Quoting: palhal
Severson is 27 years old...he hasn't he reached his upside? Is he a top four Dman? Maybe but he does play on a poor team so it's pretty easy being top four. Has Ceci been anyway worse than Barrie or Holl.(or Severson) Don't think so, but somehow their is CapFriendly fascination that deleting Ceci and inserting any RHD, the Leafs are better this year.,
So I agree with you that Ceci has not been awful this year. First, I think Barrie and Holl have been better than Ceci. Barrie: There were stretches where he was worse FOR SURE but I think that overall he has a higher upside than Ceci does and under Keefe Barrie is starting to be what was promised to us. Holl: He has admittedly been playing more sheltered minutes but his stats sit a little better than Ceci's and more importantly he's costing WAY WAY less money.
Regarding Ceci He hasn't been terrible he's been a serviceable top4 d on the Leafs and is probably an alright 4/5 on most NHL teams. He'd also probably look really really in a bottom pair role in more sheltered minutes than he is facing right now. I think he's an NHL-level dman for sure.
Reasons for thinking Ceci is worth trading out of Toronto.
1. His cap hit of 4.5mil (because of arbitration) is the most likely candidate to be moved to ease the Leafs cap woes. Ceci is a decent player but not a 4.5mil player I think that can be agreed on. So his cap hit is part of what makes him a target a) because if it is moved it gives the Leafs some flexibility and b) although not bad he's not worth 4.5 mil
2. Ceci hasn't been gelling well with Reilly. They have consistent breakdowns in communication on d-zone coverages. Their outlet game has been struggling together. Reilly hasn't been playing up to his potential and some of that is of course on him but his consistent d-partner has to have a role to play in that too.
3. Ceci doesn't fill the special teams role for the Leafs that they need his PK skills aren't that great.
So I think that Ceci is a decent player and if the Leafs do keep him for the season and resign him for say 2mil per year at 3 years I'd be happy. But I think in the world of Cap Friendly ACGM and what trades can this team make right now to get better Ceci is the obvious candidate to be removed because 1. it gives the Leafs cap flexibility 2. it provides a different top 4 dman to try with Reilly to hopefully get him going 3. Ceci no matter how hard you try is not a top-pairing dman and should not be treated as such