Quoting: Laudan
My problem with it is what some already pointed out......2M for bottom Pair D isnt affordable, especially not for TML with knowing Sandin - Liljegren can fill those spots next year for 750k and 50M tighed for 7 Forwards. Current stats are GA 26th......SA 28th......SCA 23th......PP 7th......PK 26th....and thats with Muzzin as only one being considered to play what it should be called proper D. If he wont be re-signed, that leaves TML in the need for 3 ( THREE ) Top 4 Ds if you dont want to go thru Burke ( and the others, you know ) Era again where mindset was Kaberle - McCabe is enough to bring Parade into town. History shows it doesnt.
Same goes for Dermott when he will be signed ( im assuming 3 x 2,5M or even more if Holl got 2M for the first official Season not even ended ), those two guys are No.5 Ds, Dermott having an upside to be swimming in No.4 D pool at bottom of the list and that wont be enough. Not that i dont like both two kids, they are trying, they are doing their job as requested ( Holl still with to many giveaways ), but TML fans and Office are seeing them as competent mostly cause theres no other alternative or as i said, the 30 years and more thinking "one Top Pair is enough" still lives in TML Office.
I think Holl is worth $2M, and I like this signing for the Leafs.
I think if you are going to knock anything, the argument could be made that the Leafs Cap Strategy may not make sense (I think it does, but it is different so it is more valid to take issue with it).
The Leafs are likely aim to commit about 65% of their cap hit to their starting forward group. Then about 25% or so to their D core, and the remaining to goal tending and depth. That means they value forward more than D, and I think that is a strategy they intend to employ.
To me this means the Leafs plan to commit roughly $21M to their top 6 D next year. Rielly and Holl make up $7M, and Dermott likely costs less than $3M, assuming you have at least one league minimum or ELC player playing, the Leafs will have about $10-$11M they are willing to spend on two slots. I think Holl fits into this plan either way, so either the Leafs plan to blow most of that money on a single guy, or use it to create more depth. Either way, I think the plan is to commit roughly that to their D and likely not more, so I don't think the plan is to have Holl be a bottom pair ( in terms of salary), unless there is another guy making just a little more (possibly dermott). I think the Leafs will have no more than 3 guys making more than $3.5M next year, possibly just two.
The benefit they do have, is that if they feel like committing so little to their D is costing them, their forward contracts are all fair value or better, and can be pretty easily moved to reallocate their cap and value. However, I don't think it's likely Dubas abandons this strategy very quickly, which is why I think Holl got 3 years.