Kadri and Franson Contract Updates

[Champ Kind]

Reports from Buffalo is that Cody Hodgson has signed a 6 year, $25.5M deal ($4.25/year), basically the deal Philadelphia gave JVR a few years ago.  I guess the reports that the mega-deal immediately after ELC being dead were somewhat exagerrated.

Geez, if I'm Kadri, I'm grinding my teeth a bit this morning.

 

[Champ Kind]

I think everyone here understands that when we're discussing players/management/etc there's an understanding of the limits of our insight and that the critiques are limited to the information we have available to us.

Most, not all.

 

[Corn Flake]

Reports from Buffalo is that Cody Hodgson has signed a 6 year, $25.5M deal ($4.25/year), basically the deal Philadelphia gave JVR a few years ago.  I guess the reports that the mega-deal immediately after ELC being dead were somewhat exagerrated.

Geez, if I'm Kadri, I'm grinding my teeth a bit this morning.

Maybe a little, but Kadri will get $6+ mil on his next contract and Hodgson I don't think has nearly the same ceiling as he does.

 

[bustaheims]

Reports from Buffalo is that Cody Hodgson has signed a 6 year, $25.5M deal ($4.25/year), basically the deal Philadelphia gave JVR a few years ago.  I guess the reports that the mega-deal immediately after ELC being dead were somewhat exagerrated.

Geez, if I'm Kadri, I'm grinding my teeth a bit this morning.

No one said they were dead. It's just that it's trending towards the bridge deal being the more popular  and more frequently used option. Some guys will still get the big deals (and, in some cases, questionable ones), but there's just going to be less of them.

Also, I'm sure Kadri's well aware that type of deal wasn't going to be on the table for him unless he wanted to leave the Leafs (and some reports are that he wants to be a Leaf for life). Reports are the Leafs never wavered in their intention to sign him to a short-term deal.

 

[moon111]

Reimer looked good when the Leafs had Kabs, Phaneuf, Schenn, Gunnarsson, Beauchemin, Aulie and Komisarek.  Of those, only two could be considered offensive defensemen.  Then he had Phaneuf, Gardiner, Liles and Franson.  I personally think the shift in the types of defensemen deployed/RW's game plan had more to do with Reimer's dip then any concussion problems.  Reimer is excellent at angles.  Play RC's collapse-and-push-em-to-outside coaching, Reimer will stop the shots.  But he's no Hasek, Fuhr, or even Gustavsson.  Shoot-outs are painful.  To get back on topic, I think RC and Nonis know this.  It's why they brought in Bernier and it's why they might not value Franson as high as some might think.  For better or worst, they'll be limiting their offensive defensemen to three.  Phaneuf and Liles don't seem to be going anywhere.  If the contest is between Gardiner and Franson, I think Gardiner wins and Franson is out.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

But he's no Hasek, Fuhr, or even Gustavsson.

Weirdest comparables ever.

 

[Britishbulldog]

Reports from Buffalo is that Cody Hodgson has signed a 6 year, $25.5M deal ($4.25/year), basically the deal Philadelphia gave JVR a few years ago.  I guess the reports that the mega-deal immediately after ELC being dead were somewhat exagerrated.

Geez, if I'm Kadri, I'm grinding my teeth a bit this morning.

No one said they were dead. It's just that it's trending towards the bridge deal being the more popular  and more frequently used option. Some guys will still get the big deals (and, in some cases, questionable ones), but there's just going to be less of them.

Also, I'm sure Kadri's well aware that type of deal wasn't going to be on the table for him unless he wanted to leave the Leafs (and some reports are that he wants to be a Leaf for life). Reports are the Leafs never wavered in their intention to sign him to a short-term deal.

I haven't been impressed with Buffalo's new penchant to spend money on players since the new ownership.  They seem to blow money like a drunken sailor.

 

[Bullfrog]

But he's no Hasek, Fuhr, or even Gustavsson.

Weirdest comparables ever.

That was my reaction. I think (though perhaps that's risky) he was trying to say Reimer's not an overly athletic goalie? Maybe? I don't know.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

If you're just going to appeal to authority then you might as well never question anything an NHL team does.

If you're going to say that we don't know what goes on in the dressing room or during practices and can only go on those 60 minutes, which one of Fraser, Kostka or Holzer do you disagree with? Did you see other viable options with the exception of Gardiner? Were people here not pencilling Holzer into the top 6 before the season even started? Kostka played pretty well to start the season and while I thought it wasn't going to last, many were loving him and apparently the Stanley Cup winning team thought enough of him to sign him to a contract.

And as for Fraser, well he's a #6 dman on quite a few teams in this league and performed as such. He led the team in +/-(I know,doesn't mean much), led the team in blocked shots, 2nd on the team in hits, and was a pretty solid PKer on an improved penalty kill. I'm not handing him an award or saying promote him. I just don't get the hate on for this guy and I don't get why it translates to a hate on for the coach.

 

[mr grieves]

An interesting quote from Nonis yesterday:

‏@bruce_arthur
Dave Nonis says he hasn't spent five minutes thinking about the end of Game 7; he spent time thinking about how they competed with Boston.
link: https://twitter.com/bruce_arthur/status/377814385970147328

What do y'all think Nonis made of <i>how they competed</i> and how was that reflected in the off-season moves...?

 

[Corn Flake]

An interesting quote from Nonis yesterday:

‏@bruce_arthur
Dave Nonis says he hasn't spent five minutes thinking about the end of Game 7; he spent time thinking about how they competed with Boston.
link: https://twitter.com/bruce_arthur/status/377814385970147328

What do y'all think Nonis made of <i>how they competed</i> and how was that reflected in the off-season moves...?

I think Nonis is right in how they competed with a team that had previously beaten the tar out of them at every turn.  The acquisitions of Clarkson & Bolland will only help to compete with highly physical teams, and bring experience in winning big games and big series'. 

No reason to get bent out of shape on what Nonis said about the 5 mins thinking about the final 10 mins ... but I'm sure many fans will.  Young team got out played in the final 10 and it sucks, but it doesn't define the team or the season.  They will learn from it and as I think he said in that interview, the players certainly will not forget that 10 mins.

 

[Jalili]

I think those goals from the point , among other things, will be greatly missed if he isn't signed by Toronto. I believe he is a bigger part of the success the Leafs had last season than many want to believe. I really hope he gets inked soon. A mid to late round 1st for him would be a disaster. A top 5 pick would be a gamble. Keeping him would be a sure thing.

I echo RedLeaf's sentiments.

I do too, excluding the part about the top 5 pick... but I do really think that losing Franson will take a lot out of the offense. It's not that they don't have other offensive-minded D-men, but none are as adept at doing what Franson does.

Liles, on the other hand, is somewhat redundant with Gardiner presumably ready to take the reins.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

An interesting quote from Nonis yesterday:

‏@bruce_arthur
Dave Nonis says he hasn't spent five minutes thinking about the end of Game 7; he spent time thinking about how they competed with Boston.
link: https://twitter.com/bruce_arthur/status/377814385970147328

What do y'all think Nonis made of <i>how they competed</i> and how was that reflected in the off-season moves...?

I think Nonis is right in how they competed with a team that had previously beaten the tar out of them at every turn.  The acquisitions of Clarkson & Bolland will only help to compete with highly physical teams, and bring experience in winning big games and big series'. 

No reason to get bent out of shape on what Nonis said about the 5 mins thinking about the final 10 mins ... but I'm sure many fans will.  Young team got out played in the final 10 and it sucks, but it doesn't define the team or the season.  They will learn from it and as I think he said in that interview, the players certainly will not forget that 10 mins.

Nonis is doing what any GM should be doing. He's leading by example. I highly doubt it those 10 minutes didn't haunt him for weeks but he's not going to come out and say..."Man those last 10 minutes sucked. I'm so embarassed! We suck!"

 

[TML fan]

An interesting quote from Nonis yesterday:

‏@bruce_arthur
Dave Nonis says he hasn't spent five minutes thinking about the end of Game 7; he spent time thinking about how they competed with Boston.
link: https://twitter.com/bruce_arthur/status/377814385970147328

What do y'all think Nonis made of <i>how they competed</i> and how was that reflected in the off-season moves...?

The additions of Bolland and Clarkson will help with puck possession and puck recovery, the two biggest reasons they lost game 7.

 

[Bullfrog]

I view things the way Nonis does, so I don't think he's just paying lip service. The ending sucked, but I'm proud of the rest of the series. It was very encouraging.

 

[moon111]

But he's no Hasek, Fuhr, or even Gustavsson.

Weirdest comparables ever.

That was my reaction. I think (though perhaps that's risky) he was trying to say Reimer's not an overly athletic goalie? Maybe? I don't know.

Sorry, when I think of goalies that could stand on their head, Fuhr and Hasek come to mind.  Reimer plays like I would holding a 4x4 sheet of plywood.  Keep them outside, he'll excel.  Give up odd man rushes or put in the shoot-out, not so much.  I could never understand why the Leafs would get goalies from teams that kept shooters to the outside and expect them to do well in the Leaf's wide-open system.

 

[bustaheims]

Sorry, when I think of goalies that could stand on their head, Fuhr and Hasek come to mind.  Reimer plays like I would holding a 4x4 sheet of plywood.  Keep them outside, he'll excel.  Give up odd man rushes or put in the shoot-out, not so much.  I could never understand why the Leafs would get goalies from teams that kept shooters to the outside and expect them to do well in the Leaf's wide-open system.

Man, I liked Fuhr a lot, but he was hardly a "stand on his head" type of goalie. He was very much a "hold the fort" type. He kept his team in the game until the elite offence he had in front of him for so many years could take over. Reimer, on the other hand, reminds me a lot of Belfour when he joined the Leafs. He's not flashy, but, he's still very athletic. It's just that he relies a lot more on his positioning to get him in place to make the saves - and, he's really really good at doing that, because he's quick and he reads the play well. There's a reason he was 2nd in the league in PK Sv% among starters last season, did not allow a goal in regular season OT and, while he struggled a little in the shootout, he wasn't exactly in bad company for his shootout Sv% either - his numbers were better than Jonathan Quick, Jimmy Howard, Martin Brodeur and Pekka Rinne. Even in his poor showing in 11/12, his shootout numbers were similar to guys like Carey Price, Cory Schneider, Bryan Elliot and Quick. He's a much better goalie than you give him credit for.

 

[mr grieves]

An interesting quote from Nonis yesterday:

‏@bruce_arthur
Dave Nonis says he hasn't spent five minutes thinking about the end of Game 7; he spent time thinking about how they competed with Boston.
link: https://twitter.com/bruce_arthur/status/377814385970147328

What do y'all think Nonis made of <i>how they competed</i> and how was that reflected in the off-season moves...?

I think Nonis is right in how they competed with a team that had previously beaten the tar out of them at every turn.  The acquisitions of Clarkson & Bolland will only help to compete with highly physical teams, and bring experience in winning big games and big series'. 

No reason to get bent out of shape on what Nonis said about the 5 mins thinking about the final 10 mins ... but I'm sure many fans will.  Young team got out played in the final 10 and it sucks, but it doesn't define the team or the season.  They will learn from it and as I think he said in that interview, the players certainly will not forget that 10 mins.

Nonis is doing what any GM should be doing. He's leading by example. I highly doubt it those 10 minutes didn't haunt him for weeks but he's not going to come out and say..."Man those last 10 minutes sucked. I'm so embarassed! We suck!"

Yeah, maybe I was unclear. I don't doubt that the Leafs competed with Boston and that that's something to build on. What I don't get is how his roster moves strengthen or extend those things the Leafs did to compete.

In fact, it seems to me a lot of the moves were made to exorcise the trauma of the last 10 minutes -- better glove hand! more veteran grit! winning attitudes! -- and not so much to build on the good things we saw from the team in games 2 through 7, where three fast scoring lines and lots of puck movement from the back end got Boston back on their heels.

 

[Tigger]

Yeah, I don't think 'blame' is really coming in but it's tough to ignore that the cats that are gone ( Frattin, Grabbo and Mac ) and Reimer's new challenge exhibit a reaction to that result and leaves at least a touch of such effluvia. It's certainly not earthshaking nor the only reason for change.

 

[Kin]

In fact, it seems to me a lot of the moves were made to exorcise the trauma of the last 10 minutes -- better glove hand! more veteran grit! winning attitudes! -- and not so much to build on the good things we saw from the team in games 2 through 7, where three fast scoring lines and lots of puck movement from the back end got Boston back on their heels.

You say that, though, as though games 2 through 5/6th's of the way through 7 didn't have their own issues. The Leafs had two 2-1 wins in that stretch, where in both games they scored the first two and then gave up a third period goal. The things you're talking about with regards to the collapse were issues with the team all-season and moves that address those particular problems can't just be reduced to only affecting one bad half-period of hockey. The Leafs gave up 8 third period or OT goals in games 2-7, one in every game.

More physical forwards, better goaltending, more depth down the middle...considering that the popular statistical reading of the Maple Leafs is as a poor team who got lucky  with their shooting percentages I don't know if you can look at any improvements as being redundant or unnecessary.