They will keep him in the minors as long as they can until they absolutely need him or they will try to use him as tradebait.

I don't suspect he has much trade value. He will get a shot in camp next year and maybe if we get hit badly by the injury bug this year. Overcook him

Exactly what I was thinking.

Apparently Leafs are shopping Engvall+a prospect (maybe a pick) to try getting an established defender. So he could be tossed in as a sweetener (for retention). That's what I meant by tradebait.

Engvall and a prospect of SDA's caliber would probably net you a defender on par with Justin Holl... I think the Leafs move Engvall for low draft stock to free up capspace to then add a defender (although we should be looking at getting a top 6 forward first)

Leafs management and coaching value Holl. I was thinking it would net someone of a lower caliber but maybe you're right.

Tyler Myers to the Leafs might actually be a thing if they can get his cap low enough around 2.25-2.5. He'll be Holl's replacement for next year. Losing a contract now would be good for the Leafs before they decide to make more significant additions.

They won't be able to make a significant top 6 f or top 4 D additional until Muzzin gets reevaluated in February so that Dubas can know if they can get someone with some term or not.

As much flack as Myers gets, I'd take him 50% retained as a Holl replacement happily

Another undersized, soft forward should be a perfect fit under Dubas' system. Maybe one day we can go an extra step further and find a 5'5" winger

Honestly, anyone who wants Holl out, will want him out too eventually. Myers at only 50% retained would be problematic, since that would be 750k less to spend assuming it's just Engvall going out. I don't see them shipping off Holl now, but if Myers (or whoever) is acquired, it's probably Sandin getting scratched in the short-term and Holl's minutes getting reduced. If Holl looks expendable due to Myers play, then they possibly ship him out to make rooms for upgrades elsewhere.

Tyler Myers is worse that Nikita Zaitsev. The only difference is that Myers family hasn’t asked anybody on Instagram to fight.

I will happily take Holl over Myers every day of the week. It’s not even close.

SDA is definitely hard to peg but he is consistently one of the few Leaf prospects that excels in controlled zone entries (guy has sick hands and really dangle the puck). Has excellent vision also. It just depends on if he stays a Center or Winger at the next level.

The scoring is there

One thing that needs to pointed out about SDA.......

He was Robertson's centre in Peterborough. Those two have chemistry. Roberston was on the DL too much as a Marlie to gauge if they could carry it to pro hockey. I am sure the Leafs brass will want to find out.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they send both packing if they can make a good upgrade. Dubas is not going to rush to move anyone, but if he has the opportunity to improve the team now, he won't wait for guys. I would rather see Robertson become a star for the Leafs, however, it's a very good possibility that he may break out elsewhere. The only thing is that I don't think many GMs are willing to make trades with Dubas without clearly getting the upper-hand. So, I wouldn't be surprised if they stay or if they go, it's all about the opportunity.

Right now, it seems Robertson is only going to get into the line up if a forward gets traded for a D, poor play from someone, or an injury. He'll have to take that opportunity and run with it if it presents itself.

I should've been more specific in my wording when it comes to the Myers vs Holl debate. We could essentially add a 6'8 defenseman for only 3 mil (with 50% retention which is another mandatory condition) that has 855 games of experience. The option of having Brodie play with him is also interesting, as his defensive coverage could massively compensate for any lapses from Myers. Pairing him with Brodie would be a stark contrast to his linemates in Vancouver, the most common of which include OEL, Hughes, Poolman, and Dermott. Every defenseman I just listed had a lower +/- than Myers, and while +/- isn't the end-all-be-all, it is a good indication of what's going on during his shifts. All that being said, I wouldn't be upset if that kind of swap didn't happen, as Holl and Myers are more alike than people think. The edge Myers provides in experience and size would be nice compared to Holl for only 1mil more, especially when we can move on from guys like Engvall and Kerfoot. Last season Myers had more blocks and hits than Holl while average the same amount of ice time roughly. I'd be intrigued to see a blue line of:

Rielly - Liljegren
Brodie - Myers
Sandin - Gio
Holl

As for SDA, I'd be interested to see him get a shot. He doesn't really let his size be a detriment to his game and is on a tear right now. Having someone with his vision on a line with a gifted shooter like Jarnkrok could be fun

He has had a hard time earning Keefe's trust...... which I find weird given his output on 11 minutes a night. Mind you, I question a lot of Keefe's decisions this year regarding the lineup.

So, you maybe correct in the trade bait angle.....

You're right about SAD, he's really progressed this year. As a rule 3rd year AHL are on the bubble, if hey show progress, they often aren't offer a contract by their team.
Like your thoughts about the three potential call ups. I thought Steeves would have been a Leafs already, as he looks NHL good.

He does seem to give a lot of excuses about the matter, he was asked lately what would Robertson have to do to get back into the lineup, and he said something like it's more about what others aren't doing. Robertson has been about as good as Malgin imo, but which isn't spectacular, he would lose a ton of value if he had similar production (basically the more games he plays, the more opportunity for him to look less productive).

I'm not saying they are set on trading Robertson, just that they don't want his value to take if they decide to take that route. If he goes on a tear the next time he's dressed then that's good too. I'm sure he's going to be hungry to get back into the line up and prove himself. They might be ruining his development at this stage but that's what typically happens with guys like him on teams with Stanley Cup aspirations.

Agreed. But since he is waiver exempt, just send the kid to the Marlies and let him get minutes. Sitting him is a colosial waste of talent and as you mentioned development. Next year they actually need him.

Makes me nervous about Knies when he signs. How are they going to use him? If it like this, no way the Leafs maintain competitive. Almost a plan of justifying the importance of the Big 4 over anything else.

I don't think he will gain too much playing in the Marlies, we know he's going to dominate the AHL. Keefe claimed today that there are a lot of benefits being in the NHL for a young player (maybe he meant financial) when asked again about Robertson and if sitting out would be detrimental to his development. I think as long as Robertson is happy and is working on his game then it's fine if they do plan on giving him a chance every now and then.

Speaking of a waste of talent, I think Seattle needs to find a way to get Wright playing.

I live outside Kingston, so had some opportunities to watch Wright play. I felt then as I do now that Wright wasn't ready for NHL action.

If Francis wanted to get inventive, I would have loaned him to a team in Switzerland for a year. He would have got playing time for one and experience playing with men.

It worked very well for Matthews....... kind of shocked that NHL GMs haven't tried that for players like Wright who are AHL ineligible.

I think he's just waiting for the trade market to heat up, they just have too many guys. Right now, they are in a playoff position, so they probably want him around.