We have Ozhiganov. Lets see how he does. He would be very positive surprise, which means.. we dont trade for anybody and Dubas addressed our need.

i really don't know what to expect from him, but I'm not sure he can slide into the top 4 this season. And without a solid addition on the right side that can play top 4 minutes, its more over reliance on hainsey and zaitzev and that didn't work well by the end of the season

Nathan Horton is all healthy again?!

If they could create cap space, I would work a sign and trade with CBJ.
Send Andersen over for Bob and your defense won't look as bad.

He would be a beast. Also Zaitsev had been playing through broken leg and extreme flu last year so he would be better and Hainsey would be playing less which means he would be better. And likely with Gardiner so he would just not skate much and Gardiner would do all the offensive work. Ozhiganov is a player that fans would love, hard hitting mobile skating skilled defender with great shot. Also has a great defence-to-offence transition which would be the most important thing in the leafs lineup..

i didn't edit the roster read the description

i hope ur right. And i agree that zaitzev is gonna bounce back.

Ok.

Watched him a lot past 2yrs, hopefully Im right.

No, and never healthy. He's going to show on the Leafs roster so the Leafs will be able to spend there Performance Bonuses of 2018/19 in 2018/19 and not carryover the PB into the expensive season 2019/20. It will be the only year the Leafs do it. It's the only "flaw" having players on LTIR, as it can determine when a team can pay it's Performance Bonus.

On the lineup posted. It's battle between Carrick, Holl, Ozhignov and Borgman for the finals two spots. I've lost faith in Carrick and believe Holl is an AHLer. Hoping the other two Ozzie and Borgman can be competent NHLers.

Thanks for starting the discussion among rational people instead of posting trade scenarios that get the yahoos from the other teams up on their hind legs.

Assuming Gardiner is not re-signed, it's not just the RD that may need improvement. In posted teams I've suggested Kevin Connauton as a reasonable solution. Thomas Hickey and Calvin DeHaan were available this year, but apparently Dubas felt that we should retain Gardiner, who was in their way. On the other side, Ben Chiarot, Patrik Nemeth and Robert Bortuzzo might be available as UFA's, but I only know them from stats. More remote opportunities are Dallas' #2 pairing (Lindell/Johns) and Nashville's #3.

Ok, thanks for the explanation concerning performance bonuses as how they relate to cap hit and LTIR.

Please delete "On the other side." I don't know what I was thinking. Two of those guys are LD's.

i think next year with gardiner gone dermott can step in to play the second pairing d on the left side. Another year of experience will do a lot for him. And to replace him on the third pair i could see bargeman sliding in their. Not the strongest left side, but they will be long and exciting, and with help on the right side the defense could look a lot better by next season. I've suggested Jason Demers multiple times, but I'm not sure what his price would be. Tanev might be a stretch, but Brown(and maybe a little more) for Tanev could make sense for both teams.

I'm probably the only Leafs fan who would like to see Gardiner converted to a LW and playing on a line with Matthews and Nylander, he's just too much of a liabiliy defensively.

That leaves the following pairs

Rielly-Hainsey
Dermott-Zaitsev
Borgman-Ozhiganov/Carrick

Stralman could be a top 4 dman available next summer as Tampa has cap issues and a lot of young depth on the blueline, making Stralman expendable. Tyler Myers is another option

I understand how in a market like Toronto people think that Gardiner takes a lot of crap.

My only comment on how he plays the game is this....

If you have a forward coming down on you and it looks like he is going to beat Gardiner wide ( which if he is such a good skater thats surprising right?). Why does Gardiner not simply pivot towards the player and angle them into the boards as we were all taught growing up?
No. Gardiner instead thinks its smart to turn away from the opposing player in the opposite direction to make a full circle... wasting time and speed and allowing that opposing player to get to where he wants to go unimpeded?

what the videos.... not sure how the defence coaches aren't pulling their hair out. Kids in Junior C don't pull that ****.


Link for exhibit A - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL0kYIBerj4

If needed I can produce more examples.



The guy can create great opportunities for goals. Id just like him more if at least more than 50% was for the leafs and not against them. Put him on the PP and against the bottom 6 forwards of the other team.