Toronto Maple Leafs Next Move
Posted 12:22 PM ET | Comments 10
As i wrote in an earlier blog, the Toronto Maple Leafs have an excess of 1-way contracts with depth players with 2-way contracts/entry leve contracts pushing for full-time jobs on the big club come september at training camp. Those whilo seem to be the highest candidates are Josh Lievo, Petter Granberg, Jamie Devane, David Broll and Greg McKegg.
There were rumours running after player interviews with coaching staff and management once the season was over, that Joffery Lupul was more than ticked off with the organization. Everyone knows about the feud that he and coach Randy Carlyle had when they were both employed by the Anaheim Ducks. From what I can gather is that Lupul isnt fond of playing with Nazeem Kadri due to lack of chemistry between the too "carry-first players" To be honest if i was on a line with Phil Kessel and tearing it up with over a point per gane average then suddenly demoted to the second line with a cocky rookie, losing favor to another cocky young player in James VanReimsdyke, i'd be pretty upset to. But this is where leadership comes from. Seems to me most Leaf fans would rather see Joffery carry the responsibilities as team captain instead of Dion Phaneuf.
To what I established in my last blog as to this summer reminding me of the 1998 offseason there were several situations which are similar to each other although 14 years apart. There was the move of fan favorite Doug Gilmour to the New Jersey devils for Steve Sullivan and Jason Smith with others involved. Then there was the acquisition of former 1st overall draftee Bryan Berard. These seem to be the moves left for the Toronto brass to accomplish. That being said, this would mean that current fan favorite, Joffery Lupul, would be moved for younger established player(s) the league and the game has changed dramatically since 1998. With most deals have a mathmatical dollar value as to why they perform trades, similar to some MLB transactions. With current Leaf regime, they seem to have a "wait-n-see" attitude towards their roster, and have moved more players into the organization than they have moved out. Dave Nonis seems to allow the players to make his decisions for him. Either command a salary which the leafs will not afford them or bought out for different role players. If the Leafs are not performing well at the beginning of the season then I believe Joffery Lupul will be packaged with James Reimer to be shipped to Winnipeg for Evander Kane. Obviously there would be more parts involved, but it seems to me both organizations are at a cross roads with certain players and each team NEEDing to make the postseason. I think that the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs are the teams in the NHL that NEED to make the playoffs in 2015 despite it being only the end of july right now. Vancouver and New York have made their moves already at the start of free agency and Edmonton is wait to see what the glut of 5 top 5 draftees including 3 #1 overall picks can do together with the overhaul of defencemen they brought in at the start of free agency. I think Craig MacTavish will come calling to Dave Nonis for a package of Dion Phaneuf and James Reimer if the Oilers arent playing as expected come December. Winnipeg will want to see if Evander Kane can focus on hockey and if Ondre Pavelec will stabilize during the course of the season. Though if things are still sour in mid-January and the Leafs are on the cusp of being in the top 3 in their division then a package of Joffery Lupul and James Reimer for Evander Kane will ensue. I know I'm including Reimer in both of these trades and it will be in Toronto's best intrest to not move hastily on moving players out until the offseason unless they are also struggling throughout the season. The last time the Mapl Leafs had this much depth going into a season was 2000-2001 where they had Thomas Kaberle newly cementing a roster spot as well as unproven Bryan McCabe, they brought in Warren Rhychel, Mikeal Rennberg, Gary Roberts and had Nik Antropov waiting in the wings for a spot on the big club. Everyone was worried about Gary Roberts ability to play in the nation hockey league, similar to the skepticism surrounding David Booth's ability. Mikeal Renneberg and Shane Corson were seen as bottom 6 players who delivered an edge to push the team in those games where the top 2 lines couldnt score. Much like Mike Santorelli and David Clarkson will be used this upcoming season. All n all one of the biggest impacts was the acquisition of Darcy Tucker. Everyone knew what he could do and he did it every night. Much like Leo Komarov provides on a nightly basis. I am torally optimistic on this upcoming season. The team is stuctured correctly, the coaching staff is capable and smart, and the team's core is still young and very talented. How insee the line up after the september training camp:
JVR BOZAK KESSEL
LUPUL KADRI FRATTIN
BOOTH HOLLAND CLARKSON
KOMAROV SANTORELLI WINNIK
ASHTON BODIE
GARDINER PHANEUF
REILLY FRANSON
ROBIDAS POLAK
GRANBERG
BERNIER
REIMER
If the Leafs are still struggling come the end of November then team management will be pressured by Tim Lieweiki to move out players for higher profiled NHL stars. Therefore i believe Evander Kane will be a Leaf.
To Toronto:
Evander Kane
To Winnipeg:
Joffery Lupul
Peter Holland
Korbinian Holzer
JVR BOZAK KESSEL
KANE KADRI FRATTIN
BOOTH SANTORELLI CLARKSON
KOMAROV KONTIOLA WINNIK
ASHTON BODIE
DEFENDERS N GOALTENDERS STAY THE SAME
then at the trade deadline if the team is still struggling
To New Jersey:
Cody Franson
Carter Ashton
To Toronto:
Adam Larsson
To Minnesota:
Daniel Winnik
To Toroto:
3rd and 6th round pick in 2015
If the Oilers are within 10 points of a playoff spot come the trade deadline
To Edmonton:
Dion Phaneuf
James Reimer
Eric Knodel
To Toronto:
Leon Draisaitl
Viktor Fasth
JVR BOZAK KESSEL
KANE KADRI BOOTH
CLARKSON DRAISAITL FRATTIN
KOMAROV SANTORELLI BODIE
LEIVO DEVANE
GARDINER LARSSON
REILLY ROBIDAS
POLAK GRANBERG
MacWILLIAM
BERNIER
FASTH
There were rumours running after player interviews with coaching staff and management once the season was over, that Joffery Lupul was more than ticked off with the organization. Everyone knows about the feud that he and coach Randy Carlyle had when they were both employed by the Anaheim Ducks. From what I can gather is that Lupul isnt fond of playing with Nazeem Kadri due to lack of chemistry between the too "carry-first players" To be honest if i was on a line with Phil Kessel and tearing it up with over a point per gane average then suddenly demoted to the second line with a cocky rookie, losing favor to another cocky young player in James VanReimsdyke, i'd be pretty upset to. But this is where leadership comes from. Seems to me most Leaf fans would rather see Joffery carry the responsibilities as team captain instead of Dion Phaneuf.
To what I established in my last blog as to this summer reminding me of the 1998 offseason there were several situations which are similar to each other although 14 years apart. There was the move of fan favorite Doug Gilmour to the New Jersey devils for Steve Sullivan and Jason Smith with others involved. Then there was the acquisition of former 1st overall draftee Bryan Berard. These seem to be the moves left for the Toronto brass to accomplish. That being said, this would mean that current fan favorite, Joffery Lupul, would be moved for younger established player(s) the league and the game has changed dramatically since 1998. With most deals have a mathmatical dollar value as to why they perform trades, similar to some MLB transactions. With current Leaf regime, they seem to have a "wait-n-see" attitude towards their roster, and have moved more players into the organization than they have moved out. Dave Nonis seems to allow the players to make his decisions for him. Either command a salary which the leafs will not afford them or bought out for different role players. If the Leafs are not performing well at the beginning of the season then I believe Joffery Lupul will be packaged with James Reimer to be shipped to Winnipeg for Evander Kane. Obviously there would be more parts involved, but it seems to me both organizations are at a cross roads with certain players and each team NEEDing to make the postseason. I think that the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs are the teams in the NHL that NEED to make the playoffs in 2015 despite it being only the end of july right now. Vancouver and New York have made their moves already at the start of free agency and Edmonton is wait to see what the glut of 5 top 5 draftees including 3 #1 overall picks can do together with the overhaul of defencemen they brought in at the start of free agency. I think Craig MacTavish will come calling to Dave Nonis for a package of Dion Phaneuf and James Reimer if the Oilers arent playing as expected come December. Winnipeg will want to see if Evander Kane can focus on hockey and if Ondre Pavelec will stabilize during the course of the season. Though if things are still sour in mid-January and the Leafs are on the cusp of being in the top 3 in their division then a package of Joffery Lupul and James Reimer for Evander Kane will ensue. I know I'm including Reimer in both of these trades and it will be in Toronto's best intrest to not move hastily on moving players out until the offseason unless they are also struggling throughout the season. The last time the Mapl Leafs had this much depth going into a season was 2000-2001 where they had Thomas Kaberle newly cementing a roster spot as well as unproven Bryan McCabe, they brought in Warren Rhychel, Mikeal Rennberg, Gary Roberts and had Nik Antropov waiting in the wings for a spot on the big club. Everyone was worried about Gary Roberts ability to play in the nation hockey league, similar to the skepticism surrounding David Booth's ability. Mikeal Renneberg and Shane Corson were seen as bottom 6 players who delivered an edge to push the team in those games where the top 2 lines couldnt score. Much like Mike Santorelli and David Clarkson will be used this upcoming season. All n all one of the biggest impacts was the acquisition of Darcy Tucker. Everyone knew what he could do and he did it every night. Much like Leo Komarov provides on a nightly basis. I am torally optimistic on this upcoming season. The team is stuctured correctly, the coaching staff is capable and smart, and the team's core is still young and very talented. How insee the line up after the september training camp:
JVR BOZAK KESSEL
LUPUL KADRI FRATTIN
BOOTH HOLLAND CLARKSON
KOMAROV SANTORELLI WINNIK
ASHTON BODIE
GARDINER PHANEUF
REILLY FRANSON
ROBIDAS POLAK
GRANBERG
BERNIER
REIMER
If the Leafs are still struggling come the end of November then team management will be pressured by Tim Lieweiki to move out players for higher profiled NHL stars. Therefore i believe Evander Kane will be a Leaf.
To Toronto:
Evander Kane
To Winnipeg:
Joffery Lupul
Peter Holland
Korbinian Holzer
JVR BOZAK KESSEL
KANE KADRI FRATTIN
BOOTH SANTORELLI CLARKSON
KOMAROV KONTIOLA WINNIK
ASHTON BODIE
DEFENDERS N GOALTENDERS STAY THE SAME
then at the trade deadline if the team is still struggling
To New Jersey:
Cody Franson
Carter Ashton
To Toronto:
Adam Larsson
To Minnesota:
Daniel Winnik
To Toroto:
3rd and 6th round pick in 2015
If the Oilers are within 10 points of a playoff spot come the trade deadline
To Edmonton:
Dion Phaneuf
James Reimer
Eric Knodel
To Toronto:
Leon Draisaitl
Viktor Fasth
JVR BOZAK KESSEL
KANE KADRI BOOTH
CLARKSON DRAISAITL FRATTIN
KOMAROV SANTORELLI BODIE
LEIVO DEVANE
GARDINER LARSSON
REILLY ROBIDAS
POLAK GRANBERG
MacWILLIAM
BERNIER
FASTH
Haters gone hate... Thanks for the feedback fellas
deleted all the comments, poor showing, take the heat man
Did you take any of our advice? or just delete it all???
Appreciate the fact ppl took the time to read my opinion. And thats all it was, my opinion.
kill it before it breeds, again
so, so bad
No way Edmonton gives you that deal.. Or Winnipeg... I like it from torontos side though :)
Fuckin idiot...
That Edmonton trade is brutal for the Oilers....in fact, this whole blog was a smelly, steaming pile of dog shit.
Extend Clarkson