Quoting: Idris
Quoting: CameronLeafs
Ideal Saturday for the other 30 teams in the league. I want you to remember the leafs are rebuilding. All free agent signings are not only older, but they are vastly overpaid. All this would do would make the leafs have extreme difficulties holding on to all 3 of Marner, Nylander and Matthews in their contract years. This plan sets the team back 10 years.
Explain how it sets he team back? All of these deals are 2 years besides shattenkirk and did you see what hamonic got in a trade? Shattenkirk is worth at least 3x ore and will have no problem getting moved if we dont need him. The team is also not rebuilding anymore, the core is set and this team made the playoffs next year. There is a unique cup window in the next 2 years that can only be fulfilled through free agency. Also, this team has no bad contracts, we can afford to resign all of our players after the 19/20 season and have aapproimately 10 mil more.
Filling the team with older players doesn't give the development most of the young players need as they won't have as much opportunity in the NHL. We want guys like Dermott, Bracco, Rosen, Gauthier, Rychel, Leivo, Timashov, Liljegren, Griffith, etc to get looks in the next 2 years as they are all a part of the future of the team. The team is not a cup contender now, they don't have the legs, the defence, the depth or the experience to go on a long playoff run and it is very likely that they finish somewhere between 6-10 in the eastern conference this year.
While it is important to have some veterans and I would love to see a leader like Thornton or Doan come in here for a year and be a true leader, I believe that there is a limit to that. 7m for Shattenkirk is realistic, but needless to say its an overpayment for a defence man who cannot be a true number 1 with out a sturdy defensive d-man beside him. in 3 years he big 3 on the leafs will be getting paid at least a combined 20 million, probably somewhere closer to 23 million. Investing 7 million in an older d-man is also going to essentially rule out the resigning of Gardiner.
I just don't get why leafs fans are losing track of the rebuild, its worked so far but why screw it up now. Lou said at the draft that it would be idiotic to try and speed up the process, and that they are going to try and stay the course on the rebuild and see where it takes them. The leafs have tried to speed up the rebuild far too many times (Kessel Trade) and I cannot/ will not be a leafs fan if they do it again.
Be patient, good times are coming for leafs fans. If we stay with this core of guys we have potential to be contenders for the next 10 years, we just can't rush it.