2021-22 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
Bender said:
What does "good lineup" mean? If you're queasy about using the "C" word like ZBBM said, then sure I get it. If you think this is a bottom-10 team or one that shouldn't make the playoffs then I think that's something else.
Like I said, there's still work to be done (and Dubas essentially admitted they're looking to add one more forward) but I think you can make the case this team is at least as good as the one that played at a 112 point pace last season.
Guilt Trip
Active member
Agree. I don't think Dubas is done either.CarltonTheBear said:
bustaheims
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
Yeah. This is still a good team. Needs some help to become a great one, but that wasn?t going to happen via free agency.
herman
Well-known member
herman said:
Given that this was my pre-free agency stance, I?d say day 1 was pretty good in terms of answering specific key questions and shoring up depth without getting stupid (wow some of today?s contracts were fun).
Looks like we have a shutdown line (no offense expected, just really really annoying time wasters). Sandin and Liljegren and Dermott have an opening to try to make a splash. Other than Simmonds/Spezza, we are sticking with prime-aged clearly defined complements at no risk.
Room for something interesting if Kerfoot/Dermott/Rielly get moved.
Don't know much about the various players signed today, but it sure feels like treading water at best. The loss of Hyman does not appear to have been addressed - so unless someone like Robertson steps up in a big way, I can't see how the team is better than last year. Can any of the signed players even replace what Galchenyuk brought to the lineup? Will one of the young defensemen contribute as much as Bogosian did? Guess we'll find out.
Gonna be a battle just to get in the playoffs considering the division the Leafs are in. I don't know, it feels like a season of disappointment ahead. Punctuated most likely by Rielly walking away in free agency for no return.
Yeah, I guess I'm in kind of a negative place regarding the Leafs.
Gonna be a battle just to get in the playoffs considering the division the Leafs are in. I don't know, it feels like a season of disappointment ahead. Punctuated most likely by Rielly walking away in free agency for no return.
Yeah, I guess I'm in kind of a negative place regarding the Leafs.
Britishbulldog
Active member
I was hoping they might bring some snarl to the team.
After seeing Foligno sign for $3.8 MIL AAV for 2 years I am glad Dubas ducked that one.
Then I figured that Kuraly might be decent as a hard hitting 4th liner but he got signed for $2.5 MIL for 4 years by CLB. Ouch! Similar player Paquette signed in MTL for $0.950 MIL.
Love the Bunting signing. Mrazek and Kampf make sense but I feel neither are a steal but simply market value for both. At least they aren't bad over payments.
Maybe Ritchie as a cost effective LW Foligno replacement and a cheap 6/7 RHD Bogosian replacement like Gudbranson or Jani Hakanpaa would help balance the skill portion of the Leafs.
After seeing Foligno sign for $3.8 MIL AAV for 2 years I am glad Dubas ducked that one.
Then I figured that Kuraly might be decent as a hard hitting 4th liner but he got signed for $2.5 MIL for 4 years by CLB. Ouch! Similar player Paquette signed in MTL for $0.950 MIL.
Love the Bunting signing. Mrazek and Kampf make sense but I feel neither are a steal but simply market value for both. At least they aren't bad over payments.
Maybe Ritchie as a cost effective LW Foligno replacement and a cheap 6/7 RHD Bogosian replacement like Gudbranson or Jani Hakanpaa would help balance the skill portion of the Leafs.
Guilt Trip
Active member
I think Dubas may aim higher then Ritchie but I wouldn't mind him. Depends on the cost.
It often gets said that you shouldn't build your team through free agency, so it was nice to see the Leafs just have to add in depth pieces around the core. I still think they need a Norris capable d-man, but I don't see how they get that, so they are going to have to roll forward with what they currently have.
When you think about it though, if Tavares, Nylander, Marner and Matthews get rolling in the playoffs, they should be able to go far. As much as we fans may dislike their depth, those are still 4 players that are hard to match up against if they are firing on all cylinders, and at some point, because they are highly skilled, highly paid, and highly competitive, you would expect that to happen in the playoffs.
When you think about it though, if Tavares, Nylander, Marner and Matthews get rolling in the playoffs, they should be able to go far. As much as we fans may dislike their depth, those are still 4 players that are hard to match up against if they are firing on all cylinders, and at some point, because they are highly skilled, highly paid, and highly competitive, you would expect that to happen in the playoffs.
mr grieves
New member
bustaheims said:
No one really thought the Leafs were going to get ?great? via free agency. Are they as good as they were last season? Better? Worse? How?s the degree and direction of change compare to others in their division?
Sure, you can make the case that ?this team is at least as good as the one that played at a 112 point pace last season? but I think you can make a better case that this team looks a lot more like the Edmonton Oilers than we thought it would be this many years into the Shanaplan.
dappleganger
Active member
herman said:
Tarasenko for Kerfoot.
mr grieves said:
Well we're past the "play Barrie and Ceci in the top-4" part of the plan which Edmonton still seems stuck on, so that's a pretty big plus for us I think.