Edited Feb. 17, 2023 at 11:43 a.m.
Quoting: ToneCapone420
Thanks for explaining I like the idea of Laughton or a player on a similar contract that could play 3C for a couple years as well. Maybe even a veteran like Toews if he would take a 1M or so contract to try and win for the next couple years.
I have a question though, why do you feel like Kampf will get paid more next season? For such a strong "defensive player" he's sitting at dead even on +/- and hasn't scored a goal while only putting up 6 assists since December 8th, i understand that he's defensive minded but playing 15ish minutes a night you'd think he'd at least produce occasionally
I think if he resigns with the Leafs he gets 2-2.5m. Via free agency, depending on how he does in the playoffs, maybe he gets 2.8-3m, if the Leafs make it deep and he's a big part of it 3-3.5m. Kampf's production this year is slightly less than Goodrow's when he won the cup and he got 3.65m. Of course winning a cup makes you rich in ufa, but the cap is going up as well. Any of these numbers are easy to accommodate for the Leafs, if they don't attempt to resign Meier. So getting someone cheap like Lafferty just gives them more options on what they can or can't do next year. Even if they do resign Kampf, they could slide him to the wing and he becomes an Engvall replacement. Of course they do have a ton of guys from the AHL looking to prove themselves this year, so maybe they do make it next year, but having options is important since they don't know what extensions will look like yet.
Toews would be great too, but I feel like he's not interested in joining the Leafs. I think he would be perfect because the cost of acquisition is likely minimal, and I could see him taking a discount like 2.5m maybe not quite 1m, and if he signs for 2-years then that will help them immensely. If they don't land Meier, then I don't think it matters too much on who they acquire in terms of cap hit as long as they aren't expected to make more than 5m. Of course they need, people around the 3m mark for this year to make them fit.