Quoting: Lenny7
Lots of good questions. Not a Leafs fan, but IMO:
-Bunting is probably a bottom 6 guy. Banking on that 26.3% shooting percentage is dangerous. Banking on him for below a mil per year isn't a bad move, it probably just doesn't have as much upside as some people think.
-Spezza and Simmonds are who they are at this point. I'd fully expect Simmonds to end up in the press box as a regular at some point this year. If the team is playing him regularly, it's because something went drastically wrong.
-The next two, Kase and Ritchie, are kind of funny to me. As a Ducks fan, I've seen them play a bunch, and they both have shown that they're very solid, but then flip around and disappear. Kase is the better of the two, but obviously the concussion issues are a thing. He's been the victim of a criminally low shooting percentage the past couple of years, so he's probably more of a 15-20 G/40 pt guy *if he's healthy*. The potential to slide up in the lineup could be a good opportunity for him to break out as well. He's solid both ways, but if this is the way the lineup is put together, I'd be a bit worried about having that 3rd line starting in their own zone too often. As for Ritchie, he's going to make Leafs fans love him, then absolutely loathe him. He's a 10 game spurt guy. He'll look like a solid top 6 guy for 10 games, then absolutely disappear for 10 games.
-Dermott can play that bottom pair, no problem, but is it time for Lilly? Sandin was decent, but had a couple of major gaffs in that first round that led to Montreal making him look like a fool. I'd imagine he'll be able to take the next step this season, and potentially be ready to step up if (when?) Rielly walks.
-I wouldn't be too concerned about the goaltending *yet*. Campbell was solid all season, and wasn't bad in the playoffs (He just ran into Carey Price). I was pretty surprised that it was 3 years for Mrazek, but time will tell.
-I have no issue with Kampf on the 3rd line, but IMO, putting Robertson there with him isn't a great idea. Switch him and Ritchie?
Honestly, the Leafs look solid, but man...that division is going to be tough this year. Tampa is still great. Florida is solid and has improved. Boston *may* take a step back this year based on whether they can either fill that 2C hole or have Studnicka step up, Montreal could ride their hot playoffs into the regular season? If I were to peg the division right now, I'd say:
-Tampa
-Florida
-Toronto
-Boston/Montreal
-Montreal/Boston
-Ottawa
-Detroit
-Buffalo
Definitely agree. I'm just not sure Kase has that upper level, (never mind the fact that hes a real poor risk to make it through the season), his best year was just 38 pts and that was 4 seasons ago. I also think you'll see some rust/hesitancy for someone as fragile. But for the price, its worth the risk. But I just cant see him or Bunting or Ritchie becoming 40+ pt guys overnight, but collectively they are better than who they're replacing (except hyman).
As far as the young dmen, Liljegren is in his 3rd year and hasn;t had much more than a cup of coffee in the NHL. Sandin looks offensively promising, but is 3rd pair the place with a RD Dermott. Dermott is an okay 3rd pairing guy, but hes not a pt producing puck rusher, or a stay at home crease clearer, just not sure Dermott is the RD partner for Sandin, and Sandin and Liljegren are too raw to pair together. Toronto hasn;t had this amazing dman corps that Liljegren couldn;t crack, and I think Toronto is what they were last year and the year before: Very top heavy, and filling gaps with low low salaries, very reliant on winning games 5-4, 5-3, 4-3 as I just dont think their defense and team defense has massively improved
Back to their old division, I think they'll be good, but same issues exist.
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