2019 Toronto Maple Leafs Offseason Discussion
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
Nik the Trik said:
It'd for sure have to be part of the discussion. Personally I'd move Rielly and/or Dermott to the right side before him though. But yeah having too many lefties isn't a problem in my eyes. You want as many good defencemen as possible. Period.
Kin
New member
Again this is just spitballing but if Gardiner comes back and when Dermott gets healthy it might be a situation where the Leafs could really buck convention and look to use the defense they do have to their advantage rather than trying to force it to look as much like the defense they'd like to have as possible.
Because assuming they have a top 5 of Barrie, Dermott, Gardiner, Muzzin and Rielly you're in a situation where you not only have too many LD's but regardless of how you distributed the sides you'd have three really good LD's who should all get real minutes. That said, you wouldn't have any one sort of Hedman or Burns-esque guy who would be getting 25-26 minutes a night.
So maybe get weird with it. Maybe you rotate partners on a regular basis? Get someone, whether it's Rielly or Gardiner or whoever, used to switching sides to facilitate that? Get it to the point where each of those five are getting 19-21 minutes a night on average?
Because assuming they have a top 5 of Barrie, Dermott, Gardiner, Muzzin and Rielly you're in a situation where you not only have too many LD's but regardless of how you distributed the sides you'd have three really good LD's who should all get real minutes. That said, you wouldn't have any one sort of Hedman or Burns-esque guy who would be getting 25-26 minutes a night.
So maybe get weird with it. Maybe you rotate partners on a regular basis? Get someone, whether it's Rielly or Gardiner or whoever, used to switching sides to facilitate that? Get it to the point where each of those five are getting 19-21 minutes a night on average?
herman said:
Ball hockey rules when you have an odd amount of defencemen that game.
disco
New member
After the Big-3 and JT, I can see them spending on D if it makes sense. Rielly has 3 years left. Sandin and Liljegren will be ELCs. Dermott will need a contract. There's still money left for someone to get paid, but it has to be a slam-dunk. Offers next year for Muzz and Barrie perhaps, Tyson more-so 'cause he's RHD. Additional D is where I see them spending those precious cap dollars moving forward. With two stellar #1-calibre lines and a competent goalie, that's enough to challenge for a Cup in this league. On a yearly basis as well because of the young age.
Core($$$$): Matthews/Tavares/Marner
Sub-core($$$): Rielly/Andersen/Additional D
Additional Scoring($$): Nylander/Kapanen/Johnsson
Support($): the rest
Cap-friendly more or less bears this frame-work already.
https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/mapleleafs
Core($$$$): Matthews/Tavares/Marner
Sub-core($$$): Rielly/Andersen/Additional D
Additional Scoring($$): Nylander/Kapanen/Johnsson
Support($): the rest
Cap-friendly more or less bears this frame-work already.
https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/mapleleafs
Guilt Trip
Active member
Don't see that happening though from Gardiner's perspective. I guess we'll see though. Never expected all the moves Dubas has done so far.Nik the Trik said:
bustaheims
Active member
WhatIfGodWasALeaf said:
Part of me wonders that, too. It does seem strange that he hasn't signed yet. I'm sure there are teams offering him reasonable contracts in terms of salary, just not with the years he's hoping for - and, I'm sure he knows those deals aren't likely to get better the longer he waits. But, until Ceci officially files for arbitration or his QO expires, the Leafs basically have $4.3M in cap space they can't use right now.
herman
Well-known member
Frank E said:
Ottawa loooovvvesss/d Ceci. He was always the reason they pulled out of some bigger ticket trades if the rumours are to be believed.
But Ottawa('s owner) loves money more.
Never underestimate the allure of a big height + big TOI number for defensemen to some GMs.
bustaheims
Active member
Frank E said:
Yes?
Or, you know, he has more value to a team like Ottawa at $4.3M for one year than he would as a UFA. They don't have cap issues, they're not reasonably expecting to contend next season, etc. They probably saw him as a potential trade deadline asset.
bustaheims
Active member
cabber24 said:
Other than Gardiner and Hutton, I don't think there's a single guy on that list you'd want in the lineup on a regular basis.