18:13
Lol. But didn't you miss his 25 shots from bad angles after he got hurt? I sure did. Maybe eventually a goalie will close their eyes because they feel bad for him not mustering anything offensively all series.


2.) 10 Aug 2020 16:38:28
It was nice seeing Dermott getting an opportunity to actually play instead of just babysitting Barrie.

Although I think we've learned that Dermott is a very responsible babysitter, you can trust him with your idiot toddler any day of the week.


3.) 10 Aug 2020 17:51:48
Lol it was. I'm hoping to see Dermott beside Reilly next year still if a suitable replacement isn't found.


 

 

05 Aug 2020 16:52:03
Going outside the box here, Calle Rosen might be the best choice as the next man up on defense

He's an excellent skater, a competent puck-mover, he's got good vision, can PK for when Ceci inevitably takes a penalty, and Keefe had him on his top pair for a full year with the Marlies last year so there's a lot of familiarity between the two

Reilly-Holl
Dermott-Barrie
Rosen-Ceci

With Reilly-Holl taking the shutdown role, Dermott-Barrie sliding into the role that the Reilly-Ceci pairing had and Rosen-Ceci getting sheltered minutes vs. CBJ's bottom 6.

MarsBars

1.) 05 Aug 2020 19:38:06
I like the idea of Rosen. Was always pulling for the kid. In all reality Marincin would probably. make a better PK guy but Rosen has to be at least as good as Marincin.


2.) 07 Aug 2020 00:11:00
Marincin gets the nod first. But if he blows it, I wouldn't mind seeing Rosen in next. He has a better all round game than Sandin. And a little less likely to make rookie mistakes just cause he's been around the NHL longer. Hasn't played a whole lot more games, but has the experience of a the practices and playing in the AHL longer too. He has played higher level hockey longer than Sandin anyway. And that seems to be what management is looking at. Not necessarily maximizing the upside, but limiting the downside.


 

 

 

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22 Feb 2021 05:53:08
So just to clarify, that's Joey Anderson, RW. In case anyone was thinking of a particular goalie.

Niemela is the Durzi comp
Joey Anderson is the Grundstrom comp, both being young players close to being NHLers
1st
Kerfoot to make the cap work

For Filip Forsberg for this year plus a year at a 3.5M cap hit.

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12 Nov 2020 19:28:38
@LeafsLife I would put Barabanov's chances ahead of Engvalls too. I think Robertson is the real wildcard since the AHL isn't an option. And with no forwards in the pressbox due to salary constraints, they would have to go 11-7 just to give him a night off. Makes for a really hard choice since the OHL would probably be a waste of time for him.

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12 Nov 2020 01:13:53
@LeafsLife I both agree and disagree. Teemu Kivihalme signed last year and played the whole year in the AHL, and then resigned. Miro Aaltonen before that also never made the Leafs roster.

I don't believe that Barabanov is the calibre of European prospect where he's guaranteed a roster spot. Outside of a solid 2018/ 2019 season, he's been a less-than-half PPG player in the KHL. Maybe he will simply return to the KHL, but who knows - maybe like Rosen, Borgman and Kivihalme, he just wants to come play in North America.

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11 Nov 2020 20:00:00
Engvall probably doesn't make the roster anyway.

Cap constraints and defensive depth will likely leave the team with a 21 man roster and 7 defensemen, meaning they will likely only have 12 forwards.

Jimmy Vesey should probably make the team, and Robertson is too young to play in the AHL; it's NHL or OHL for him and I'd be willing to bet that he makes the opening day roster. So swap Barabanov/ Engvall for Vesey and Robertson.

Engvall and Barabanov are also waiver exempt, and Vesey would be an attractive waiver claim due to his low cap hit so barring a training camp collapse on his part or an extremely impressive showing by somebody else, Vesey probably makes the team.

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24 Oct 2020 22:52:41
It was so foolish, it was so obvious Marner wasnt going to hold out. Marner even admitted after signing that he was unwilling to miss any training camp. He could have been signed for 8M long term easy.

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06 Mar 2021 19:28:55
Didnt Keefe do the same thing with the Marlies when they won the Calder?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I feel like his preferred 3rd line was Engvall-Gauthier-Timashov or something like that

Tons of size and tenacity.

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01 Dec 2020 17:31:57
If the schedule is heavy in back-to-back home games as has been suggested, we'll be seeing a lot of Campbell this year so you'll get your wish.

Campbell looked very steady to me last year, I'm sure he'll do fine when he's in net and hopefully he lights a fire under Freddy's keister - as if a contract year isn't enough motivation by itself, the extra competition hopefully pushes Freddy too.

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21 Nov 2020 18:05:42
I don't think this becomes a yearly plan. The return on the Kappy/ Johnsson deals brought back three players who should be capable of making the Leafs bottom six over the next couple years at very low cap hits (Hallander, Amirov and Anderson) . These three players add to a restocked forward prospect pool that includes high-ceiling players such as Robertson, Korshkov, Malgin, Brooks, Abramov, Abruzzese and SDA.

This off-season has been fairly unique because of the depressed UFA market. Most of the Leafs signings in a standard year would have made 500k to 1.5M more than what the Leafs got them for. And while UFAs typically get overpaid, this year many of them across the league were arguably underpaid.

To me, the Leafs cashed in on this unique situation and brought in way better 1M-and-less players than they normally would be able to. We may have lost a bit of speed but we gained a very high-end playmaker (Thornton) in the bottom-six, which the Leafs haven't had since Marner was playing on their third line.

It seems to me that despite the perceived downgrade in young, speedy talent, the bottom-six scoring has a great chance of going up with Thornton and Spezza being able to play distributor to a couple of proven finishers in Vesey and Simmonds as well as Robertson if (WHEN! ) he makes the team.

And then there's the intangible value that Thornton and Simmonds bring. Thornton's a guy that teams have rallied around since he was young, and Simmonds is a guy that will not only drop the gloves for a teammate but will also soundly win those exchanges, firing up his team.

I honestly love the moves. Great total return on Kappy/ Johnsson and Thornton/ Simmonds brought in for free and for cheap. LETSGOO Leafs.

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05 Nov 2020 17:16:56
I agree 100%. It always seems like the best teams have a strong top 4 and the Leafs finally have a great foundation to their defense in Reilly, Brodie and Muzzin.

The competition will be fierce for that 4th spot next to Muzzin. I don't think Holl is a shoe-in, but it's certainly his job to lose at the start of camp. There are conceivably 4 guys who will be battling for that 2RD spot as Lehtonen has experience playing the right side and Dubas has stated that Dermott will get an extended opportunity to play on the right as well.

Dermott, Lehtonen, Holl and Bogosian each bring a different skillset, and I'm excited to watch that battle play out. This defense group has a legitimate shot at being above average, which could be a huge boost to this team's Cup aspirations next season. Go Leafs!

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26 Oct 2020 17:12:25
Knowing Keefe, the lines and pairs will be fluid throughout the year anyway. Dubas has said repeatedly that Dermott will play the right side, so odds are we see a rotation of

Lehtonen-Dermott
Lehtonen-Bogosian
Dermott-Bogosian

And if Dermott proves that he's just as good on the right side, he'll start to challenge Holl.

All of this assumes that Bogosian doesn't beat out Holl for a top 4 spot. If he does, we could end up seeing either

Reilly-Brodie
Muzzin-Bogosian

Or

Reilly-Bogosian
Muzzin-Brodie

With the depth and numbers, we could even see Keefe go 11-7 some games, and it would be easy to justify this as the 7th defenseman on this team is probably a better player than it's 12th forward.

There's just so much intrigue with this defense group, I'm excited to watch it all play out.

MarsBars