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I think the Leafs should consider re-signing Scott Laughton to a 2 year deal, as a 3rd or 4th line center. He doesn’t score a lot, but does play an aggressive game. Besides, reacquiring him would make the Philly deal look a little more palatable. The trade was a disaster, giving up a first and a prospect, but reacquiring a second rounder from the Kings(via Buffalo) for a rental would take a bit of the sting out of that deal. Who knows? If the Leafs rebound, that pick might become a mid 1st round pick.
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Kulak, Andersson, and Marchment are on my wishlist. Have to figure out how to jettison some dead weight, though.
Kulak on the 3rd pairing and Marchment on the third line would solidify the bottom 6. Bringing back Laughton as 4C would also help. Lots of talk about acquiring Darren Raddysh would help the powerplay. Put him on the top defensive pairing with Jake McCabe. I’m in total agreement with jettisoning Rielly and Maccelli. Unfortunately, we’re stuck with Domi with Matts running the show.
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Raddysh has had such a great year…and it feels like he’s going to get paid way too much and likely be unable to live up to the contract. Or, he could have just come into his own and will be a beast for the next 10 years. Some are saying a 4-year deal at just over 5 million is the ballpark, and I would do that in a heartbeat, but I don’t think it is even close. I think it starts there and ends up at 7.5 for 5 years.
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I also proposed this yesterday, iv Van wanted to move Elias Petterson, a Rielly (plus whatever) for EP if Van would retain a couple mil. gets his cap to 9.6
would be a good 2/3 Center with JT. and maybe he regains a bit of scoring.,If the Leafs took on Petterson’s full cap hit, maybe a straight up trade for Rielly could work. The gamble could work if Petterson regains his scoring prowess and in a year, he could be tradeable or better yet, an asset. It would make it feasible to move Matthews for a boat load of talent and draft capital. With the proper moves and a bit of luck, the retool could restructure the Leafs quicker than we think. Petterson with Nylander and pick your left winger, either Knies or McKenna and you have something.
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If the Leafs took on Petterson’s full cap hit, maybe a straight up trade for Rielly could work. The gamble could work if Petterson regains his scoring prowess and in a year, he could be tradeable or better yet, an asset. It would make it feasible to move Matthews for a boat load of talent and draft capital. With the proper moves and a bit of luck, the retool could restructure the Leafs quicker than we think. Petterson with Nylander and pick your left winger, either Knies or McKenna and you have something.
I was thinking to keep AM, at least for the rest of his contract, a couple play makers like EP and Mckenna would help.
Matthews, Nylander, Tavares, Petterson, Mckenna, Knies decent 6.Its the D that is the Challenge to fix
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I was thinking to keep AM, at least for the rest of his contract, a couple play makers like EP and Mckenna would help.
Matthews, Nylander, Tavares, Petterson, Mckenna, Knies decent 6.Its the D that is the Challenge to fix
The issue with Matthews, is his current contract. You have to know, he won’t take less on his next contract and have we seen the peak Matthews 2 years ago, when he hit 69? He may not want to stay. If that’s the case, then moving him sooner, than later, would bring on the retool quicker. Another below par season and he’s almost untradeable. With the power balance in the West changing rapidly, teams like the Kings, Ducks and Sharks will be looking to get an edge on their opponents. A bidding war could drive up the return after we see how this year’s playoffs play out. San Jose is on the cusp of a breakout year. The Ducks are making their move right now, playoff wise. LA doesn’t want to be the odd man out and they have some assets that would look nice on the Leafs. It’s a crap shoot, so now may be the time to pull the trigger. Petterson for Rielly and a bag of pucks could be the ticket to retooling the top line, with Matts being the catalyst by getting the Swede Petterson out of Vancouver and rejuvenating his career. On the D, Raddysh seems to be the fit, if he gets to free agency. Addition through subtraction may be the way to go.
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Raddysh has had such a great year…and it feels like he’s going to get paid way too much and likely be unable to live up to the contract. Or, he could have just come into his own and will be a beast for the next 10 years. Some are saying a 4-year deal at just over 5 million is the ballpark, and I would do that in a heartbeat, but I don’t think it is even close. I think it starts there and ends up at 7.5 for 5 years.
There is no shot anyone gets Raddysh for $5M (unless he takes a HUGE hometown discount with the Leafs, which I don’t expect). There are a lot of teams with a lot of cap space and a very weak UFA class, so just about everybody is going to get massively overpaid.
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I think that Matthews should go up for auction. My guess is the California teams will go all in to get him. Let the highest bidder win. LA needs to replace Kopitar and the other two will become contenders next year. Strike now while the iron is hot. If Matthews returns and has a 35 goal year, you’ll never move that contract. It’s possible that he’s past his peak and will settle in as a 35 goal, defensive forward. Not a bad player, actually quite good, if it was a cap hit of $9M. He won’t take less than $14M in his next contract extension. Pull the trigger now!
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Addition through subtraction. Bye to Rielly. Maybe use him and a 3rd rounder for a modest upgrade on the back end. Go visit Seattle and see what they have to offer. Matthews auction could be epic, if they do it this year. Two years left on his contract and in cash, it’s not a large payment. The cap hit is still brutal, but the younger teams on the rise have their young guns on entry level contracts. They can afford to take him for 2 years. The time is now to make him available, but not trade him until July 1st. All accompanying contracts will be paid out by then. I’m 50-50 on also moving Willy. The Leafs need a centre back in any deal for Matthews.
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I think McKenna has a bit more bite to his game, than Patrick Kane. He’s only 18 and 6′ tall. He could grow another inch, in a year or two. It’s imperative that they bring in Gary Roberts as a strength and fitness coach and build this guy an NHL caliber body. He seems to have the scoring touch. He just needs to mature into an NHL body. Many are speculating on whether to trade down to get more assets. I think you keep him, unless it’s a trade down into a top 4 pick and another 1st comes with it. I think Matthews is California bound, I’m just not sure where? My guess would be San Jose with the Patrick Marlow influence paving the way. San Jose will be next year’s Buffalo.
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Draft needs to be a trade down to increase assets. Best case scenario is doing a deal with NYR or VAN for a late 1st plus a top 5 pick. VAN seems to be a disaster and could be swindled since they seem really pissed off they aren’t drafting 1st overall.
Free agency should be absolutely nobody. This team needs to rebuild, not blow more cap space and long contracts on older, overpaid UFAs.
The only free agents should be 1 year deals that they can trade at the deadline when they finish 9th.
Matthews and Nylander also need to be traded with 50% retained to maximize value to bring back at least seven 1st round picks worth of value to kick start the rebuild and to get the rest of the old, overpaid slugs like Rielly, McCabe, Tanev and OEL to waive their NMC and trade them for maximum value.
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Kulak, Andersson, and Marchment are on my wishlist. Have to figure out how to jettison some dead weight, though.
The “dead weight” will refuse to waive their NMC unless Matthews is first traded. Only then will the rest of the rats flee the ship.
Sundin already said he won’t ask anybody to waive their NMC. Big surprise there after he fucked the Leafs at the deadline when he was a player. The old Muskoka Five leader is here to protect the new Muskoka Five.
It’s going to be the same shit box team with a new coat of paint.
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Wild and Avs are putting on a pretty good show tonight. Nothing shaking in Leafs land. Too bad that they wouldn’t just move on from Berube, but maybe they’re waiting until the end of the year to see who may come available. Hopefully, the Leafs can package a goaltender and maybe Nick Robertson for another mid level first rounder to help build the farm system, or a 1st next year to use when their first gets taken away by Philly.
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Well? The Wild are on their knees. Colorado is looking like champions right now. I can’t see them being stopped going forward.
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Coyle resigned with CBJ
6yrs X 6M. dude’s already 34.
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Coyle resigned with CBJ
6yrs X 6M. dude’s already 34.
Nobody wants to play for CBJ. With the cap being so high, both floor and ceiling, undesirable teams will continue to overspend to attract players. The Leafs have to do the same with the shitty market pressure, increased taxes and now also a terrible team.
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Berube fired. thats a good sign Chayka gets it
My best guess is the meeting between Chayka, Sundin and Matthews finally happened. The consensus is, the NHL has changed. It used to be, trap hockey, physical play along the boards, strong goaltending and waiting for a turnover. Today, most of the current teams in the playoffs are using speed and forechecking to force turnovers and sustained pressure to score their key goals. Berube was an old school type of coach and in todays game, it doesn’t work. Youth and speed now rule the day. It’s about puck control and moving the puck quickly out of your zone. It used to be off the glass and out, with lining up across your blueline and turning over the puck in the neutral zone. It’ll be interesting to see which coach shakes out of the bushes, once the playoffs are over.
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Lots of talk about where Austin Matthews may end up. Frontrunners: Anaheim, Salt Lake City, San Jose and Los Angeles. It’s getting more obvious that these teams are in win now mode and will compete to have a shot at landing one of the leagues premiere goal scorers. Having the ability to grab a top tier center, with a good defensive game, should make them drool. The Leafs should sit back and open the auction. Two caveats, a young center with possible top line talents is a must. The other, a top 4 defenseman that’s a puck mover. Add the obligatory 1st rounders and it’s a basis for a deal that reshapes the winner of the auction and makes them closer to winning a Stanley Cup. The Leafs get their rebuild done within a 3 year window if done properly. By then, the 1st overall pick will be hitting their stride, being McKenna or whoever they may bring in, if the pick is flipped. Of course, the new head-coach would also have some say in which players that the Leafs bring in. Two routes to go here. Either retool and keep Matthews, with free agent signings, or full blown rebuild on the fly, with a quick turnaround. It’s about to get interesting.
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Leafs have time to keep Matthews for this coming season, new coach. his 2 worst seasons were with Berube.
Leafs TDL Roy, Mcmann etc all went and were impactful. Berube…prob might be one of the worst coaches.at min build AM value back up. if they do end up deciding to trade him, but im not convinced that happens.
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Leafs have time to keep Matthews for this coming season, new coach. his 2 worst seasons were with Berube.
Leafs TDL Roy, Mcmann etc all went and were impactful. Berube…prob might be one of the worst coaches.at min build AM value back up. if they do end up deciding to trade him, but im not convinced that happens.
Agreed, rebuild his value and trade him with 50% retained at the 2027 draft.
The problem is, if the Leafs make 8th, they’ll think they’re contenders again and will ride Matthews into UFA and trade his rights for a 3rd liner.
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Chayka doesnt seem to sit on stuff. at least he didnt in his first go round as GM. Id suspect if he doesnt re-sign AM, he trades him and doesnt Marner it up.
But new GM, new coach, new shiny #1 pick. My bet is AM signs another deal with the Leafs
New GM means nothing if he builds a shit team. New coach means nothing if Matthews isn’t part of the hiring process. #1 pick means nothing if he doesn’t turn them into a contender instantly (he won’t).
Matthews certainly isn’t acting or speaking like it yet. And it seems like his agent and McDavid’s agent want them both to be UFAs at the same time and for the other to sign first to set a new bar of highest paid.
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New GM means nothing if he builds a shit team. New coach means nothing if Matthews isn’t part of the hiring process. #1 pick means nothing if he doesn’t turn them into a contender instantly (he won’t).
Matthews certainly isn’t acting or speaking like it yet. And it seems like his agent and McDavid’s agent want them both to be UFAs at the same time and for the other to sign first to set a new bar of highest paid.
I just mean for the perception the players have, like AM will see it as making changes to “improve”
whether they do or not on the ice, isnt the point. -
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I just mean for the perception the players have, like AM will see it as making changes to “improve”
whether they do or not on the ice, isnt the point.They fired the coach without asking the players. What kind of perception does that have? They let his best buddy and best playmaker go to Vegas and he leads the playoffs in scoring. How’s that perception look?
Again, the perception still sucks from multiple angles. Chayka has zero success in the NHL and Sundin has zero experience. Shane Doan is gone. Since day one, this franchise has wiped Matthews’ ass in every direction. It’s been good enough to keep him signed but not a winning formula either.
The 1st overall pick is not McDavid. He’s not MacKinnon. He’s not Crosby. Or Ovechkin. The new coach is expected to turn chicken shit into chicken salad? The coaching candidates are either hard asses or rookies. The Leafs have hired both types. Neither worked before and the roster is worse than ever.
Don’t think anything they have done will change the reality and what happens on the ice is what matters. This will still be a lottery team at worst and a 9th placed team at best. The UFA market won’t change this team, the 1st overall pick won’t change this team and the Leafs simply do not have the assets to trade themselves into a better position either.
This pile of shit is what it is and Matthews, if he’s smart, will see the writing on the wall and get the hell out of town. Luckily, it’s also what is best for the franchise so both parties win.
Play out next year. Score 40-50. Miss the playoffs. Trade him with 50% retained at the draft.
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I saw a trade proposal. Chi offers #4 pick for Knies
yes or no?Is everybody else getting traded too? If you trade Knies for a player that won’t make an impact for another 2 or 3 years (best case scenario), Matthews and Nylander probably say fuck this team 2 seconds after they find out about the trade.
As I’ve said before, 1st overall doesn’t make this team a Cup winner overnight. Neither does 4th overall. So it’s full rebuild if any good player is traded.
But if Matthews is going for 2nd overall + Misa + an unprotected 2027 1st and Nylander is going for 3rd overall and a 2027 unprotected 1st, yes sure, blow it up, trade Knies and go for it.
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I saw a trade proposal. Chi offers #4 pick for Knies
yes or no?Do you make that trade…OK, if you get 4th overall and another 1st, unprotected in 2027 and we throw in Colorado’s 1st next year I buy that. 4th overall, plus unprotected Chicago 1st in 2027 for Knies and Colorado’s 1st in 2027, make that deal.
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I saw a trade proposal. Chi offers #4 pick for Knies
yes or no?I guess it depends on who is availble at #4.
A 1:1 trade I would strongly consider. -
I wonder when the Leafs will start shopping one of their goaltenders. Some of the teams that made it into the second round, but failed to advance due to average goaltending, should be looking at Stolarz. Freeing up that contract could make it easier in free agency to acquire some defensive help. The Leafs need to shore up the center position in the bottom 6. Once round 3 starts, the complete draft positioning will be set. Now that the California teams have been shut out of the third round and moving forward, the West Coast teams will need to upgrade their goaltending to make the next step. Hopefully, the Leafs are ready to try and fleece a desperate team that wants to jump over their geographical opponents.
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I wonder when the Leafs will start shopping one of their goaltenders. Some of the teams that made it into the second round, but failed to advance due to average goaltending, should be looking at Stolarz. Freeing up that contract could make it easier in free agency to acquire some defensive help. The Leafs need to shore up the center position in the bottom 6. Once round 3 starts, the complete draft positioning will be set. Now that the California teams have been shut out of the third round and moving forward, the West Coast teams will need to upgrade their goaltending to make the next step. Hopefully, the Leafs are ready to try and fleece a desperate team that wants to jump over their geographical opponents.
Stolarz and Woll aren’t worth dick on a stick. They are both 1A goalies with a long list of injuries. Until they can prove they can stay healthy, they won’t get you jack shit in return.
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Stenberg at #1.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/scouts-analysis-ranking-the-top-45-prospects-for-the-nhl-draft/
He had a goal disallowed vs. Canada due to high stick but he showed excellent hand eye to get to it.
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Iv consumed a bunch of draft content, and to me I think the Leafs take Mckenna. Its close
The comps are like picking Patrick Kane/Panerin vs Tim Stutzle /Lucas Raymond
not perfect comps but you get the ideaIf McKenna is hyped as Patrick Kane, Stenberg could be considered Forsberg or Zetterberg. Very few Swedish prospects have scored the way he scored in the SHL this year. Stenberg has outperformed guys like Backstrom, Nylander, Lindholm, Carlsson and many other elite Swedish prospects. And he doesn’t play one-way hockey. His hockey IQ is high and plays two-way hockey. It’s a shame he doesn’t play center but if the battle is between two wingers, Stenberg is the superior all around player. Considering the Leafs have already tried and failed with Nylander as a one-way player, it would be repeating the same mistake all over again. Even if McKenna were the higher offensive output player, we know that when the games matter, what Stenberg brings is more valuable. We have also seen McKenna finish in 2nd (or worse) in the OHL, the WJC and the NCAA when he was considered the best player on the ice amongst his peers. That’s potentially because of his lack of a physical game and a defensive game costs him the games that matter the most. Watching him for Canada, he was the “best” player on the “best” team and did not deliver.
McKenna is not Patrick Kane. The only reason that comparison is appearing is because he punched somebody out in a street fight situation. That comparison is an overshoot. Kane scored 60+ goals in the OHL with 140+ points. He made Sam Gagner and Sergei Kostitsyn look like legit stars and turned them both into 100+ point players. The hype around Kane was that of a legit generational talent. The same can’t be said about McKenna legitimately and the biggest reason for his hype is because he’s the Canadian contender for #1 and the Canadian sports media likes to hype their own guy harder.
In terms of who might dominate the NHL, there’s a strong case to be made for Reid as an offensive, smooth skating, 6’3″ RHD. He could be the next Makar (better than Hischier and Patrick). That, to me, is so much more valuable than a one-way LW. Same could be said about Verhoeff in a different manner as he could be a physically dominating top pair RHD like Ekblad or Hedman. Again, not the “100 point” player but the guy who helps you win when the games matter the most. If the Islanders got to draft 1st overall again in 2009 knowing what they know now, would they take Tavares or Hedman? I’d take Hedman.
It’s not about who will score the most points anymore. It’s about who can you build a winning franchise with and around. You can score all the goals and points you want (in the extreme case like McDavid) but at the end of the season it’s not the singular factor in what builds a winning team anymore.
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If the Canucks are interested in making a trade with San Jose to move to #2, then the Canucks could make a trade to move from #2 to 1. San Jose would probably like to draft a defenseman, but are inclined to draft the best player available. Vancouver is hot after McKenna. The Leafs could try to drag a top prospect or a late 1st rounder from Vancouver to move up to #1. Stenberg could then be taken by the Leafs at #2 and gain an asset for later in the draft or next year. If they do get to that point, do they move Knies to Chicago for #4 plus another late 1st rounder and draft that defenseman that they so covet? Get Stenberg, get their top end defenseman, 2 extra 1st rounders and Stenberg takes Knies spot in the lineup. That’s a quick retool with Matthews and Nylander still on the roster.
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If the Canucks are interested in making a trade with San Jose to move to #2, then the Canucks could make a trade to move from #2 to 1. San Jose would probably like to draft a defenseman, but are inclined to draft the best player available. Vancouver is hot after McKenna. The Leafs could try to drag a top prospect or a late 1st rounder from Vancouver to move up to #1. Stenberg could then be taken by the Leafs at #2 and gain an asset for later in the draft or next year. If they do get to that point, do they move Knies to Chicago for #4 plus another late 1st rounder and draft that defenseman that they so covet? Get Stenberg, get their top end defenseman, 2 extra 1st rounders and Stenberg takes Knies spot in the lineup. That’s a quick retool with Matthews and Nylander still on the roster.
There is no “retool” option. There are too many major flaws with this team. Not a single player in this draft turns this team around the corner in the amount of time Matthews has left on his contract. Trading Knies is the guaranteed path to a full rebuild. An 18 year old will never replace what Knies brings today and that will piss off Matthews.
The only logical option is full tear down and rebuild. Matthews, Nylander, McCabe, Tanev, OEL, Carlo, Tavares…all these guys bring you 10-12 1st round picks combined. Trying to “retool” walks them to UFA status and the Leafs spend an extra 5 years trying to get back to the level they could get right now if they blow it all up right now.
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I can’t see them getting 10 to 12 1st rounders, but maybe 6. They would acquire a few top prospects, but without their own first rounders for 2 years, it doesn’t really help. Unless one of the trades are with Philly, to get their 1st back, it’ll be a retool, probably fairly deep, but the stupidity of Treliving sabotaged a true rebuild. You still have to ice a competitive team going forward.
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I can’t see them getting 10 to 12 1st rounders, but maybe 6. They would acquire a few top prospects, but without their own first rounders for 2 years, it doesn’t really help. Unless one of the trades are with Philly, to get their 1st back, it’ll be a retool, probably fairly deep, but the stupidity of Treliving sabotaged a true rebuild. You still have to ice a competitive team going forward.
Nope. If the Leafs play their cards right, they could get anywhere between ten and twelve 1st round picks worth of value and that’s on the low end because there are other ways for the Leafs to accumulate more 1st round picks that Chayka has done before.
For the purpose of this discussion, when I say “1st round pick” it is a means of value. That means it could be a former 1st round pick, a current 1st round pick, a top prospect considered as valuable as a 1st round or a young roster player who was a 1st round pick or equal and significant value. For example, Rantanen cost: Logan Stankoven (young roster player equivalent to a 1st round pick in value), conditional round 1 pick in the 2026 draft, round 3 pick in the 2026 draft, round 3 pick in the 2027 draft and conditional round 1 pick in the 2028 draft. That is considered the same value as three 1st round picks and two 3rd round picks.
Step 1: Decide the goal is to do a full rebuild. The Leafs don’t own their own 1st round pick for 2027 or 2028. That makes tanking good for Boston and Philadelphia. However, if they use the 2027 regular season as a year to rebuild the value of players, they can start the fire sale at the deadline. And yes, one of the deals could be to get the 1st round pick back from Boston or Philadelphia but that depends on the situation those teams are in at the deadline.
Step 2: Trade Matthews. He’s the biggest chip. If Matthews goes around January, absolutely everybody else jumps ship willingly by the deadline.
Step 3: Retain salary on big contracts to increase return. Matthews is incredibly valuable as is. But if he scores 40-50 next year and is 50% retained, that’s extremely valuable to a contender. And if one contender is in on Matthews, multiple others will join the bidding war. The same would happen for Nylander 50% retained. And OEL. And Carlo. And Tanev. And McCabe. Teams always overpay for depth D at the deadline. The Leafs have four pieces, one of which the Leafs themselves pissed away a 1st and a top prospect to acquire last year.
Matthews 50% retained (6.625 AAV until 2028) at the TDL or 2027 draft: Four 1st round picks. Matthews, the 50 goal scorer, is already worth four 1st round picks. At 6.625, he’s worth more. With an extension, he’s worth even more. Four 1st round picks is the LOWEST POSSIBLE PRICE for that type of value. As many as five or even six pieces could be demanded if a bidding war begins.
Nylander 50% retained (5.75 AAV until 2030) at the TDL or 2027 draft: Three 1st round picks. 40 goal, 80 point player for 5.75 is EASILY worth three 1st round picks, maybe more.
Tanev 50% retained (2.25 AAV until 2030) at the TDL: 1st round pick. Players like Tanev go for a 1st every year. Holding 50% of salary reduces cap hit in case of injury and increases return.
OEL at the TDL: 1st round pick + prospect (High value player, low salary)
McCabe at the TDL: 1st round pick (Leafs paid a 1st for McCabe)
Carlo at the TDL: 1st round pick (Leafs paid a 1st + Minten)
Tavares at the TDL: 1st round pick (If Laughton cost a 1st, Tavares would get one easily as a 30 goal, 70 point player and low cap hit)The Leafs, needing to rebuild, won’t need the cap space until beyond 2030 when all those contracts expire and while all the new prospects are on cheap ELC. Leafs could also continue to take on bad contracts for draft picks as Chayka has done many, many times before to reach the cap floor and increase draft capital. If the Leafs take 3 or 4 bad contracts, that could also add up to more 1st / 2nd round picks as we saw the Leafs pay many times to dump the likes of Marleau and Mrazek.
That’s twelve (minimum) 1st round picks for a full tear down fire sale and doesn’t even include 1st round picks the Leafs could bring in for bad contracts.
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If McKenna is hyped as Patrick Kane, Stenberg could be considered Forsberg or Zetterberg. Very few Swedish prospects have scored the way he scored in the SHL this year. Stenberg has outperformed guys like Backstrom, Nylander, Lindholm, Carlsson and many other elite Swedish prospects. And he doesn’t play one-way hockey. His hockey IQ is high and plays two-way hockey. It’s a shame he doesn’t play center but if the battle is between two wingers, Stenberg is the superior all around player. Considering the Leafs have already tried and failed with Nylander as a one-way player, it would be repeating the same mistake all over again. Even if McKenna were the higher offensive output player, we know that when the games matter, what Stenberg brings is more valuable. We have also seen McKenna finish in 2nd (or worse) in the OHL, the WJC and the NCAA when he was considered the best player on the ice amongst his peers. That’s potentially because of his lack of a physical game and a defensive game costs him the games that matter the most. Watching him for Canada, he was the “best” player on the “best” team and did not deliver.
McKenna is not Patrick Kane. The only reason that comparison is appearing is because he punched somebody out in a street fight situation. That comparison is an overshoot. Kane scored 60+ goals in the OHL with 140+ points. He made Sam Gagner and Sergei Kostitsyn look like legit stars and turned them both into 100+ point players. The hype around Kane was that of a legit generational talent. The same can’t be said about McKenna legitimately and the biggest reason for his hype is because he’s the Canadian contender for #1 and the Canadian sports media likes to hype their own guy harder.
In terms of who might dominate the NHL, there’s a strong case to be made for Reid as an offensive, smooth skating, 6’3″ RHD. He could be the next Makar (better than Hischier and Patrick). That, to me, is so much more valuable than a one-way LW. Same could be said about Verhoeff in a different manner as he could be a physically dominating top pair RHD like Ekblad or Hedman. Again, not the “100 point” player but the guy who helps you win when the games matter the most. If the Islanders got to draft 1st overall again in 2009 knowing what they know now, would they take Tavares or Hedman? I’d take Hedman.
It’s not about who will score the most points anymore. It’s about who can you build a winning franchise with and around. You can score all the goals and points you want (in the extreme case like McDavid) but at the end of the season it’s not the singular factor in what builds a winning team anymore.
I am not talking about hype, just the scoring upside and type of player. But Zetterberg is also a comp for Stenberg.
Kane did score 62 goals and 145 points, but in his age 17-18 season.
Mckenna had 129 points in the WHL in his age 16-17 Season. He was over 1 year younger. Its hard to compare his NCAA season to Kane last OHL season.I am not advocating for anyone, my comments are on just what I feel the Leafs will do. But ultimately I have no idea, Chayka can be a wild card sometimes.
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Should do and can do are two different things. First, you know MLS&E won’t stand for a full rebuild. They have shareholders to keep happy and a shinny new National Cable package that brings in advertising revenue. The Maple Leafs are the NHL’s most valuable team in regards to revenue sharing. If people don’t come, because the team is in the shitter for 5+ years, that can be an issue for the league. My best bet is a fairly deep retool. They may indeed move Matthews and Nylander, but they’ll want NHL caliber talent coming back, as well as draft capital. The team won’t wait for three years to be a playoff team again. My guess is they’ll be into free agency and build around their current defensive core and goaltending. Their goaltending depth is also an asset. They could easily flip Woll for a first rounder and never miss a beat. Stolarz and Hildeby would suffice as a tandem that makes them competitive next year. Would I like a true rebuild? Sure, but MLS&E won’t. Best case scenario is seeing them acquire another early 1st rounder this year, to go with number 1 and play the longer game of moving assets at the trade deadline, next year. That allows them to short their own first rounder to Philly, next year, forcing it to be in the 15 to 20 range, while securing a better first from another team. Do that and the Boston pick may be irrelevant.
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Should do and can do are two different things. First, you know MLS&E won’t stand for a full rebuild. They have shareholders to keep happy and a shinny new National Cable package that brings in advertising revenue. The Maple Leafs are the NHL’s most valuable team in regards to revenue sharing. If people don’t come, because the team is in the shitter for 5+ years, that can be an issue for the league. My best bet is a fairly deep retool. They may indeed move Matthews and Nylander, but they’ll want NHL caliber talent coming back, as well as draft capital. The team won’t wait for three years to be a playoff team again. My guess is they’ll be into free agency and build around their current defensive core and goaltending. Their goaltending depth is also an asset. They could easily flip Woll for a first rounder and never miss a beat. Stolarz and Hildeby would suffice as a tandem that makes them competitive next year. Would I like a true rebuild? Sure, but MLS&E won’t. Best case scenario is seeing them acquire another early 1st rounder this year, to go with number 1 and play the longer game of moving assets at the trade deadline, next year. That allows them to short their own first rounder to Philly, next year, forcing it to be in the 15 to 20 range, while securing a better first from another team. Do that and the Boston pick may be irrelevant.
The leafs sucked then tanked and got Nylander, Marner and Matthews in the process even they did not do a full tear down then, they kept Kadri and Rielly.
They are in an even more precarious position now since they dont have 2027/28 firsts. So yeah, they wont be doing a full tear down. And I dont think they need to now, at least until you see how Matthews plays out. -
This is Pronmans Top 5
1 Chase Reid – Player Comp Seth Jones
2 Alberts Smits – Player Comp Jakob Chychrun
3 Keaton Verhoeff – Player Comp Aaron Ekblad
4 Gavin McKenna – Player Comp Artemi Panarin
5 Ivar Stenberg – Player Comp Jake GuentzelReid is a talented defenseman with a lot of offensive tools. He has the speed, hands, vision and shot to generate chances and be a leading scorer for an NHL team. Reid can create in transition and off the blue line with his feet and creativity, showing high-end improvisation skills. Reid isn’t overly physical, but he works hard enough and makes plenty of stops due to his reach, feet and compete level even while playing an aggressive style of play offensively. He projects as a major minutes NHL defenseman who can run a first power play.
McKenna possesses off-the-charts puck skills, vision and overall offensive creativity. He’s a strong skater who can generate a ton of chances with pace. He’s a pass-first player who projects to run a power play at a high level due to his elite playmaking ability. He’s not overly physical and can be pushed to the outside too much, but despite his frustrating tendencies, coaches still tend to play him a ton at every level. He projects as a top-line winger who can run a PP1
Stenberg is an electric offensive talent. He’s a high-end puck handler, passer and shooter who can make difficult plays with the puck routinely and is a natural scorer. He isn’t that big or mean, but he works hard and has shown he can win battles against men. His frame and good (but not great) small-guy skating will be concerns on his NHL projection. He could be a top-line winger.
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Should do and can do are two different things. First, you know MLS&E won’t stand for a full rebuild. They have shareholders to keep happy and a shinny new National Cable package that brings in advertising revenue. The Maple Leafs are the NHL’s most valuable team in regards to revenue sharing. If people don’t come, because the team is in the shitter for 5+ years, that can be an issue for the league. My best bet is a fairly deep retool. They may indeed move Matthews and Nylander, but they’ll want NHL caliber talent coming back, as well as draft capital. The team won’t wait for three years to be a playoff team again. My guess is they’ll be into free agency and build around their current defensive core and goaltending. Their goaltending depth is also an asset. They could easily flip Woll for a first rounder and never miss a beat. Stolarz and Hildeby would suffice as a tandem that makes them competitive next year. Would I like a true rebuild? Sure, but MLS&E won’t. Best case scenario is seeing them acquire another early 1st rounder this year, to go with number 1 and play the longer game of moving assets at the trade deadline, next year. That allows them to short their own first rounder to Philly, next year, forcing it to be in the 15 to 20 range, while securing a better first from another team. Do that and the Boston pick may be irrelevant.
The Leafs have and will do a rebuild again. The seats will still be sold. The Leafs will still make more money than God.
Retool is not an option. If Matthews decides he’s finished with this team, everybody else is gone and a full rebuild occurs.
The reality is, Matthews benefits more from leaving and so do the Leafs. It’s a win-win for both sides. This team can’t be fixed. It’s littered with problems and not enough assets or time to fix it.
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The leafs sucked then tanked and got Nylander, Marner and Matthews in the process even they did not do a full tear down then, they kept Kadri and Rielly.
They are in an even more precarious position now since they dont have 2027/28 firsts. So yeah, they wont be doing a full tear down. And I dont think they need to now, at least until you see how Matthews plays out.Keeping Kadri and Rielly would be like the Leafs keeping Knies and Cowan. It was a full rebuild, they kept every young piece they had.
They absolutely have to rebuild. Matthews should want to leave too. Too many holes, not enough assets and not enough time. It’s mutually beneficial to trade Matthews.
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I am not talking about hype, just the scoring upside and type of player. But Zetterberg is also a comp for Stenberg.
Kane did score 62 goals and 145 points, but in his age 17-18 season.
Mckenna had 129 points in the WHL in his age 16-17 Season. He was over 1 year younger. Its hard to compare his NCAA season to Kane last OHL season.I am not advocating for anyone, my comments are on just what I feel the Leafs will do. But ultimately I have no idea, Chayka can be a wild card sometimes.
Sundin will lean towards Stenberg and Chayka will try to trade down.
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Sundin will lean towards Stenberg and Chayka will try to trade down.
I’m not convinced that San Jose would take Stenberg at #2. They may be looking at either trading down to #4 or taking a defenseman at #2. The Leafs could chance it, trading down to #3, if they get a top prospect or another 1st from Vancouver. The Leafs might even try to put Rielly into the trade to gain another prospect or a player they could use. Vancouver really wants to make a splash and bring in McKenna. Make them pay like other franchises made the Leafs pay, when they were after talent.
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Sundin will lean towards Stenberg and Chayka will try to trade down.
I’m not convinced that San Jose would take Stenberg at #2. They may be looking at either trading down to #4 or taking a defenseman at #2. The Leafs could chance it, trading down to #3, if they get a top prospect or another 1st from Vancouver. The Leafs might even try to put Rielly into the trade to gain another prospect or a player they could use. Vancouver really wants to make a splash and bring in McKenna. Make them pay like other franchises made the Leafs pay, when they were after talent.
this is my proposal
Van gets – #1 pick (Mckenna), Rielly
Tor gets – #3 pick (Stenberg/Ried), E PettersonLeafs still get a skilled top 6 player who can contribute now. and either Stenberg or the D they need Ried.
Van gets flashy #1 pick and 3/4 D -
Another draft ranking. mainly just based on draft years production.
doesnt make the decision any easier. Stay #1, trade down…who to pickMcKenna did see a drop off in his equivalency from his D-1 to his DY, and as you probably know I don’t like drop offs from your D-1 to DY because the historical data is not kind to it. But McKenna dropped off from one of the absolute highest D-1 equivalencies ever recorded to one in the top 0.01% for DY equivalencies. He switched leagues in his DY (which very few have done before him) to a league that is ~50% harder in competition than the WHL. So I am not concerned about this drop off. Had he stayed in the WHL, he probably would have eclipsed his D-1 equivalency (57), and put up close to 3 points a game.
All that to say… McKenna has the elite, elite model profile that I love. The ‘certain superstar’ profile where every forward drafted before him that looked somewhat similar (D-1 NHLe of 40+, DY NHLe of 50+) has turned into a superstar (a point per game or beyond). Bedard, Celebrini, Hughes, Matthews, McDavid, Eichel, Kane, Crosby… they all looked like this.
He profiles almost exactly like Patrick Kane
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this is my proposal
Van gets – #1 pick (Mckenna), Rielly
Tor gets – #3 pick (Stenberg/Ried), E PettersonLeafs still get a skilled top 6 player who can contribute now. and either Stenberg or the D they need Ried.
Van gets flashy #1 pick and 3/4 DEW. No. Pettersson absolutely sucks. 15 goals, 50 points and -30. That’s a good plan if you want to tank harder.
The Sedins took over VAN now so they’re going to cook him some Swedish meatballs and won’t trade him or his horrible contract.
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Another draft ranking. mainly just based on draft years production.
doesnt make the decision any easier. Stay #1, trade down…who to pickReid compared to Doughty. Verhoeff compared to Pronger. I mean, this guy seems to just be calling for home runs from everybody and relies heavily on offensive stats while defense and intangibles seem to not matter as much. If that’s the case, the Leafs are still better off with trading down and taking the RHD.
Leafs have failed many times trying to build a team with guys like McKenna (Kessel, Nylander, Tavares etc.). Rather have the 18 year old top pair RHD and worry about acquiring the offense from trading Matthews and Nylander.
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If they’re going to trade one of Nylander or Matthews, I’d have them trade Nylander. He has a longer contract and has a bit of an attitude. He’s pretty one dimensional, compared to Matthews. At least Matthews wins faceoffs and plays a better defensive game. It all depends on the return. Leafs should explore the trade for 1st to 3rd, but it should cost Vancouver a top prospect or first rounder. See if they’ll take Rielly and give us at least a 2nd rounder for him. Another shit season for Vancouver and that 2nd will be like a late first.
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Reid compared to Doughty. Verhoeff compared to Pronger. I mean, this guy seems to just be calling for home runs from everybody and relies heavily on offensive stats while defense and intangibles seem to not matter as much. If that’s the case, the Leafs are still better off with trading down and taking the RHD.
Leafs have failed many times trying to build a team with guys like McKenna (Kessel, Nylander, Tavares etc.). Rather have the 18 year old top pair RHD and worry about acquiring the offense from trading Matthews and Nylander.
any draft comps are going to put out the best case scenario for the player type.
the other comps for Ried was Seth jones.I looked at all the Dmen taken in the 2010-2019 drafts, i would say there were about 9 or 10 true top pair #1 D out of 32, so roughly a 30% chance.
If you end up with a pretty good D, 2/3/4 range..still good but not worth a #1 pick. Dmen are riskyLeafs got Rielly #5, good player but never a #1
I dont care if they trade down and pick one of the D, but it has to be a sure thing, and thats not possible.
Id offer #1 for say Moritz Seider, stud RHD. had some of the best defensive metrics.
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You know, as a late 50’s Western Canadian and an outsider looking in, it’s somewhat fascinating to watch the Leaf organization over the past 40 years. In recent years, the Shanaplan years, they played some good hockey for y’all but they never accomplished anything of note. Just so many poor decisions and a flawed roster resulted. Now you seem to be between a rock and a hard place, do you start over again or do you continue to chase with a flawed roster.
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here are some stats for Mckenna, it looks like his start in NCAA really brought him back to the pack. But he took off in the 2nd half.
if he stayed in the WHL, I dont think it would even be a discussion who should go #1.All the draft stuff iv consumed (a lot) just says, dont over think this, draft Mckenna
https://x.com/NewLeafs2016/status/2057556723943272907?s=20 -
You know, as a late 50’s Western Canadian and an outsider looking in, it’s somewhat fascinating to watch the Leaf organization over the past 40 years. In recent years, the Shanaplan years, they played some good hockey for y’all but they never accomplished anything of note. Just so many poor decisions and a flawed roster resulted. Now you seem to be between a rock and a hard place, do you start over again or do you continue to chase with a flawed roster.
I think landing the #1 pick makes the decision for them, at least in the short term 2 years (AM contract)
I also think how dire the leafs situation is, is being overstated, its the trendy thing to do right now.the Matthews wants to leave narrative is also softening already, I never bought into it, to me it was just like Mcdavid last year.. they wanted change and to see that the team wants to win.
They can trade Matthews, but will never have a player like him again, and will never get anywhere close to fair value.Berube fired I think for AM was a big part, he stunk and so did AM with him as coach.
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There are a lot of examples in recent years where the #1 pick was not the best player in the draft. Given the Leafs situation, they need to explore trading down and acquiring more assets because the cupboard is so bare and the rebuild is right around the corner.
2010: Hall vs Seguin. Seguin won.
2011: Nugent-Hopkins vs. Landeskog. Landeskog won.
2012: Yakupov vs Everybody else. Yakupov sucked.
2013: MacKinnon vs Barkov. MacKinnon has scored more points and goals but Barkov has more Cups (way better two-way player too).
2014: Ekblad vs. Reinhart. They won Cups together eventually. #3 Draisaitl way more goals and points than both. Florida with the #1, #2 and #4 (Bennett) pick. Leafs should do the same.
2015: McDavid vs. Eichel. Best player in the world is McDavid, no doubt, but Eichel has the Cup and chasing a 2nd this year.
2016: Matthews vs. Laine. Matthews has the best regular season stats but Tkachuk went 6th and he’s got a Cup.
2017: Hischier vs Patrick. Makar went 4th. Clearly the best player from the draft. Heiskanen went 3rd.
2018: Dahlin vs Svechnikov. Quinn Hughes went 7th.The “don’t over think it” idea is exactly what they said about some of these other guys at #1 and we can clearly see which teams got the best players or the “winners”.
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I can see getting a large haul for Matthews, if you look at the California teams. Each one has a good reason to bid large on Matthews. San Jose is about to go the way the Habs did. Draft well for 5 years and stockpile young talent. When it comes together, you’re an instant contender. Matthews would put San Jose into a playoff spot, trending up. They have the #2 pick and add Michael Misa, a good young center, plus another 1st to get it done. This year, Anaheim made a push, and with one more great piece, they could easily see themselves in a Conference final. They too have a number of good, young players on their roster, with Mason McTavish being a player of interest the Leafs should target. A young Center with the grit and determination to put beside a McKenna or Stenberg. Add two first rounders and make the deal. The Kings need to replace their longtime Captain, Anze Kopitar, who retired. To stay competitive with their West Coast rivals, they need to make this deal. Quinton Byfield would be a must, as well as 2 first rounders to make it work. Best deal wins.
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I think landing the #1 pick makes the decision for them, at least in the short term 2 years (AM contract)
I also think how dire the leafs situation is, is being overstated, its the trendy thing to do right now.the Matthews wants to leave narrative is also softening already, I never bought into it, to me it was just like Mcdavid last year.. they wanted change and to see that the team wants to win.
They can trade Matthews, but will never have a player like him again, and will never get anywhere close to fair value.Berube fired I think for AM was a big part, he stunk and so did AM with him as coach.
It’s not overstated. It’s actually understated because people are waking up to how fucked this team is but the Leafs themselves are still stuck in this bullshit PR story about a retool.
It’s not trendy. It’s damn accurate. The Leafs have no farm system, they have no draft capital, they have an aging team with a trash blueline that can’t be fixed. They also have a star player who seems unhappy and rapidly approaching free agency. The last time the Leafs played with that fire, they got 3rd degree burns as we can see Marner leading the playoffs in scoring while the Leafs sit as the 5th worst team in the NHL. Their goalies are generally unhealthy and their depth is non-existent. That’s not trendy thoughts. That’s reality.
Matthews should want to leave. It’s in his best interest to get the fuck out of Toronto ASAP. It’s better for his career, better for his UFA status and probably better for his odds of winning a Cup if he joins a REAL contender. McDavid is not comparable. He went to the Cup Final twice in a row. He has faith in his core guys still. Matthews has nothing in Toronto to fight for anymore. They already ran his best playmaker out of town and clearly the team sucks without him.
Berube was a problem but the Leafs have been through a lot of coaches with no real difference. They all lost when it counted because this group of guys doesn’t work.
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The “don’t over think it” idea is exactly what they said about some of these other guys at #1 and we can clearly see which teams got the best players or the “winners”.
It all depends on the offers for McKenna at #1. If the offers are underwhelming, then you just make the pick. If Vancouver wants to get creative, then make a deal that brings you #3, a top prospect, or an extra #1 pick, this year or next. I could see San Jose dangling their 2nd overall, because they want a star defenseman. They too can see the need to grab the best defenseman in the draft. The Leafs really can’t lose if they trade the #1 for #3 plus a top prospect or another 1st. You either get Stenberg or your choice of the 3 defensemen coming behind San Jose, or getting Stenberg. It just needs to make sense. It’s time the Leafs went full blown mercenary and defrock a desperate team trying to look relevant. Vancouver and Chicago are ripe for the picking. Vancouver, because they need someone to sell to their fanbase as a number 1 overall pick and Chicago who needs to start moving up the standings with Connor Bedard wasting his younger years on a team not in contention.
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The “don’t over think it” idea is exactly what they said about some of these other guys at #1 and we can clearly see which teams got the best players or the “winners”.
It all depends on the offers for McKenna at #1. If the offers are underwhelming, then you just make the pick. If Vancouver wants to get creative, then make a deal that brings you #3, a top prospect, or an extra #1 pick, this year or next. I could see San Jose dangling their 2nd overall, because they want a star defenseman. They too can see the need to grab the best defenseman in the draft. The Leafs really can’t lose if they trade the #1 for #3 plus a top prospect or another 1st. You either get Stenberg or your choice of the 3 defensemen coming behind San Jose, or getting Stenberg. It just needs to make sense. It’s time the Leafs went full blown mercenary and defrock a desperate team trying to look relevant. Vancouver and Chicago are ripe for the picking. Vancouver, because they need someone to sell to their fanbase as a number 1 overall pick and Chicago who needs to start moving up the standings with Connor Bedard wasting his younger years on a team not in contention.
SJ can take one of the D, but i dont see that player making a difference for a few years. looking at the top 10,you can go back to 2020 and maybe 1 Dman has turned into a top pairing D. (Sanderson)
They might be better off trying to trade the pick for a more established D to step in now -
It’s not overstated. It’s actually understated because people are waking up to how fucked this team is but the Leafs themselves are still stuck in this bullshit PR story about a retool.
I get it. The problem is, they won’t listen. They couldn’t care less about what the fans really think. Oh, sure, they’ll pay lip service as they always have. It’s about money, and nothing but. They need the TV revenue for Rogers Sportsnet. They probably took a whack, when the Leafs were spiraling towards the bottom. Their bottom line screamed, “fix this, we need the money!” Letting Berube go meant losing the equivalent of 2 playoff gates, for his paid out salary. The may get that back, if Berube ends up in Edmonton. In their minds, they make that up if the Leafs go to the playoffs and get swept. They lose huge if the Leafs suck again and miss the playoffs. Of course, a shiny new star player buys them some time and more eyes watching the team. It’s in their interest to just retool, use free agency and make some trades to stay in contention. Championships be damned, just keep the fanbase watching, no matter what. If you believe that they’re going to rebuild, you’d be sadly mistaken. Matts was brought in to be the face of the team, so Rogers and Pelly could hide behind the curtain, while pulling the strings.
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SJ can take one of the D, but i dont see that player making a difference for a few years. looking at the top 10,you can go back to 2020 and maybe 1 Dman has turned into a top pairing D. (Sanderson)
They might be better off trying to trade the pick for a more established D to step in nowI don’t see a team, with a good young defenseman with a for sale sign around his neck. You either gamble, or go into free agency. Of course, a hockey trade could happen, but it’ll take more than the #1 pick to get a top end defenseman. You have to draft them. My thinking is move Matthews, bring back a Misa or a McTavish and a couple of other pieces. The #1 is a lottery ticket. You can move down and gain 2 or 3 good pieces, if you play your cards right. Number 3 gets you a) Stenberg, b)The Top defensive prospect. The rest of the deal gives you a high end prospect for moving down. UG makes some sense on that one. Either way, you still end up with a Grade A prospect and possibly more.
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It’s not overstated. It’s actually understated because people are waking up to how fucked this team is but the Leafs themselves are still stuck in this bullshit PR story about a retool.
I get it. The problem is, they won’t listen. They couldn’t care less about what the fans really think. Oh, sure, they’ll pay lip service as they always have. It’s about money, and nothing but. They need the TV revenue for Rogers Sportsnet. They probably took a whack, when the Leafs were spiraling towards the bottom. Their bottom line screamed, “fix this, we need the money!” Letting Berube go meant losing the equivalent of 2 playoff gates, for his paid out salary. The may get that back, if Berube ends up in Edmonton. In their minds, they make that up if the Leafs go to the playoffs and get swept. They lose huge if the Leafs suck again and miss the playoffs. Of course, a shiny new star player buys them some time and more eyes watching the team. It’s in their interest to just retool, use free agency and make some trades to stay in contention. Championships be damned, just keep the fanbase watching, no matter what. If you believe that they’re going to rebuild, you’d be sadly mistaken. Matts was brought in to be the face of the team, so Rogers and Pelly could hide behind the curtain, while pulling the strings.
That’s up to Chayka and Matthews. If Chayka decides, it’s full rebuild time, what is Pelley going to do? Fire him after just hiring him? And if he does fire him or block his ability to rebuild, the average fan revolts after the rumors leak that Pelley is holding the team back from something a lot of the fans actually want to happen.
Nothing increases franchise value (the thing they actually want, not year to year revenue) more than winning a Cup. The path to that Cup does not run through a bullshit re-tool.
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SJ can take one of the D, but i dont see that player making a difference for a few years. looking at the top 10,you can go back to 2020 and maybe 1 Dman has turned into a top pairing D. (Sanderson)
They might be better off trying to trade the pick for a more established D to step in nowSan Jose and Chicago are way more likely to be looking to acquire current star players like Matthews and Nylander than they are any kind of 18 year old that isn’t a generational talent. This draft has zero obvious, consensus generational talents.
Matthews to San Jose works if the right pieces come back to the Leafs like Smith or Misa + an unprotected 2027 1st and 2nd overall as a starting point. If the Leafs retain 50% salary (which they definitely should) that price increases. That price also increases when other contenders catch wind of the opportunity to get Matthews @ 50% retained.
Nylander could accept a trade to Chicago considering his dad did play there so he might have some familiarity with the market. It’s pretty similar to Toronto in terms of being a total shit city run by morons ravaged by crime and corruption so he might find it exciting and easy to score his nose candy. Chicago could give up #4 + an unprotected 2027 1st round pick and at least one other top prospect or asset.
Leafs then trade down 1st overall with Vanpoover for 3rd overall and acquire 24th overall (JP Hurlbert).
Or trade the 1st from Colorado+ for 25th overall to draft the Ruck twins.
Leafs draft Stenberg #2, Malhotra #3 and Reid or Verhoeff #4.
Plus, Misa (or Smith) and have two 2027 1st round picks that could be lottery picks if San Jose or Chicago fall flat on their faces.
Trade OEL, Tanev (retained), McCabe, Carlo and Tavares at the trade deadline for five 1st round picks.
Acquire bad contracts for 1st round picks.
Knies | Misa | 2027 1st (Chicago)
Stenberg | Malhotra | Cowan
1st (Tavares) | M. Ruck | L. Ruck (JP Hurlbert)
1st (Tanev) | 1st (Bad contract) | 1st (Bad contract)2027 1st (San Jose) | Reid (Verhoeff)
1st (McCabe) | 1st (OEL)
1st (Carlo) | DanfordRebuild. Hard.
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Still have to ice a competitive team. You can have as many first’s as you like, but if you don’t have seasoned pro’s, who can they learn from? It means a struggle for the youth coming in. It’s easy to comprehend, when you do it your head. It’s different, when you have to keep shareholders, media companies who pay the rights fees, and the Season ticket holders. In reality, it’s not doable as long as corporate interests have the hammer. If they could even do half of what you say, it would be a successful rebuild. If I had a choice between Nylander and Matthews, I move Nylander. You can always get more for Matthews a year from now.
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Still have to ice a competitive team. You can have as many first’s as you like, but if you don’t have seasoned pro’s, who can they learn from? It means a struggle for the youth coming in. It’s easy to comprehend, when you do it your head. It’s different, when you have to keep shareholders, media companies who pay the rights fees, and the Season ticket holders. In reality, it’s not doable as long as corporate interests have the hammer. If they could even do half of what you say, it would be a successful rebuild. If I had a choice between Nylander and Matthews, I move Nylander. You can always get more for Matthews a year from now.
Nah they don’t. Seats are already sold and paid for with a list of thousands to replace anybody that leaves. This idea that the Leafs can’t be bad has already been disproven the last rebuild where they were known to be a trash team for years with the intention of drafting as high as possible. If anybody can afford to absolutely suck and still turn a huge profit, it’s the Leafs.
They can fill the roster with 1-2 year contracts that they offload at the deadline and sprinkle in Marlies to give any of their undiscovered talents a time to prove themselves. They could continue to give Cowan more ice time and even keep Robertson another year or two to see if he can inflate his value so you can trade him down the road for a profit. If anything, a team filled with Marlies, outcasts and rentals would at least give you an honest effort every night even if they do lose in the end.
Literally everything you said about shareholders and media is wrong in this case. The media owns the team. They could easily use that to their advantage to keep the sheep pacified. The shareholders don’t give a flying fuck about year to year revenue (not that it would decrease anyway) in the big picture of investment. They care about long term franchise value. If you buy a house for 1 million dollars, you don’t rely on rent to turn you a profit. The rent keeps the mortgage paid. 10 years down the road, you sell the house for 1.5 million and that’s where the profit comes from. That’s how NHL franchises work. And nothing makes the Leafs more valuable than winning a Stanley Cup.
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https://x.com/SEllisHockey/status/2058265840147968099
Stenberg is doing some impressive stuff with Sweden.
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PAY ATTENTION TO US PUSSIES & RESPOND TO OUR SHIT!!!!
https://x.com/SEllisHockey/status/2058265840147968099
Stenberg is doing some impressive stuff with Sweden. -
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Marner played a team high, 23:59 with two more assists in a come from behind victory after they were down 3-0 after the 1st period. Vegas is locking down the best team in the NHL when it matters most.
These idiots that doubted Torts are looking dumber by the day. Vegas is ruthless but they’re effective.
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Domi had surgery and is out indefinitely. So that may solve the domi problem itself
Chayka loves Domi. He’s not going anywhere.
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Chayka loves Domi. He’s not going anywhere.
Im sure Domi is a fine person to hang out with
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Im sure Domi is a fine person to hang out with
he can hang with Chayka up in the box.He will hang with him after the games when he’s done playing.
Love how the retards were raging nobody defended Matthews but are so quick to jettison the one guy that did.
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He will hang with him after the games when he’s done playing.
Love how the retards were raging nobody defended Matthews but are so quick to jettison the one guy that did.
sounds like he wont be ready for the season, and indefinitely leaves to door open for a longer absence.
I dont care if he stood up for him, get better players who do the same but are not disasters defensively but also can contribute more than 30 points.
hes a tweener who is not good enough to play top line with Matthews (or anyone) and not good enough def. to play 3/4 line not to mention to expensive for all that he brings.you like plus minus he was -29. At least JT scores 30 goals and 70 points for his deficiencies
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doing the trading down exercise, I saw this on another website.
Trade the 1st overall pick in previous drafts for 3rd OA plus a late 1st and prospect. etc.
go back and see how it would turn out.spoiler, keeping #1 and taking the best player is the best option for pretty much the last 15 drafts.
clear exceptions are. ignoring all the drafts a D was taken #1, the Leafs biggest “need” by most accounts a dman2020 Jake Sanderson vs Lafreniere
2017 Heiskanen / Makar vs Hischier2023 Just some example, would you rather have Bedard or say, first D picked…Reinbacher and E Cowan plus another depth prospect?
2019 Jack Hughes or Bowen Byram plus Connor McMichael plus another depth prospect -
Domi had surgery and is out indefinitely. So that may solve the domi problem itself
Well, not to go FULL UG on you, it’s only delayed for now.
I wonder if Domi a had a core surgery simular to what Jarnkrok had and re-aggrevated something. -
doing the trading down exercise, I saw this on another website.
Trade the 1st overall pick in previous drafts for 3rd OA plus a late 1st and prospect. etc.
go back and see how it would turn out.spoiler, keeping #1 and taking the best player is the best option for pretty much the last 15 drafts.
clear exceptions are. ignoring all the drafts a D was taken #1, the Leafs biggest “need” by most accounts a dman2020 Jake Sanderson vs Lafreniere
2017 Heiskanen / Makar vs Hischier2023 Just some example, would you rather have Bedard or say, first D picked…Reinbacher and E Cowan plus another depth prospect?
2019 Jack Hughes or Bowen Byram plus Connor McMichael plus another depth prospectWrong again. There are plenty of 1st overall busts and plenty of recent examples where the best player from the draft was not 1st overall.
2010: Hall vs Seguin. Seguin won.
2011: Nugent-Hopkins vs. Landeskog. Landeskog won.
2012: Yakupov vs Everybody else. Yakupov sucked.
2013: MacKinnon vs Barkov. MacKinnon has scored more points and goals but Barkov has more Cups (way better two-way player too).
2014: Ekblad vs. Reinhart. They won Cups together eventually. #3 Draisaitl way more goals and points than both. Florida with the #1, #2 and #4 (Bennett) pick. Leafs should do the same.
2015: McDavid vs. Eichel. Best player in the world is McDavid, no doubt, but Eichel has the Cup and chasing a 2nd this year.
2016: Matthews vs. Laine. Matthews has the best regular season stats but Tkachuk went 6th and he’s got a Cup.
2017: Hischier vs Patrick. Makar went 4th. Clearly the best player from the draft. Heiskanen went 3rd.
2018: Dahlin vs Svechnikov. Quinn Hughes went 7th.
2019: J. Hughes. Seider has been better at 6th overall. Caufield was 15th overall and has more goals. Boldy was 12th overall and comparable.
2020: Lafreniere. Stutzle (3rd), Raymond (4th) and Jarvis (13th) have all been better players.If the Leafs scouting department is good at what they do, they could easily trade down and get the better combination of players by trading down.
The only way the argument for “keep 1st overall” is if the draft yielded an actual generational talent like McDavid. McKenna is not McDavid. He has serious flaws in his game. Flaws that this franchise has dealt with and failed with in the past. The Leafs would be retarded to repeat the same mistakes again expecting different results.
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sounds like he wont be ready for the season, and indefinitely leaves to door open for a longer absence.
I dont care if he stood up for him, get better players who do the same but are not disasters defensively but also can contribute more than 30 points.
hes a tweener who is not good enough to play top line with Matthews (or anyone) and not good enough def. to play 3/4 line not to mention to expensive for all that he brings.you like plus minus he was -29. At least JT scores 30 goals and 70 points for his deficiencies
Domi is trash defensively. There’s never been a doubt about that. He was -29, Tavares -28 and Knies was -30. Clearly, there’s a problem there defensively with these guys.
The issue is, in either scenario, whether the Leafs retardedly retool or they rebuild, Domi provides a service and a value.
First of all, he actually wants to play in Toronto, which is going to become more and more rare as the team gets worse and worse and Toronto in general becomes a less desirable place to play.
Secondly, he plays hard when the games matter. If the Leafs find themselves back in the playoffs, by some miracle, Domi brings heart and determination that win you important games if used correctly.
Third, he sticks up for his teammates and plays with passion. If the Leafs rebuild, that’s the type of guy you need around the younger players. You also want him to get increased ice time so that A) the team loses and B) the Leafs have a player with some padded stats you can trade at a deadline for draft capital when his contract expires.
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Wrong again. There are plenty of 1st overall busts and plenty of recent examples where the best player from the draft was not 1st overall.
2010: Hall vs Seguin. Seguin won.
2011: Nugent-Hopkins vs. Landeskog. Landeskog won.
2012: Yakupov vs Everybody else. Yakupov sucked.
2013: MacKinnon vs Barkov. MacKinnon has scored more points and goals but Barkov has more Cups (way better two-way player too).
2014: Ekblad vs. Reinhart. They won Cups together eventually. #3 Draisaitl way more goals and points than both. Florida with the #1, #2 and #4 (Bennett) pick. Leafs should do the same.
2015: McDavid vs. Eichel. Best player in the world is McDavid, no doubt, but Eichel has the Cup and chasing a 2nd this year.
2016: Matthews vs. Laine. Matthews has the best regular season stats but Tkachuk went 6th and he’s got a Cup.
2017: Hischier vs Patrick. Makar went 4th. Clearly the best player from the draft. Heiskanen went 3rd.
2018: Dahlin vs Svechnikov. Quinn Hughes went 7th.
2019: J. Hughes. Seider has been better at 6th overall. Caufield was 15th overall and has more goals. Boldy was 12th overall and comparable.
2020: Lafreniere. Stutzle (3rd), Raymond (4th) and Jarvis (13th) have all been better players.If the Leafs scouting department is good at what they do, they could easily trade down and get the better combination of players by trading down.
The only way the argument for “keep 1st overall” is if the draft yielded an actual generational talent like McDavid. McKenna is not McDavid. He has serious flaws in his game. Flaws that this franchise has dealt with and failed with in the past. The Leafs would be retarded to repeat the same mistakes again expecting different results.
missing the point again of course. Trading down to pick a D. that the the Leafs need more ..according to a lot of people.
its not Nugent-Hopkins vs. Landeskog, which is dumb thats basically a toss up. but it would be Nugent-Hopkins vs trading down to #4 to select Adam Larsson. the first D taken, or whoever was the projected top D in the draft.
also, I wouldnt care if my team to RNH or Landeskog, both ended up as good NHLs players. worth the picks. 1000 points for RNHNo team is good enough to know for sure that trading down from #1 to 3 or 4 to select a D is the right move. its way to risky and based on all info..will end up looking really bad
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Well, not to go FULL UG on you, it’s only delayed for now.
I wonder if Domi a had a core surgery simular to what Jarnkrok had and re-aggrevated something.it was a weird. out indefinitely, complications after surgery and likely wont be ready. sounds like someone who may end up ltir.
but who knows -
missing the point again of course. Trading down to pick a D. that the the Leafs need more ..according to a lot of people.
its not Nugent-Hopkins vs. Landeskog, which is dumb thats basically a toss up. but it would be Nugent-Hopkins vs trading down to #4 to select Adam Larsson. the first D taken, or whoever was the projected top D in the draft.
also, I wouldnt care if my team to RNH or Landeskog, both ended up as good NHLs players. worth the picks. 1000 points for RNHNo team is good enough to know for sure that trading down from #1 to 3 or 4 to select a D is the right move. its way to risky and based on all info..will end up looking really bad
Again, missing the clear examples of guys like Seider, Makar and Hughes NOT going 1st overall in recent years and yet being better than whoever was drafted 1st overall.
This draft could easily be one of those years where the defects with McKenna (small, questionable drive, no defense, winger, one-dimensional) make it much easier for the Leafs to trade down and not regret it as the top end D in this draft are rather strong and provide the Leafs with attributes they don’t have and have struggled to acquire.
McKenna < 3rd + 24th overall or 5th + 26th overall.
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