i like that the new head honcho is making some moves and swung for the fences, but i don’t see any of these moves being game changers.
the defense and goaltending are still suspect.
at least it’s clear that chayka isn’t going to run it back. he’s either going to remake this team or burn it down and cripple it for years to come. it won’t be boring.
credit to raddysh for one of the biggest pay rises in the history of the league and he gets to bail out of meth-riddled florida for the completely sane environment of the gta. it’s tavares and his bed sheets all over again. i even saw a photo of him in a midget leafs jersey as a kid. lol
If he keeps adding 8 year deals for 30+ year old players without adding more 1st round picks, this team will be crippled by time he’s finished with it. Treliving already inflicted a boat load of damage with long term contracts of old D so that blueline is filled with anchors as the years go forward. If the Leafs keep getting older while the rest of the division is younger, it won’t end well.
He is not running it back but if the season ends with another playoff miss or even a 1st round exit, it’s only a matter of time before Matthews starts heading for the door and if he walks Matthews and other expiring contracts into UFA status without getting a return on those assets, this team will be absolutely fucked in the future.
In an ideal scenario, all the Leafs most valuable assets have good statistical years but the Leafs miss the playoffs and Matthews demands a trade. That way this team can rebuild properly and uses it’s remaining assets as trade bait at the deadline, uses cap space to take on bad contracts for 1st round picks and rebuilds properly.
Won’t happen though as the Leafs will strive for mediocrity and continue to overpay players as they usually do.