Edited Dec. 10, 2020 at 2:37 p.m.
Quoting: Trickster
In regards to Bogosian, I think he will be playing approximately 30 to 35 % of the games, without injuries.
He will be the first man to see increased games and minutes when injuries occur but i feel overall that Dermott and Holl can offer more overall and they are more likely to have a future with the Leafs beyond this season.
That is a common view on here, but I think that it will turn out to be incorrect. Dubas said that he was looking for a presence and a different type of D. Outside of Muzzin and Bogo every other D is the same and there is no presence. Bogo would not have signed in Toronto unless he was ensured that he was going to be getting steady ice time. Bogo wants to play and he is not interested in sitting. It is why he signed for less than he was offered elsewhere. He won't stick around if he is getting healthy scratched (he asked for a trade out of Buffalo on the day that he was healthy scratched for the second time).
Quote:
Barabanov and Lehtonen, I feel Barabanov would not have signed with Leafs if a top9 slot was not on the table.
Lehtonen, I feel he was promised a top6 spot or he would not have signed.
Both of them are KHL players that if the Leafs dont honour these type of deals, it would want haunt them in future with chances at other players.
I don't think that it will be Lehtonen sitting. I think that it will be Dermott sitting (which is a complete shame) the most and Holl sitting some. I think that they go 7 D at times, but not often. Barabanov probably gets in over Engvall whether or not he should (beats me?), but it will depend somewhat on how they look in camp. Personally, I don't think that not honouring these deals will haunt them, I think that it will free them, because personally I think that the team is far, far, far too interested in and dependent on bringing in these free wallets instead of actually doing what they should be doing which is properly developing their own prospects. They have brought in Zaitsev, Rosen, Borgman, Oz and Lehtonen over the last 4 years. So far I don't think that those 5 have helped, and have actually allowed the Leafs' to get away with not putting in the effort to building and developing a proper D-core. They are a crutch as far as I am concerned. Zaitsev allowed them to get away with not properly fixing their right side D for years. And because he was UFA after 1 year they signed him long-term to a bad contract before they really knew what they had in him. The necessity of giving Borgman and Rosen a chance for half a season blocked Dermott (who looked better in the exhibition games) from getting in for that half a season. Bringing over and using Oz left 37 games experience Dermott with an inappropriate, no NHL experience partner for most of a season which hurt Dermott's development. Instead they could have signed a cheap vet to mentor him. Lehtonen is a D the Leafs' won't be able to re-sign if he is good and if he is not good then he is just taking away a spot from a long-term D (again, most likely Dermott).
I don't think that the Leafs' have gained what people think they have through these free wallets. There is the odd time when a free wallet makes sense. Emphasis on odd time. The Leafs repeatedly go back to that well wearing rose-coloured glasses and then they prance around singing "I've got a golden ticket" and forget about what will actually make them a good team - developing.