Trade Deadline

[Corn Flake]

McClement played 5 and a half minutes at even-strength last night. I wonder what he'd go for tomorrow.

It's an interesting question, our penalty kill can't suffer anymore anyway.

Can we get Bolland back to fill the void first?

 

[Corn Flake]

Why not Shop Franson tomorrow ?

He will be a RFA, he had two years of tought negotiations for a contract. For an upgrade at D Nonis should start with a package of Franson +

I think he's worth a lot more than maybe we assume.  Right hand d-man with huge size and can skate, plays reasonably physical and plays the right point on the PP with a knack for getting the low, quick shot through .. on a cheap deal this year and has the last RFA year next year to get him signed and/or extended long term.  He needs to be paired with a stay at home guy to minimize some of the d-zone gaffes, vs. him having to be the defensive guy like he has been here most nights and he could be a lot better.

Blech I don't know what they need to do here, but I am 200% convinced this defense cannot have a chance at being stable with both Gardiner and Franson on it, not to mention Ranger. It just can't.  Two of them need to go and be replaced with at least one guy who can stabilize the 3rd pair.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Can we get Bolland back to fill the void first?

Yeah, I wouldn't move McClement if Bolland ruled himself out for the season. But I mean he can't stay day-to-day forever, right? Even if he can only return in a 4th line role I would run Bozak-Kadri-Holland-Bolland with Kulemin ready to move over if injuries strike.

If we can move both Raymond and McClement it would help recoup the picks we lost in the Bernier/Holland/Bolland trades.

 

[Corn Flake]

Two guys I'd take a look at tomorrow are Byfuglien and Robidas. There was a rumour posted in a Philly paper that the asking price for Buff is a 1st rounder and roster player. Obviously that's a pretty vague price, but I'd move our 1st and Franson for him in a heartbeat. Boston papers suggest that Robidas will be moved before the deadline as well. He's been injured since November but should be back mid-March. It's obviously quite the risk, but he's a guy that I wanted the Leafs to target prior to his injury. If they can pick him up for a reasonable price I'd pull the trigger and try to re-sign him if his play hasn't plummeted.

edit: Stupid salary cap, Buff would have to wait until the summer.

Buff seems more like a summer type trade anyway.  I would be asking about Bogosian as another option. I think our defense in the off-season is going to get some major reconstructive surgery.

Robidas would be an excellent pickup.  Would stabilize things quite a bit on the 2nd or 3rd pairing. 

 

[Corn Flake]

Can we get Bolland back to fill the void first?

Yeah, I wouldn't move McClement if Bolland ruled himself out for the season. But I mean he can't stay day-to-day forever, right? Even if he can only return in a 4th line role I would run Bozak-Kadri-Holland-Bolland with Kulemin ready to move over if injuries strike.

If we can move both Raymond and McClement it would help recoup the picks we lost in the Bernier/Holland/Bolland trades.

I would be okay with that as well. Wondering if you can pair one of those two guys with one of the two d-men and get a d-man in return that we REALLY need to shore things up.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

I think he's worth a lot more than maybe we assume.  Right hand d-man with huge size and can skate

You're talking about Cody Franson right?

 

[Corn Flake]

I think he's worth a lot more than maybe we assume.  Right hand d-man with huge size and can skate

You're talking about Cody Franson right?

Yes..... ?

Suggesting he "can skate" doesn't mean he's Bobby Orr.  It's not his skating that gets him into trouble.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

I think he's worth a lot more than maybe we assume.  Right hand d-man with huge size and can skate

You're talking about Cody Franson right?

Yes..... ?

Suggesting he "can skate" doesn't mean he's Bobby Orr.  It's not his skating that gets him into trouble.

Well I can also skate and doesn't mean I'm Bobby Orr.  I figured I'd take the leap to assume by 'can skate' you meant it as a positive aspect of his game, as in he is above average in that regard.

I find him very slow moving, slow turning and that his skating often DOES get him into trouble because he is unable to recover if he makes a poor pinch or a giveaway.

 

[bustaheims]

Suggesting he "can skate" doesn't mean he's Bobby Orr.  It's not his skating that gets him into trouble.

His skating is absolutely part of what gets him into trouble.

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Can we get Bolland back to fill the void first?

Yeah, I wouldn't move McClement if Bolland ruled himself out for the season. But I mean he can't stay day-to-day forever, right? Even if he can only return in a 4th line role I would run Bozak-Kadri-Holland-Bolland with Kulemin ready to move over if injuries strike.

If we can move both Raymond and McClement it would help recoup the picks we lost in the Bernier/Holland/Bolland trades.

I thought you meant for selling 'high' kind of purpose, being that prices are usually high at the deadline. For his salary, I don't mind his PK ability or playing the 4th line.

So I agree, you'd definitely wait and see how Bolland and McClement work in the 3 and 4 holes. Sort that out in the summer.

 

[Corn Flake]

Suggesting he "can skate" doesn't mean he's Bobby Orr.  It's not his skating that gets him into trouble.

His skating is absolutely part of what gets him into trouble.

I don't really agree and I heard a lot of the same things said about Phaneuf a few years ago.

 

[Kin]

Suggesting he "can skate" doesn't mean he's Bobby Orr.  It's not his skating that gets him into trouble.

His skating is absolutely part of what gets him into trouble.

I don't really agree and I heard a lot of the same things said about Phaneuf a few years ago.

I said the same thing about Phaneuf yesterday.

 

[Corn Flake]

I find him very slow moving, slow turning and that his skating often DOES get him into trouble because he is unable to recover if he makes a poor pinch or a giveaway.

For a guy his size he skates reasonably well. 

okay? is that better?

 

[L K]

Suggesting he "can skate" doesn't mean he's Bobby Orr.  It's not his skating that gets him into trouble.

His skating is absolutely part of what gets him into trouble.

I don't really agree and I heard a lot of the same things said about Phaneuf a few years ago.

I said the same thing about Phaneuf yesterday.

Yeah, I mean Phaneuf got walked around at least 3 times last night. 

 

[Corn Flake]

Suggesting he "can skate" doesn't mean he's Bobby Orr.  It's not his skating that gets him into trouble.

His skating is absolutely part of what gets him into trouble.

I don't really agree and I heard a lot of the same things said about Phaneuf a few years ago.

I said the same thing about Phaneuf yesterday.

Yeah, I mean Phaneuf got walked around at least 3 times last night.

The reasons he gets beat at times like that have a lot more to do with decisions than his feet not keeping up with what his brain is telling them to do.

 

[bustaheims]

I don't really agree and I heard a lot of the same things said about Phaneuf a few years ago.

People still say it about Phaneuf, and, to his credit, Phaneuf has cut down on his ill-timed pinches to compensate for his skating deficiencies. Franson has not. Franson also gets beaten near the Leafs blue line at an alarming rate.

He's a 3rd pairing PP specialist. That's all he should be used for. Unfortunately, he's had a larger role for much of the season, and his defensive weaknesses - which includes his poor skating - have been exposed. The fact that he's a right-handed shot adds to his value some, but, he's also the worst skater on the blue line (by a wide margin compared to everyone other than Ranger), and he needs to go. Mobility is the key to the game these days, and Franson's mobility is not good enough.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Suggesting he "can skate" doesn't mean he's Bobby Orr.  It's not his skating that gets him into trouble.

His skating is absolutely part of what gets him into trouble.

I don't really agree and I heard a lot of the same things said about Phaneuf a few years ago.

I said the same thing about Phaneuf yesterday.

Yeah, I mean Phaneuf got walked around at least 3 times last night.

Phaneuf looked particularly bad last night, but in terms of a comparison I think he's got quite a bit more speed than Franson, even if Phaneuf is still not among the quickest out there.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

Suggesting he "can skate" doesn't mean he's Bobby Orr.  It's not his skating that gets him into trouble.

His skating is absolutely part of what gets him into trouble.

I don't really agree and I heard a lot of the same things said about Phaneuf a few years ago.

I said the same thing about Phaneuf yesterday.

Yeah, I mean Phaneuf got walked around at least 3 times last night.

The reasons he gets beat at times like that have a lot more to do with decisions than his feet not keeping up with what his brain is telling them to do.

I'm not so sure about that. The breakaway he gave up to Horton last night was a clear case of him not having anything resembling the ability to skate well. They were on even par at the blue line and by the redline Horton was 5 strides ahead of them. It's tough to explain considering it only takes 2 or 3 strides to cover that space usually.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Suggesting he "can skate" doesn't mean he's Bobby Orr.  It's not his skating that gets him into trouble.

His skating is absolutely part of what gets him into trouble.

I don't really agree and I heard a lot of the same things said about Phaneuf a few years ago.

I said the same thing about Phaneuf yesterday.

Yeah, I mean Phaneuf got walked around at least 3 times last night.

The reasons he gets beat at times like that have a lot more to do with decisions than his feet not keeping up with what his brain is telling them to do.

I'm not so sure about that. The breakaway he gave up to Horton last night was a clear case of him not having anything resembling the ability to skate well. They were on even par at the blue line and by the redline Horton was 5 strides ahead of them. It's tough to explain considering it only takes 2 or 3 strides to cover that space usually.

That's probably because Phaneuf was starting at a stand-still and Horton was in mid-flight.  It's pretty damn tough to recover and catch someone from a stand-still unless you have elite skating - and not like Horton is particularly slow either.

 

[Corn Flake]

I don't really agree and I heard a lot of the same things said about Phaneuf a few years ago.

He's a 3rd pairing PP specialist. That's all he should be used for. Unfortunately, he's had a larger role for much of the season, and his defensive weaknesses - which includes his poor skating - have been exposed. The fact that he's a right-handed shot adds to his value some, but, he's also the worst skater on the blue line (by a wide margin compared to everyone other than Ranger), and he needs to go. Mobility is the key to the game these days, and Franson's mobility is not good enough.

Overall, I absolutely agree.  I think a few teams will see him as more than that is all I'm suggesting.  I think he's a bit better skater than given credit for a times but hey.. maybe it's just me seeing "potential" or something.

I said something similar about Franson in that he would do better in a situation where he didn't have to be the defensive guy on his pair. He needs to have a d-man he can lean on in that regard, not the other way around.

If the Leafs could move Franson and bring in a defensive d-man, even as a #6 who is reliable and can stabilize Gardiner or Rielly then our blueline could take a much needed turn for the better. Much like he and Fraser were last year before the wheels fell off this year.