Initial Creation Date: Jun. 29, 2021

Published: Jun. 29, 2021

Team: 2021-22 Toronto Maple Leafs

I wanted to create a high quality 3rd line for the first time since Bill Berg, Mark Osborne and Peter Zezel in 1993-94. We've seen primising HEM line (Hyman-Engvall-Mikheyev) this year but they didn't last and I'm not willing to pay 5+ mil for Zach Hyman. I love Hyman, but everybody has a price. I tried to create a speedy, responsible 3rd line with some possibilities (e. g. Foligno instead of Robertson).

It was a joy to watch PIT's 3rd line a few years ago with Hagelin-Bonino-Kessel. That's why I penciled Robertson-Granlund-Nylander together.

Instead of Hyman we gave similar money to Saad who has a ring, and to keep his AAV low he gets an extra year.

With Nylander in the 3rd line, I put Marner next to JT. I believe he can help him to stay more productive and Matthews is good enough to play with less skilled wingers.

The asking price for Rakell during the TDL was 1st rd pick and prospect. At the end there was no bidding war, Rakell has struggled and he has one year remaining in his contract. Liljegren could be their young #6 d-man, with some luck maybe something better. He was a 1st round pick, Alex Kerfoot is a flexible forward who can play center or left wing. Anaheim could use him in the top six or they could trade him to another team at TDL. For the salary retention they received a 4th round pick.

Mikheyev has speed and penalty killing, but he is non-factor in the o-zone. Thanks to that I'm not willing to play him higher than 4th line and for the 4th line he is too expensive for Toronto. Same thing for Engvall. He is okay in d-zone, fine in transition thanks to his skating, but most of the time he is useless in o-zone.

I wanted to upgrade defense but it's not possible without trading one of the Big 4. It would be perfect to have Holl as a #6 and Bogo #7. So no Savard in the Leafs uniform. I would like to get at least someone like Stecher who is good at controlled zone exits, but he has 1.7 mil cap hit so maybe at TDL?

I'm not a big fan of Simmer because he would be okay as a 4th line RW, but that spot belongs to Spezza. Anyway I'm okay with him as a 13th forward and he is not going to play a full 82-game season. Same for Spezza. Last year Adam Brooks looked great as a 4th line center and he had some chemistry with Spezza and Thornton. Bunting is anything but proven, he had an unsustainable Sh% but his flashes of potential make him an intriguing UFA target (and Michael is only 25 yo). He even led the Coyotes in WAR, a metric that estimates the number of wins a player contributed to their respective team and he was not a defensive liability.

The last thing is Raanta. He played only 12 games last year and his Sv% wasn't good enough. Raanta is IR prone but he could be worth the risk in a 1A/1B role. I gave him half of his previous contract, he should be motivated to prove to everybody he is still a good goalie. There is no doubt he is better than Rittich. The only issue is his health. But I guess - as a GM - I would know if he could be back and start the new season healthy. Worth a risk?

That's it. Be nice, let me know what you think in the comments and stay safe. ;)

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