dappleganger
Well-known member
I don't think Kadri would have left if he had a full NMC.
Armchair GM Thread 2024-25
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
I don't think Kadri would have left if he had a full NMC.
Ozzie
Active member
If it's clearly not working, Toronto is not the type of market where that will be a secret. To get full value in trading Marner, it needs to be quiet and sudden, which will require no NMC. If the league generally knows Marner has to be moved, it won't go well for the Leafs.
But if Marner is high salary without NMC, it just means the Leafs in a trade will have to eat some of his salary, or get new pieces that will also have outrageous salaries. But atleast they are still able to modify the architecture and put money to other positions.
Do we need another 8 years of lopsided architecture?
Well this would certainly be a big splash.
Surprisingly this wouldn't be too difficult to fit in under the cap this season (next season could be another story but there's obviously a lot of uncertainty with that right now). If they can settle on the right price (assuming Minten + 1st rounder maybe... I dunno Cozens' value is tough to figure out considering his lackluster performance the last 1.5 seasons) all it would take to make it fit under the cap is sending Domi and any other body (Timmins or Dewar?) as cap dumps the other day. That's assuming Jarnkrok and Hakanpaa don't come off the LTIR this season.
My incredibly boring (but also likely cheap) deadline add would be someone who will probably make a lot of Leafs fans groan but... what about bringing Kerfoot back? UFA this offseason. Can play C better than Domi can. Can help on the PK where another forward certainly wouldn't hurt. Has a lot of familiarity with the team and was a pretty popular teammate. He can either form a 3rd line with 2 of Domi, Pacioretty, McMann, Robertson or if Berube wants to keep Domi up with Matthews they could try:
Knies-Matthews-Domi
McMann-Tavares-Marner
Pacioretty/Robertson-Kerfoot-Nylander
Knies-Matthews-Domi
McMann-Tavares-Marner
Pacioretty/Robertson-Kerfoot-Nylander
Cowan isn't ready to make a meaningful impact this year...he looked much better in preseason last year than he did this year. Not sure what's up with that. Jarnkrok is an NHL capable player, but with 5 career playoff goals in 93 games he's not the guy who is going to solve the perennial spring scoring problem. Hakanpaa, I could get behind that but I doubt he plays this year. We will see.
Cozens is the most intriguing one to me - having a terrible season but maybe all he needs is to get away from the dumpster fire that is Buffalo. Others I would be interested in would be ROR (if he wants to come back) and Kadri if there was a way to make it work. Is this the year the Leafs take a chance and make a big move (not just a rental)...they appear to have the goaltending and the key forwards are in their prime so why not.
bustaheims
Well-known member
Kerfoot and Schenn would be a pretty solid deadline, as far as I'm concerned. Shores up some of the weaker areas but shouldn't cost a ton to acquire.
A Domi or Kampf would have to go to accommodate just one of these two. I am hoping Hakanpaa is our Schenn. Domi for Kerfoot? Not sure it changes things much.
bustaheims
Well-known member
I wouldn’t be counting on Hakanpaa to play at all, and without getting into a decent number of games, I wouldn’t be throwing him into the fire in the playoffs.
Keefoot is a better all around player than Domi and a more natural center. Significantly better defensively and can take shifts on the PK, too, so that takes some of the pressure off other lines and balances things out better. A little less offence, but it’s not like Domi has been providing much there, either.
Depends on retention, and if Jarnkrok ever comes off LTIR (I've fully lost hope in Hakanpaa doing so).
In: Kerfoot (50% retained) and Schenn
Out (for cap and roster space): Dewar and Timmins
With this you would be able to carry a full 23-man roster that's about $750k under the cap. Not enough to take Jarnkrok off LTIR though if he's eventually able to play.
Now, what happens if we can pay Nashville (or a 3rd team) to retain 50% on Schenn too? Well that leaves us with $2,131,563 in cap space. That's $30,000 to spare if Jarnkrok gets activated after the deadline once rosters expand.
I would trade Domi for Kerfoot in a heartbeat. At the very least Kerfoot is defensively responsible and can kill penalties, and will give the same offensive output as domi. And Kerfoot is only a year older than domi.
herman
Well-known member
Transcription errors, if any, are mine
CJ goes on a bit more after that about Knies' value to the Leafs.
Cozens was a fun pipe dream for a day but yeah I mean even if Buffalo wanted picks and prospects they likely don't deal him to Toronto for obvious reasons.
herman
Well-known member
If Cowan+ opens a door to that conversation, then I am all for it (and I like Cowan a lot). But I've also been trying to trade Marner for a prime-aged higher end right shot centre before it was in vogue.
I don't see Knies being part of any trade package, he's just too valuable to the Leafs. Marer would have to agree and I doubt he would. So obviously you're left with Minten/Cowan/Domi/Robertson types. Maybe McMann? I have to admit that I haven't really watched Cozens play enough to know what kind of player he is and how much of a risk it would be to the acquiring team.
dappleganger
Well-known member
Cozens is the exact type of player you should try to acquire if you're an NHL team. He's a young, talented player floundering on a struggling team.
A trade centered on Knies and Cozens would make a lot of sense for the Leafs. Bottom line, it's easier to find a winger than a right-shot Center with size who can play physical.
Cozens is 1 year older than Knies and already has 30 goal season under his belt.
A trade centered on Knies and Cozens would make a lot of sense for the Leafs. Bottom line, it's easier to find a winger than a right-shot Center with size who can play physical.
Cozens is 1 year older than Knies and already has 30 goal season under his belt.