I like the look of the 3rd line, but I think Watson isnt a guy we should target at least Laughton and Sanford can play.

Ottawa says no kase ain’t it

Sanford had 21 points last year.

I’d take him on the fourth line, sure. But not for $2.5M.

Don’t hate the Philly trade

Overpayment is the name of the game in free agency.

I want the Leafs to go after proven 3rd and 4th liners, not dumpster dive for aging cheap veterans who are on their last legs. The bottom six needs to have an identity, and they need to play together for the duration of the season.

Yeah but we'd just let him walk, he has no contract right now. So it's basically Watson for a 4th which is probably fair value but the Sens like him a lot

It kinda depends on the number's game but they don't need a 4th. They'll just keep Watson for this season as it's the last year of his contract



Watson is a better hockey player than Zach Sanford, easily

So how did you base yourself on to say that? Hockeydb.com?

How’d the Leafs end up with a top-6 forward and a defensively elite 3C for a combined price of $2,450,000 in FA if overpayment is the name of the game?

Kampf and Bunting are unicorns. If Dubas finds players of their equivalent to round out the top 9 and solidify the line up, then hats off to him.

Leafs will probably target RFAs who haven't been qualified by their teams and sign them to cheap deals. That's a good strategy.

But a lot of teams will be looking for big, gritty guys like Nick Paul, Marchment, and Sanford. There will be a bidding war for those types of players. I hope the Leafs manange to pick up at least one of them.

I mean his underlying numbers seem to be better, Watson is a really solid PKer though I'll give you that

I haven't made an advanced stats analysis for such depth players but ask any Sens fan who had both players last season and Sanford really didn't convince anybody. I'm pretty confident saying that the vast majority would rather have Watson

Sanford could in theory be a better player, but he is missing "something"

Hmm that is interesting, there definitely is an unknown element to the underlying numbers that can make them unpredictable.

Sanford strikes me as a guy who performs better when theres stake to games, I think being on a team that was in a transition year was the worst thing for him I remember he was a beast in the St Louis cup final. Could be Maroon lite in the right system

We don’t need to out-hit teams to win. We do need some tenacity though.

Miles Wood is awesome. I’d love to grab him.
Jesse Puljujarvi is likely available for trade. He’s an amazing forechecker.
Re-sign Blackwell.
Hopefully Robertson can be a full-time guy this year. He plays with tenacity.
Kase, at the right price, would be amazing as well.
Even Kerfoot is a tenacious player.

I would like Watson for the 4th line. I’m not sure the Leafs can afford to have a $1.5M 4th liner this year though.

Bkackwell and Kerfoot are too small. And size matters in the playoffs. It just does. Big guys who can skate are more valuable. And Kase is always getting injured, he's not reliable. But the other guys you mentioned would be great additions.

Yes all stats have limitations and don't tell the whole story. This is also not like baseball, hockey has way too many variable parts and a lot of context

Sanford is one of the most inconsistent players I have seen. He can look like a top-6 forward in some games, but like a total passenger in many others

So he's a less talented version of Nylander. Not what the leafs are looking for. They need to take a page out of TB's book. If it cost you a first for a role player that makes your team better for a true cup run you do it.

Well Sanford is a 6'3 power forward, he's less of a Nylander and more of a Ritchie/Maroon type player

Exactly. Look how they acquire these Coleman, Goodrow, Paul, Hagel, etc. I didn't like the price they paid for Hagel but still, these guys were very efficient at a very low cap so they add tremendous depth while staying under the cap (I don't give a rat's about what conspiracists say). And that kind of quality depth is what wins you Cups in the playoffs. Look at the Avs right now and the depth they have added recently, that's why they are finally going all the way

Leafs should target Connor Brown. If the Sens (stupidly) don't extend him, then pry him out of their hands, he's a fantastic player, particularly for his cost.



In what world is Sanford a "power forward"?

Do you want to see some comments from Blues fans about him?

- Lanky forward with good hands and a decent shot. Gets knocked off the puck pretty easily, but has talent.

- He's either a mid line PF who can score 15ish goals and 30ish points OR he's bambi on ice and doesn't belong in the NHL.
And there's really no middle ground to be found there.

- His one problem is he can get knocked off the puck too easy

- total passenger, gets knocked off the puck WAY too easily for a guy his size.. disapears way too often

he'll put up a really good ~2 week stretch that will just frustrate you even more


I could go on if you want to see Sens fans comments too, or more blues'

When I saw Sanford play in Ottawa, I thought the exact same things as above and he did have an hat trick