Leafs acquire Foligno

[CarltonTheBear]

A lot of the reports I'm reading have Foligno showing up as a much better defensive player than I figured. I thought he was just a grindy-grinder. He's also a regular penalty killer which will be useful especially if Engvall gets bounced from the line-up. Not sure if I'll ever love the price unless the Leafs go all the way, but I get the interest in him I guess.

 

[Guilt Trip]

Don't love the price. Hopefully he'll make us look silly for thinking that in the playoffs.

A late 1st isn't much. No issue with the price.

Foligno himself was a late first round draft pick. So that?s an example of what you can get in the first round.

I thought a first for Hall was too much, so I don?t know how to feel about this. 33 years old and I?m guessing he?s not coming back next year. At first glance I?m not enthused.

And so are Tyler Biggs, Jake Bean, Riley Tufte.
And we have no idea if he comes back next year but I'm more concerned about this year.

 

[Guilt Trip]

So people thought Coleman was the answer in T Bay?

I have no idea. I think Tampa was in a better place than the Leafs are right now(particularly with regards to goaltending and defense) and I'm pretty sure nobody thought Blake Coleman was the reason Tampa won the cup.

Foligno is the kind of player this team needs and he performs well in the playoffs.

I'm not sure I agree with either half of that.

Leafs are in a great spot to get to the conference finals. They need to try and take advantage of this opportunity. Foligno is also a good defensive player.

 

[Joe S.]

Don't love the price. Hopefully he'll make us look silly for thinking that in the playoffs.

A late 1st isn't much. No issue with the price.

Foligno himself was a late first round draft pick. So that?s an example of what you can get in the first round.

I thought a first for Hall was too much, so I don?t know how to feel about this. 33 years old and I?m guessing he?s not coming back next year. At first glance I?m not enthused.

And so are Tyler Biggs, Jake Bean, Riley Tufte.
And we have no idea if he comes back next year but I'm more concerned about this year.

Fair enough. It?s just that in my mind if you?re going to blow a first, a 33 year pending UFA doesn?t seem like the way to go. Obviously I?d be thrilled to be proven wrong and he becomes a playoff hero and warrior.

 

[Kin]

They need to try and take advantage of this opportunity.

Again, I don't think that's true. They're a team whose best players are young and under long term deals. There's no pressing need to drive at it this year which is a year that looks promising, sure , but because of the weird nature of the schedule also probably is hiding some of their deficiencies as they beat up on a weak division.

 

[louisstamos]

I don't mind the player so much (the price is a little high, but it looks like it was driven up by demand) - but, I'm curious to what Iaffalo goes for, if he goes at all, as I think I would have preferred him.

edit: I forgot that pre-Tortarella, he had a season with 31 goals and 73 points (2014-15), and his CF%rel was +5 for a couple seasons.  Maybe he can be a better player under a new system?

 

[ZBBM]

The Leafs are in a win it now, not in 3 years when this 1st rounder may turn into a player.

By that same logic, I think you'd find reaction would be different if people felt Foligno represented a meaningful change in the team's chances to actually win it now.

This could be a case of fighting the last war.

 

[ZBBM]

The last thing I remember about Foligno was him insulting the Leafs for being unwilling to go into the dirty areas.

 

[Bender]

So we all kinda knew it wasn't going to be Hall considering some of the chatter, and Foligno kept coming up more and more. What do we think? Gritty but old?

 

[Kin]

This could be a case of fighting the last war.

We're always trying to beat the Bruins. Even when we're not.

Also, I think the "Player now vs. wait three years for a prospect to develop" idea is kind of a false dichotomy. A 1st, and the resulting prospect, is an asset. And good, cheap assets like that are good currency for trading for guys who can be with the team on good deals for multiple years.

 

[wnc096]

I agree.  Look at Detroit, Pittsburgh, LA.

I have no idea what those teams have in common but Pittsburgh, at least, seems like a great example of how when you have superstars in their prime in the modern cap era the crucial part of building a lasting contender is being able to develop guys to step into roles you're inevitably going to have needs for because of cap constraints.

my point is those teams traded 1st rounders to win championships with their core in their primes and remain contenders.  then they found players like rust, guentzel, Helm, toffoli outside of the 1st round that they were able to develop. 

I mean Matthews is only under contract for 3 more years....God forbid he leaves, and the team didn't go for it now?

 

[L K]

Foligno is not a bad addition as far as adding to a playoff run but I?m not thrilled with the cost.  We are getting 11 regular season games and a postseason run out of him. 

 

[bustaheims]

In almost any other year, I?d be much more upset about moving a 1st for a rental. I still don?t love it, but this year?s draft is the most unpredictable I can remember, and wasn?t expected to be a particularly strong draft to start with. I still don?t love it, but it certainly could have been worse.

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

I'm an old man, my needle needs more movement than this.

 

[Kin]

my point is those teams traded 1st rounders to win championships with their core in their primes and remain contenders.

I don't think anyone is objecting to the idea of trading 1sts as a general rule. I mean, the Leafs themselves have traded their 1st in the last two years which is, you know, one of the reasons their farm is as dry as it is.

 
I mean Matthews is only under contract for 3 more years....God forbid he leaves, and the team didn't go for it now?

That feels like a giant hypothetical to base that on but...I'd still probably rather have the first then in an attempt to add some C depth to the system?

 

[L K]

Like I know that you can?t make your moves only based on opponents but looking at Tampa right now I think I would rather have added Savard if we were giving up a first round pick.

 

[Joe S.]

They need to try and take advantage of this opportunity.

Again, I don't think that's true. They're a team whose best players are young and under long term deals. There's no pressing need to drive at it this year which is a year that looks promising, sure , but because of the weird nature of the schedule also probably is hiding some of their deficiencies as they beat up on a weak division.

I think though that there?s a sentiment that this could be their easiest road to the conference finals, so may as well shoot your shot because then you?ve only got 2 more teams to worry about.

This doesn?t change my initial thoughts on the trade though. My initial reaction is still that this was a waste of a 1st rounder.

 

[Kin]

In almost any other year, I?d be much more upset about moving a 1st for a rental. I still don?t love it, but this year?s draft is the most unpredictable I can remember, and wasn?t expected to be a particularly strong draft to start with. I still don?t love it, but it certainly could have been worse.

Kind of a side issue but it kind of feels like a really uncertain draft is an opportunity if you have a lot of faith in your scouting/development system.

 

[Kin]

I think though that there?s a sentiment that this could be their easiest road to the conference finals, so may as well shoot your shot because then you?ve only got 2 more teams to worry about.

I get that but like I said I think that's a double edged sword. Yeah, it's probably an easier road out of the division than in any other year but it also may be a year where you're more in the dark about how they stack up against the other real contenders.

 

[bustaheims]

In almost any other year, I?d be much more upset about moving a 1st for a rental. I still don?t love it, but this year?s draft is the most unpredictable I can remember, and wasn?t expected to be a particularly strong draft to start with. I still don?t love it, but it certainly could have been worse.

Kind of a side issue but it kind of feels like a really uncertain draft is an opportunity if you have a lot of faith in your scouting/development system.

I suppose, under normal circumstances. A big issue this year is that the scouting staff hasn?t had an opportunity to watch a lot of these kids play in more than a year.