2024-25 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion
- Thread starter herman
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Ozzie
Active member
If they trade for one of the better 3Cs out there with term.... they are definitely inferior to Tavares, and are making $6m to $7m and similar age.
So even $7m is now below market.
dappleganger
Well-known member
Below market for how Tavares is playing this season. Have to budget for the reality that Tavares might be done at age 37.
bustaheims
Well-known member
Tavares for just cash or Cozens for (likely significant) assets? That feels like an easy call. A declining Tavares probably still produces similarly to - if not better than - Cozens.
Ozzie
Active member
I doubt Cozens is available.....notwithstanding talk about that. And the trade would need to be like for like.... it's not going to be a pick or prospect. So when I'm talking about 3C available.... they all seem to be free agents this summer and therefore rentals, or have term and all of them seem to be in the same age range as Tavares.... and have a 6 handle on their contract.
And they all have inferior stats to Tavares.
So Tavares with a 6 or 7 handle with the new cap is below market.
Cozens won't be dealt for something that won't disrupt the current roster. It would be more like Knies for Cozens or something like that, as opposed to a prospect and picks for Cozens.
Unless someone has different information from what I understand here. Please clarify.
And they all have inferior stats to Tavares.
So Tavares with a 6 or 7 handle with the new cap is below market.
Cozens won't be dealt for something that won't disrupt the current roster. It would be more like Knies for Cozens or something like that, as opposed to a prospect and picks for Cozens.
Unless someone has different information from what I understand here. Please clarify.
Yeah for a 3-year commitment I would have expected something a little lower than $7mil. Who knows if this ends up being accurate though. We'll see how it plays out. Obviously $7mil in the 27/28 season will feel a lot different than it does now though.
dappleganger
Well-known member
I really thought 3-years/$6.75m sounded alright for Tavares.
Ozzie
Active member
Prior to cap increase, my hope was 5.5m to 6m for Tavares. He could probably get 6.5m to 7m in open market like @doppleganger and @CarltonTheBear said.... so 6m would be a slight discount.
But everything has gone up over the past 30 days.
And I think he could get 7.5m or higher in open market now. So I think 7m is still a slight discount.
But everything has gone up over the past 30 days.
And I think he could get 7.5m or higher in open market now. So I think 7m is still a slight discount.
ZBBM
Well-known member
Totally agree.
Tavares has earned well over $100 million in his career. If he really wants to win a cup in Toronto, this would be the time to go to management and say "I know I could get $7 million (or whatever) on the open market, but let's do something that really helps the team." And even with the cap going up, I don't think that would be anywhere near $7 million cap hit.
Ozzie
Active member
Players on Boston and Oilers and other teams have taken discounts to win at the elite level.
Toronto will never allow that to happen.... unless it's the bargain basement guys taking discounts.
Toronto under Rogers/Shanahan/Dubas and maybe Tre too, ALWAYS pay full price (or overpays) the elite.
Corporate fans want their stars, and jerseys need to sell to the retail people who can't afford going to games.
That's why it needs to be Tavares who is proactive about this. Otherwise I agree, they'll offer him top dollar. He could still take less if winning is more important than earning a few extra dollars. Marner's getting a new deal, Knies will need a new deal, those extra cap dollars will get used up in a hurry and we'll still be stuck with a bottom-6 who can't put the puck in the ocean.
Of course, win the cup this year and it all goes away.
Guilt Trip
Well-known member
With the cap going up 91 is getting north of 7M on the open market easily. Leafs getting him at 3x7M or 6x3.5M is a good deal for the Leafs. I don't begrudge any player for wanting what they want. That's their livelihood and if someone will pay it, all the power to them. As a fan of a team we'd like them all to play for minimum.
There's a lot of room between league minimum and the maximum that some team is willing to pay. 6x$3.5 sounds great to me. 3x7, not so much. But hey, if he wants to chase dollars that's his prerogative. How many dollars does one person need? After I'd earned $100 million I think my main goal would be to win a championship. Even better if it's in my home town.
Ozzie
Active member
It's not the player that fully decides.... the decision making goes in this order:
1. Agent
2. Wife
3. Player
L K
Well-known member
You always have to take into account how much of a tire-fire Buffalo is but I'm not sure I really understand the arguments for acquiring Cozens. He isn't far enough removed from a promising 30 goal season to be sold cheaply, but he also hasn't done anything to suggest that he can be the reliable #2 guy on a team that is trying to contend.
His career high is 31G 68P but his career/82G stats are 19G 28A 47P
Even if we take out his truncated rookie season he's averaging 20G/30A 50P in 82 games.
Tavares' worst season with the Leafs was 29/36/65 in 80 games.
Obviously at 24 Cozen's can still have more to give. Playing with either Nylander or Marner should make his point totals higher but I'm not going to bend over backwards to acquire a guy making 7M on the possibility that he might get better when you have a guy at home already doing the job better.
To me, if you are acquiring Cozens it would be to have him in addition to Tavares and have better depth up the middle. Whether the team can afford to have three centres making 27M or not is a different issue.
The cap is going up. Tavares at 7M seems like a reasonable number given that he continues to produce around a 30G pace for the entirety of his contract. I have a harder time seeing us get a better player at the same price point and we don't have anyone coming up the system that could grow into that role. The best case scenario (barring trading guys for multi-year contract players at the deadline) would be that three of Grebenkin/Minten/Cowan/Steeves have roster spots next year to come in at low cap hits. Bring a guy like Lorentz back cheaply but with some term to keep the cap hit down and then sign 1 or 2 of the usual Paccioretty style veterans on the cheap so you can afford a more expensive top 7-8 forwards.
His career high is 31G 68P but his career/82G stats are 19G 28A 47P
Even if we take out his truncated rookie season he's averaging 20G/30A 50P in 82 games.
Tavares' worst season with the Leafs was 29/36/65 in 80 games.
Obviously at 24 Cozen's can still have more to give. Playing with either Nylander or Marner should make his point totals higher but I'm not going to bend over backwards to acquire a guy making 7M on the possibility that he might get better when you have a guy at home already doing the job better.
To me, if you are acquiring Cozens it would be to have him in addition to Tavares and have better depth up the middle. Whether the team can afford to have three centres making 27M or not is a different issue.
The cap is going up. Tavares at 7M seems like a reasonable number given that he continues to produce around a 30G pace for the entirety of his contract. I have a harder time seeing us get a better player at the same price point and we don't have anyone coming up the system that could grow into that role. The best case scenario (barring trading guys for multi-year contract players at the deadline) would be that three of Grebenkin/Minten/Cowan/Steeves have roster spots next year to come in at low cap hits. Bring a guy like Lorentz back cheaply but with some term to keep the cap hit down and then sign 1 or 2 of the usual Paccioretty style veterans on the cheap so you can afford a more expensive top 7-8 forwards.
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