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2022 Training Camp Thread

I like the makeup of the potential team but I really need to see what the eventual cap casualty is when Liljegren/Tavares come off injury reserve.  If we are just dumping Holl/Kerfoot for pennies the team isn't really better served but that is the type of scenario we are facing.
 
L K said:
I like the makeup of the potential team but I really need to see what the eventual cap casualty is when Liljegren/Tavares come off injury reserve.  If we are just dumping Holl/Kerfoot for pennies the team isn't really better served but that is the type of scenario we are facing.
Click to expand...

I think they?re thinking it?s better to wait and see. Another injury could keep them in LTIR space (Muzzin?). Why toss out good value (Kerfoot, Holl) pre-emptively? There is no way we are getting equivalent value back in a cap dump move either way. Unless someone slaps Dubas upside the head with a ridiculous offer (hey do you want Nils Hoglander for renting Kerfoot?)
 
I agree with you L K

I wonder if they ran the numbers and determined "the odds are that someone on the team will go on LTIR by the time Liljegren returns. We'll adjust accordingly."
If no one is added to LTIR before Liljegren returns, they have a real problem. Someone has to go.

They've taken away the ability of the coach to sit someone out if they're not performing. (they can ride the bench but the others have to carry the ice time ..)
The coach can't fiddle with his roster based on the opponent because he's stuck with the 20 or 19 players the cap will allow.

So there seem to be some hidden costs to this approach.
 
Perhaps the biggest cost is the inability to accrue cap space before the deadline and then rent back Kerfoot++ (or augment whatever position needs it or has suffered injuries)
 
Every Leaf clears. Robertson sent down for cap compliance *nudge nudge wink wink*


https://twitter.com/capfriendly/status/1579533069517983744
My main question is why didn?t we just pay Aston-Reese 4 more dollars on the deal.
 
Kind of a cruel process. Clear waivers = no NHL team wants you and the whole world knows it.
I think the gap between the best players in the league and the worst has narrowed over time.
I doubt we are going to see Gretzky, Lemieux, Orr types dominate statistically going foward.
If Simmonds competed for the Leafs '67 Cup roster, I'd bet he'd make that team handily.

I watched Simmonds fairly closely for example. I think he got beat out fairly. I can understand why they made the decision they did. etc. But he did not seem that far off. He wasn't a complete bum out there. Evidently, the league has rendered its decision. It's a little sad. I liked him.

I don't know these players intimately. Haven't seen them enough:
I liked what (little) I saw of Kral & Steeves last year. I still like them.
I liked what I saw of McMann this year.
I'm intrigued by what I've seen of Abruzzese, Holmberg & Villeneuve.
I didn't notice Hollowell much - maybe that is a good thing.
Woll & McKay (who I haven't seen much of) interest me.
No guarantees but the cupboard is not as bare of possibilities as I thought.

If those waived all report to the Marlies, with Robertson leading the way, they could have pretty good team.

It is obviously going to get much trickier when Benn & particularly Liljegren get clear of LTIR if no one else is on LTIR.
 
https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1579554946533707776

https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1579554949352284160
 
The thing for a guy like Simmonds is that a team might be interested in trading for him now that he is cleared through waivers.  The ability to put him in the minors, or keep him in the minors for a bit without having to worry about losing him if you trade him might make him slightly more valuable to a team.

(Also gives the Leafs the option to call him up in cap space/injuries justify it down the road)
 
Again, with so few games, with much of the talent made up of AHlers and with the games against weaker clubs, it is hard to be very certain of the preseason impressions.

For what it is worth, here are some thoughts I was left with from training camp:

I saw nothing alarming with the goaltending. I thought they were pretty decent. Nothing conclusive but it could have been worse.

To me the two weakest dmen from last season coming into this one were Holl & Sandin. Holl had some rough moments in the earlier games but came on strong to play pretty well. Sandin looks better than I've ever seen him. If the other current top 4 don't regress with age/injury, and Holl & Sandin continue to play as they have been, the team D will be better than last season.

Bunting, Matthews, Marner & Nylander looked to be in great form.

Jury is still out for me on the the line of Aston-Reese Kampf Aube-Kubel. I didn't see anything wrong with it. They seemed to play their role pretty well and should be hard to play against. I've liked the idea of top 3 scoring lines for years.

Malgin & Robertson provided some optimism as potential top 6 players.

I was encouraged that Kerfoot worked on his faceoffs and had a 57% win% in preseason. I was also encouraged that Jarnkrok will help with faceoff duties for the 3rd line. That should improve over last year. I was a little surprised Jarnkrok didn't get more reps at center as he seems better at faceoffs.

Last year, there seemed to be more uncertainty. Ritchie & Amadio trials failed. Matthews was recovering from wrist surgery. Sandin and Liljegren were getting broken in. Campbell missed some time. They got off to a rough 2W-4L-1OT start.

This year, the 7 D from later last year are around (one on LTIR). The 1st and 4th lines were set quickly. Then the 3rd line. I think they're more settled. If the goalies continue their preseason quality, they should get off to a better start.
 
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