The Leafs drive for 9th
Posted 12:55 AM ET | Comments 0
Is anybody else tired of another Leafs season that seems destined to end with the Buds in 9th place in the conference and a 13th overall draft position? I was hoping that it would be taken care of with a trade of Sundin but I guess that a chance at Stamkos is not meant to be (by the way, I'm not bitter that Sundin decided not to waive, if anybody deserves to say 'no' it's Sundin, it's not his fault that JFJ gave away NTCs like candy the day after Halloween).
Anyway, there are rumours that big Hal Gill is on his way out. That would be a good start. If I'm Cliff Fletcher, I focus on Gill, Poni, Antropov, Blake and White. Realistically, Blake's going nowhere unless someone gets really desperate. Poni, Antropov and White have some value - especially Poni & Antropov. Ideally, you'd want to keep those type of players but they're in their prime now and would be on the downside of their careers when the Leafs "rebuild" finally starts to payoff. I say get what you can (they've got to be worth some 1st rounders at least when you see what guys like Zubrus & Nagy went for last year) and hope for a bottom-5 finish and a shot at a decent player in what's supposed to be a deep draft.
Anyway, there are rumours that big Hal Gill is on his way out. That would be a good start. If I'm Cliff Fletcher, I focus on Gill, Poni, Antropov, Blake and White. Realistically, Blake's going nowhere unless someone gets really desperate. Poni, Antropov and White have some value - especially Poni & Antropov. Ideally, you'd want to keep those type of players but they're in their prime now and would be on the downside of their careers when the Leafs "rebuild" finally starts to payoff. I say get what you can (they've got to be worth some 1st rounders at least when you see what guys like Zubrus & Nagy went for last year) and hope for a bottom-5 finish and a shot at a decent player in what's supposed to be a deep draft.