mr grieves
New member
Nik the Trik said:princedpw said:Of course, we dont know what is in Nonis brain and I wont try to speculate because he has done a bunch of things that I vehemently disagree with. But ignoring that, it could be the case that literally, the buyouts and cap space do make the difference *this year* between keeping all the guys you want going forward at prices you think are reasonable going forward. Everyone predicts the cap will rise dramatically soon. eg, franson tight this year but sensible in the following years.
But I think regardless of what some people might want to attribute to whatever it is or isn't in Nonis' brain we still have to acknowledge that where they are is by design as opposed to an accident. If Nonis put himself in a position where he's unable to sign Franson at what he wants I don't think that can be said to have snuck up on him. In signing guys like Orr and Ranger and to some extent Clarkson I think Nonis would have had to have budgeted what he'd be willing/able to pay Franson this year. While you're right, if the Leafs didn't have the buyouts on their books it'd be easier to do it I still think you have to say that if Nonis can't pay Franson what he wants this year then it's a pretty good sign that keeping Franson was pretty low on the list of priorities.
Agreed. But that just means we're not criticizing Nonis for not being able to use a calculator but for prioritizing Clarkson, the goaltending tandem, Orr, and McLaren over retaining one of the team's best RFAs. Not for rank incompetence but for questionable taste.