Listen I know a lot of people don’t like zaitsev but we aren’t putting a winger on D...

No, he's saying that for some reason, CapFriendly wouldn't let him make the trade for Ben Lovejoy, so he plugged in Miles Wood there because they have almost the same salary. Now go back and critique his idea.

My feeling is that we wouldn't have to pay such a premium (a second-round pick) for the $1.75M cap reduction because Zaitsev isn't worthless and he is much younger than Lovejoy.

My bad... I should read more closely...

WTF is this!!!!

What did the leafs ever do to you that would make you want to do this to them?

lovejoy > Zaitsev IMO

Lovejoy will be a UFA so they may be able to get him in for less money

Also I think they can get Sparks for < $1M, Kapy for <$3M, but Johnsson will probably take a little more

Lovejoy is just an option as he is currently listed as trade bait... it's just about opening cap space we need... Zaitsev is overpriced at 4.5 for the next 5 years... move him, fill the space with a under 3 million / year D man and we can keep the rest of the crew.

If we can get Sparks for less great, I don't see Kapy for less than 3.5, go look at comparables, he's good and will be in demand! These numbers can all slide... Marner needs $$$$ and I think Zaitsev gives us the room for it.

No... zaitsev and brown May be moved after this season but not before. We already have a broken down old man on D... din’t give Babs another. Zaitsev>>Lovejoy....

Lovejoy is a UFA next season which is why you cant trade for him.

No need to resign Linholm with Moore and Bracco destined to play with the leafs next season. In addition the Leafs need to dump Brown. He’s payed too much for being on the 3rd or 4th line next season

I have looked at the comparables quite a bit, given he's only on pace for roughly 50 points, same as Johnsson, I think the major gap between their AAVs a little unlikely.
Comparables I've looked at include: Kase, Pacioretty, Ritchie, Wood, Marcus Foligno, Niederreiter, Bjorkstrand, Tatar, Baertshi, Mantha
I think Kase is probably the strongest comparable and he signed for 3 year $2.6M. I think Kapy should fall around $2.8M on a 3 year deal

He may be old but at least he can actually suppress shots. Zaitsev can't make a breakout pass, and he doesn't defend particular well, Lovejoy will at least reduce the amount of shots against.

Better than lovejoy on both counts. Leafs are 7th in GA... and zaitsev is our best Defensive Dman. He can also thread much better stretch passes than gardiner percentage wise. The Babs plan is get the puck to gardiner so that’s what he does.

How are the devils making out with lovejoy??? Ohhh ouch.

I'm good with him getting under 3, I just think there is a lot of hype, might drive him up. Either way, I want to keep him, so if he is more affordable, even better!!

ummmmm Muzzin.

I don't even like Gardiner, but I would put him way ahead of Zaitsev for the stretch pass and puck movement.

Either way, I need Zaitsev's cap space, doesn't have to be for Lovejoy... could be in the offseason... maybe I'll try again with a different trade... replace Lovejoy with any D-man under 3 mil a year.

I think if zaitsev is moved it’s for a 4th or 5th... he doesn’t have any real positive value right now. Playing on a different team in a different role he would look a lot better.

I just don’t see an option of trading zaitsev for an equally steady Dman rental. A team with cap space and need for RHD will role the dice on him. Move brown in the offseason too. I think that gets the leafs close to where they need to be.

If you're argument is that Zaitsev is better than Lovejoy because the leafs allow less goals than the Devils, then I think I'm going to have a tough time debating with you on this. The Islanders have allowed the least goals in the NHL. Does that mean all their players superior defensively to Zaitsev and Lovejoy?

I very rarely see Zaitsev complete a break out pass, it's very often off the glass and out, then the other team gets the puck and carries it back in because he's bad at defending the blue line. This is supported by CJ Turtoro's data on zone exits and entry defence here https://public.tableau.com/profile/christopher.turtoro#!/vizhome/ZoneTransitionsper60/Entries

I'm very curious as to where you get your percentages on stretch pass data? I find it very surprising that Zaitsev would be that much better at stretch passes. Even if he is, he rarely utilizes it and is much more likely to turn the puck over.

It’s all about usage, funny how zaitsev is a ppg pkayer for team Russia.

When zaitsev skates and moves the puck he does so just fine. But he usually defers to gardiner. Thats his diminished role. Zaitsev’s giveaways usually come from breaking up cycle and desperation plays not from his stretch pass. When was the last time you saw zaitsev ice the puck on a missed stretch pass?

The last time I looked at the stat zaitsev and gardiner were both at 59% on stretch pass completions. I’ve just noticed from watching over the last month or so that gardiner is missing much more than zaitsev.

I wouldn't call Zaitsev having 8 assists in 8 games, in an international tournament where most of the best players don't participate, substantial enough evidence to overturn the 2 and a half seasons now, he's played for Toronto. The tournament that you're referring to was also played on larger European ice surfaces, giving defenders more time to make plays. He also was no where near a point per game in any of his other international tournaments.

I'd strongly disagree. If their both at 59% we could say they're equal but given the data I've shown even if they're equal at stretch passes, Gardiner is clearly better at completing breakout passes. Even if Zaitsev is deferring to Gardiner often, out of the amount of times he doesn't defer to Gardiner, he has a smaller percentage of controlled zone exits.

Zaitsev’s first season was productive. He did break the rookie assist record for the leafs. Like I said it’s deployment. Zaitsev isn’t horrible. He’s okay. Probably would have been better suited amfor a 4 year 3.5m contract.