Doughty signs extension with LA
- Thread starter Kin
- Start date
louisstamos
Active member
Nik the Trik said:
Not official until July 1st, but quasi-official now:
https://twitter.com/LAKings/status/1012831069861826560
Rumour is it's around $11mil AAV.
I'd actually be more comfortable with Tavares at an $11mil AAV long-term than I would be with Doughty.
No idea how the Leafs will improve their D in a meaningful way. Just don?t see how it?s possible. Our D is not good enough, we cannot be considered a contender with the current group on D. We?re not even close to accomplishing anything with this group. What are we going to do? Weber?
louisstamos
Active member
cabber24 said:
Just a matter of hoping someone in the system ends up developing into a high end guy. Could be Liljegren or Sandin, could be Dermott, could even be someone we haven't drafted yet. Just keep throwing darts at the dartboard, and hope something sticks.
Heroic Shrimp
New member
louisstamos said:
You can take some reassurance that high-end, even Norris-winning, defensemen are often not particularly high draft picks. Going back to Lidstrom's first Norris Trophy in 2001, here's the draft position of every Norris winner since:
Lidstrom: #53 (and I'm pretty certain he was an overager, too!)
Niedermayer: #3
Chara: #56
Keith: #54
Karlsson: #15
Subban: #43
Doughty: #2
Burns: #20
Hedman: #2
Defensemen are far less predictable than forwards in the draft, and there will assuredly be future high-end defensemen available even in the Leafs' relatively poor draft positions in the future.
Heroic Shrimp
New member
Nik the Trik said:
True, it kind of sucks how all of those guys were no good for their teams until they won their Norris Trophies.
Kin
New member
Heroic Shrimp said:
I'm not sure how what I said is particularly contentious. Is it possible to draft a high end defenseman late in the 1st or in the 2nd? Sure, it's happened a handful of times over the last 30 years. Realistically though, are you looking at a minimum of 4-6 years development time before those guys reach a level of play that would make them significant improvements over the guys the Leafs currently have? Almost universally yes.
Does drafting a guy who in five or six years might be the answer to the Leafs' biggest immediate concern really move things along? I'm guessing most people would say no.
Of the guys on your list the only ones who really hit the ground running and provided serious impact within a few years of being drafted were either top 3 picks or were drafted back when the Berlin wall was still a thing.
bustaheims
Active member
cabber24 said:
Since defence is, and has always been, a team game, the Leafs can actually do a lot to improve themselves defensively without adding a clear #1 d-man.
Doughty re-signing really just goes to show how crazy it would have been for the Leafs to NOT go after Tavares. A guy of their talents actually hitting July 1st at this stage of their career happens once a decade, maybe once a generation.
L K
Active member
bustaheims said:
I mean Tavares is replacing Bozak up the middle if we hypothetically sign him. That?s a big defensive upgrade in and of itself. I don?t know what his numbers were this year but last year he was coming out similar toBergeron in terms of stuff like shot suppression. Not that JTis going to win a Selke in Toronto but having Tavares/Matthews/Kadri up the middle is some pretty nice defensive depth from the forwards.
Guru Tugginmypuddah
Active member
Defence shmefence. You score one more goal than the other guys, you win.
Kin
New member
CarltonTheBear said:
Well, I think if you skip over technicalities a really franchise level player has hit free agency five times in the 12 or so years since the cancelled season. However, I think the only two times where the player actually changed teams were such cautionary tales that teams will effectively give those guys whatever they want to avoid it happening again.
Nik the Trik said:
I'm possibly drawing a blank, can you clarify the 5 players you're talking about? I've got Chara as pretty much the only one who hit free agency as a franchise player in a good age bracket. Niedermayer would be close but he was 32 when he signed with the Ducks.