Leafs Acquire Jake Muzzin

[Zee]

I'm a little interested in Grundstrom's inclusion here. Is it more of a sign that LA considered him the best of Toronto's remaining wing prospects or that Toronto considered him to be just one among many? He was frequently mentioned as someone who the Leafs had who would provide some more diversity to the skillset so I wonder if this is more about his value or the Leafs maybe being higher on Timashov/Bracco/Whoever

I wonder if the constant media coverage of all things Leafs influences what other scouts think of the Leafs prospects.  We hear so much about the guys on the Marlies (and elsewhere in the system) that they start to build up their own status even before making the NHL.  As we've seen by pundits in the media like Burke and Button, they don't always use the most sound logic when evaluating talent.  If there are scouts like them around on most teams, I can see how they might overvalue a guy like Grundstrom, whereas all we've heard is he's likely to top out as a 3rd liner.

 

[Kin]

I'd imagine Moore's emergence made him slightly more expendable from a Leafs POV.

Well, Moore or no Moore the Leafs had depth on the wing so all of them were expendable to a degree. I'm just wondering where on the chart those guys stack up right now. PPP had him as the Leafs' top non-NHL forward at the start of the year.

 

[Kin]

That's pretty bad on their part if they are targeting NHL ready prospects I would imagine.  That team is not a retool away from being good again.

I don't think "NHL ready" always means that they're looking for someone who can contribute right away, but rather that there's the clearest picture of what they can be in the NHL.

For what it's worth I think the Kings have had two pretty good drafts in a row.

 

[bustaheims]

That's pretty bad on their part if they are targeting NHL ready prospects I would imagine.  That team is not a retool away from being good again.

Only if they targeted him over someone clearly more talented. If the talent difference is minimal - and, in this case, I think it is - then I think going for the guy who is closer to being able to make the jump is the right call.

Also, if they were primarily targeting NHL ready prospects, I don't think Durzi would have been part of the deal, as he's probably still a few years away from being ready for full-time NHL duty.

 

[herman]

Matthews, Tavares, Kadri
Marner, Nylander, Kapanen
Johnsson

This group makes it a tougher go for prospects to crack the lineup in impact scoring positions. They either have to be exceptional scoring talents on the LW*, or defensive puck hounds (ideally both, but that's rare at our pick range + $$$$). So the prospects that score enough to peek their heads over the rest we can sell high on, while we keep building puck hounds on the cheap.

Grundstrom's calling card is as a shooting LW out of the middle-6; while we definitely could've have used him given our dearth of LW depth, the Marlies pipeline also has Moore, Marchment, Engvall, and to a lesser extent Timashov (more playmaker than digger) and Korshkov who is an unknown to most.

Grundstrom was probably #1 for scoring potential on the Marlies depth chart of wingers, but he is also one of the more one-dimensional (in my opinion). Durzi is unfun for me to lose but I think he gives the Kings the mobility they're looking for shortly down the road.

* with our centres shooting left and all good scorers in their own right, the LW that Leafs are going to want are the cheaper, go-go-go muckers to get our $$$$ talent the puck: see Hyman, Johnsson, Moore

 

[cabber24]

I am glad our roster stays intact. I am thrilled that Muzzin's 23 minutes a game will be taken from the current group. This is a big trade, it will have a meaningful impact. 23 minutes of Muzzin is a massive upgrade.

 

[Zee]

Dubas has a month left to tinker.  Any guesses as to what's next?  I hope he can somehow get rid of Zaitsev's contract and maybe get another right-shot D on the cheap.

 

[dappleganger]

Gotta give Dubas some kudos here. Seems like he got exactly the type of player the team needed, instead of a possibly flashier name like Dougie Hamilton (and right handedness too) who was rumoured to be available.

As long as he can play with Rielly we good. Getting Hainsey on the bottom pair was imperative to the teams success.
 

 

[Kin]

If anyone's wondering the Leafs now will have these draft picks: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 4th(STL), 5th, 7th, 7th(DAL)

 

[CarltonTheBear]

If anyone's wondering the Leafs now will have these draft picks: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 4th(STL), 5th, 7th, 7th(DAL)

Had to check what this was from, and I honestly forgot we traded Soshnikov. I thought we lost him on waivers. In hindsight getting a 4th round draft pick for him was a pretty good deal, especially since he hasn't been able to establish himself as a NHLer (some injuries there, but he's back in the AHL now).

 

[Zee]

If anyone's wondering the Leafs now will have these draft picks: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 4th(STL), 5th, 7th, 7th(DAL)

Had to check what this was from, and I honestly forgot we traded Soshnikov. I thought we lost him on waivers. In hindsight getting a 4th round draft pick for him was a pretty good deal, especially since he hasn't been able to establish himself as a NHLer (some injuries there, but he's back in the AHL now).

Outside of the first round, drafting and developing is such a crapshoot.  Soshnikov is a guy that wasn't even drafted, he showed some early promise and I remember we were high on him a few years ago, but he still hasn't put it all together. The fact the Leafs managed to get a pick out of an undrafted guy is pretty decent, although 4th round is pretty much a long shot. 

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Outside of the first round, drafting and developing is such a crapshoot.  Soshnikov is a guy that wasn't even drafted, he showed some early promise and I remember we were high on him a few years ago, but he still hasn't put it all together. The fact the Leafs managed to get a pick out of an undrafted guy is pretty decent, although 4th round is pretty much a long shot. 

Yeah but at the same time they were only able to get a 7th for Carrick (injuries kept him from hitting a GP condition that could have made it a 6th).

 

[Bullfrog]

https://twitter.com/DarrenDreger/status/1090042608624242688

So:

Rielly-Muzzin
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Dermott-Hainsey

That'll have a huge impact.

This is most likely, but I wonder if the Dermott-Zaitsev pairing sticks for a bit. In it's limited time, I thought they were pretty good. Maybe Gardiner gets the "benefit" of the veteran's presence?

Rielly-Muzzin
Gardiner-Hainsey
Dermott-Zaitsev

Either way, I'm pretty stoked we've got a legit top pairing. It's been awhile.

 

[herman]

Muzzin really checks all the boxes for every flavour of Leafs fan.

[x] Big
[x] Skates well
[x] Positive Corsi (etc.)
[x] Good at Zone Exits
[x] Hits hard
[x] Good ol' Ontario/Canadian Boy
[x] Grew up a Leafs fan
[x] Stanley Cup winner
[x] Inexpensive
[x] Solid beard

 

[CarltonTheBear]

This is most likely, but I wonder if the Dermott-Zaitsev pairing sticks for a bit. In it's limited time, I thought they were pretty good. Maybe Gardiner gets the "benefit" of the veteran's presence?

Rielly-Muzzin
Gardiner-Hainsey
Dermott-Zaitsev

Yeah that could really go either way. I wouldn't mind trying it just to give the D some different looks throughout all 3 pairings.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Muzzin really checks all the boxes for every flavour of Leafs fan.

[x] Big
[x] Skates well
[x] Positive Corsi (etc.)
[x] Good at Zone Exits
[x] Hits hard
[x] Good ol' Ontario/Canadian Boy
[x] Grew up a Leafs fan
[x] Stanley Cup winner
[x] Inexpensive
[x] Solid beard

All of this will be forgotten after his first turnover.

 

[Highlander]

This is a really good trade. I'm happy. Giving up Durzi is tough, but you've got to pay up to get someone of Muzzin's calibre.

I can understand the thoughts of some to trade Gardiner now, but I say he keep him to actually enjoy a solid D-corps.

Don't know what Durzi will become.  He was passed over entirely in the draft 2 years ago, and then the Leafs selected him as an over-ager this past summer.  He looks good in junior, but then again he's an older junior so he should be looking good.  Leafs still have Liljegren and Sandin as the 2 best d prospects.

Ya, what I like it is a "Now" move, Durzi at best would have had to spend one more year on the Marlies, Grudstrom was expendable, more like a Komarov type, perhaps with better hands.  The first round pick concerns me but at 28-31 not so much.  Do you think we are through?

 

[herman]

All of this will be forgotten after his first turnover.

I dunno... being a good ol' Canadian boy sort of gives you a lot of license to screw up defensively (see Rielly). We'll see if that's offset by being named Jake.

 

[herman]

This is most likely, but I wonder if the Dermott-Zaitsev pairing sticks for a bit. In it's limited time, I thought they were pretty good. Maybe Gardiner gets the "benefit" of the veteran's presence?

Rielly-Muzzin
Gardiner-Hainsey
Dermott-Zaitsev

Yeah that could really go either way. I wouldn't mind trying it just to give the D some different looks throughout all 3 pairings.

What if Muzzin is the type of player that unlocks Zaitsev's powers?
Gardiner-Rielly
Muzzin-Zaitsev
Dermott-Hainsey/Marincin

PPP had a fun breakdown of the defensive deployment earlier in the day.
https://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/2019/1/28/18178278/morgan-rielly-and-jake-gardiner-are-the-toronto-maple-leafs-top-pair

It shows how carefully the coaching staff curates the D-group's deployment and usage per game situation.

 

[Zee]

This is a really good trade. I'm happy. Giving up Durzi is tough, but you've got to pay up to get someone of Muzzin's calibre.

I can understand the thoughts of some to trade Gardiner now, but I say he keep him to actually enjoy a solid D-corps.

Don't know what Durzi will become.  He was passed over entirely in the draft 2 years ago, and then the Leafs selected him as an over-ager this past summer.  He looks good in junior, but then again he's an older junior so he should be looking good.  Leafs still have Liljegren and Sandin as the 2 best d prospects.

Ya, what I like it is a "Now" move, Durzi at best would have had to spend one more year on the Marlies, Grudstrom was expendable, more like a Komarov type, perhaps with better hands.  The first round pick concerns me but at 28-31 not so much.  Do you think we are through?

Don't think Leafs are through,but I like that this move was done now. Leafs have 12 more games before the deadline so Dubas can see how Muzzin actually fits and performs on the team. More tinkering with the roster can happen at any time and Dubas will have more info to work with after seeing a few games with the new defence