Quoting: TheCelt
I can respect that. Myers was our 2RHD behind Buff last year while Trouba was still developing. I think you guys would definitely benefit from him. I have a little more trouble seeing Stats' role in the Leafs future. Unless you plan on paying him 5+mill to play 3C you guys seem pretty set with Kadri as one of the biggest bargain contracts in the NHL right now.
Right now, the biggest thing that puts the Jets ahead of you guys is our prospect pool, in your current prediction you really lean into that. Nothing wrong with getting younger but now you have to replenish, or you'll lose sustainability.
Your team currently has about 7mill in cap space once bonuses are factored in. If I were the Leafs in this scenario I would be looking for more dmen at short term, 1 year cap dumps and prospects. And my targets particularly would be one of the following:
1) One of T. Hickey or De Haan to replace Hainsey for a year while you wait for Borgmann, Rosen or someone I might be missing. Two really underrated LHD UFA's.
2) Trade for Letehra and any one or two of Philly's prospects as payment for eating that 4.7mill useless cap hit.
3) Trade for Ennis, and one Minny's prospects or picks.
4) Go ahead and sign Stats.
Both Letehra and Ennis come off the books before MM and AM need to be resigned.
As for my predictions, it's mostly just taking Chevy's plan to its logical conclusion. The guy has been operating the exact same way for the last seven years. At this point, what you see is what you get. He's going to draft well, prioritize locking up his top 6 over everything, and avoid trades or UFA's unless necessary. Media rumors only really confirm that.
Very interesting.
Re: Stastny - I think something that gets lip service, but is essential to what Shanahan is trying to do, is this notion of establishing a culture change with the leafs. For better or worse, the leafs have the biggest hockey market in the game, the most money, and the most resources, and they've produced nada forever. Shanny has talked about this publicy (in more diplomatic ways) and its why Lou was brought in, and why we see guys like Hainsey and Marleau in the line-up. Sure, they can play, but I think it goes deeper than that. if you look at the leafs, they have something unique, in that, their core rigth now is three/four guys (Mathews/Marner/Reily..then Willy) who are all under 25. Outside of Kadri (which is why I don't think he'll ever be moved, that and his career demonstrates how you grow into your potential and maturity) there are no players in their prime years once JVR, Bozak, Komorov, and soon, Gards, walk - everyone else is super green. I think this is why you hear Babs doin his Babs thing about being a gud pro so much - they want to build a character team for the long haul and you need mentorship and leadership by example for that (can you imagine being 19-25 making millions and lving this life??). I also think this is why they'll go hard after Tavares, if he's available - he provides natural succession to Mathews ... on a 7 yr contract taking Tavares to 35, Mathews turns 28 - that's about perfect! Except, its expensive! and it means, to ome, if we want to address how weak our d is, then that means Willy might go - and that's acceptable. This is where Stastny comes in - if Tavares isn't available, and Stats is, then I can see them making a play for him and having him center Johnsson and Kappanen. That's fast! And probably super productive given how well Stats played with Ehlers and Laine. Anyways, I think the best thing that's happen to the leafs in decades is Shanny. He bounced around the league as an elite palyer and saw alot (and had some controversy too) and one of the things that he saw was success in Detroit. I think Yzerman played a heavy and classy influence on him, and maybe that's the kinda guy they see in Mathews... who knwos?? But I'd put a nickle on that thinking.
Re: Chevy - I saw an interview with him once where he talked about growing up on a wheat farm and how you had to work hard, make good decirions, time your efforts and then have faith that the crop would grow... seems super wise to me.
Re: your trade targets for the leafs - that makes alot of sense, in alot of ways. I played around with a trade concept for Lehetra to get a shot at SImmonds.. cause he's a gud pro !
Thanks for the back and forth Celtic. - I've enjoyed this.