2024-25 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion

[herman]

Presently, I doubt he cracks the top 7 so he'll probably have to clear waivers. That might not be automatic.

I think he might stick, even though we have too many LD. He's sort of Benoit insurance in case last season was just a flash in the pan. And Tanev/Hakanpaa are bound to spend some time on the shelf. Timmins is (sadly) a non-entity at this point unless Hakanpaa completely flubs the physicals (start on LTIR?).

Rielly-Tanev
Benoit-McCabe*
Ekman-Larsson*-Liljegren
Rifai-Timmins/Hakanpaa

*LD that can play right side; Mikko Kokkonen is in this category too as another waiver-exempt option.

I also do not believe he is the same height as Mitch Marner lol

 

[Joe S.]

Is Hakanpaa even actually under contract?

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Is Hakanpaa even actually under contract?

No. At this point I wouldn't even consider him on the team until an update comes.

 

[cw]

Presently, I doubt he cracks the top 7 so he'll probably have to clear waivers. That might not be automatic.

I think he might stick, even though we have too many LD. He's sort of Benoit insurance in case last season was just a flash in the pan. And Tanev/Hakanpaa are bound to spend some time on the shelf. Timmins is (sadly) a non-entity at this point unless Hakanpaa completely flubs the physicals (start on LTIR?).

Rielly-Tanev
Benoit-McCabe*
Ekman-Larsson*-Liljegren
Rifai-Timmins/Hakanpaa

*LD that can play right side; Mikko Kokkonen is in this category too as another waiver-exempt option.

I also do not believe he is the same height as Mitch Marner lol

"he might stick"

an injury or trade could do that.

Hakanpaa seems iffy at best (I liked him if he was healthy). If it worked out, I thought they might flip Liljegren for cap space or as a part of a deal for a 3rd line center.

Maybe Rifai can beat out Timmins though that right handed shot and offence might be harder to part with

They're going to have 2-3 new dmen in the top 6 dmen. A hunk of preseason will be Berube trying to figure out and settle those pairings. So the chances the bubble dmen get will be limited.

With that much uncertainty, I'll have Rifai on the bubble and see what happens.

 

[bustaheims]

Presently, I doubt he cracks the top 7 so he'll probably have to clear waivers. That might not be automatic.

The extra years on his deal might help him sneak through waivers, especially in the pre-season when there's a glut of equivalent guys available with less commitment. I suspect most organizations have a Rifai or two in their system.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Is Hakanpaa even actually under contract?

No. At this point I wouldn't even consider him on the team until an update comes.

Oh I had missed a small update I guess:

https://x.com/Banx_Leaf/status/1831774363311595792

I'm torn. I think despite his likely 5-on-5 struggles Hakanpaa would provide a much needed element to the team (penalty killing specifically). But adding $1.5mil to the defence, assuming the original contract is kept, makes things tricky cap wise. Nothing to do but wait and see I guess.

 

[cw]

Presently, I doubt he cracks the top 7 so he'll probably have to clear waivers. That might not be automatic.

The extra years on his deal might help him sneak through waivers, especially in the pre-season when there's a glut of equivalent guys available with less commitment. I suspect most organizations have a Rifai or two in their system.

https://puckpedia.com/player/marshall-rifai

It looks like he's more likely to stick around/clear waivers if the above is accurate:
his AHL salary is $775,000 for the next two years after this one @ $200,000.

That may not discourage a wealthy club like the Rangers maybe but it will discourage a number of smaller market teams.

 

[Deebo]

https://twitter.com/darrendreger/status/1833488938394157087

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Well that's interesting. Because the cap space simply isn't there for everyone (unless the Hakanpaa deal is like league minimum instead of $1.5mil).

As things stand with 13 NHL forwards (including guys like Robertson, Holmberg, Reaves, but NOT Cowan), 6 NHL defencemen (so not including Timmins), and 2 goalies the Leafs have almost exactly $1.5mil left in cap space.

So enough to still fit in Hakanpaa at $1.5mil if the Leafs stick with the original agreement. If Pacioretty comes in at around league minimum he could essentially be battling Robertson and Holmberg for a line-up spot but 1 of them wouldn't make the roster due to cap issues. Barring a trade of course.

 

[bustaheims]

Patches is eligible for a one year bonus laden deal, since he's over 35 - so, fitting him under the cap this year is relatively easy. It would just mean pushing any bonuses he achieves to next year's cap. Not ideal, but workable.

 

[cabber24]

Patches is eligible for a one year bonus laden deal, since he's over 35 - so, fitting him under the cap this year is relatively easy. It would just mean pushing any bonuses he achieves to next year's cap. Not ideal, but workable.

I am a pass with Robertson signed and Cowan knocking at the door.

 

[bustaheims]

I am a pass with Robertson signed and Cowan knocking at the door.

Patches adds size and a level of physicality (not to mention an NHL track record) that Robertson doesn't and Cowan is still TBD on. Also, he's defensively responsible, which Robertson certainly is not.

I wouldn't be turning him signing a 1-year down because of either of them - especially not Cowan, who may not last on the NHL roster past the first couple weeks. At worst, he's a depth add. At best, he's a solid contributor who, if he's healed enough, can play the Hyman type role in the top 6 (something, again, Robertson can't and Cowan is still TBD).

 

[Bender]

I am a pass with Robertson signed and Cowan knocking at the door.

Patches adds size and a level of physicality (not to mention an NHL track record) that Robertson doesn't and Cowan is still TBD on. Also, he's defensively responsible, which Robertson certainly is not.

I wouldn't be turning him signing a 1-year down because of either of them - especially not Cowan, who may not last on the NHL roster past the first couple weeks. At worst, he's a depth add. At best, he's a solid contributor who, if he's healed enough, can play the Hyman type role in the top 6 (something, again, Robertson can't and Cowan is still TBD).

I'm definitely not against it. We're so thin with winger depth, I'm sure we'll run into injuries etc. that will necessitate some depth and his numbers last year were reasonable, especially since he's a two way forward playing on a terrible Caps team. I don't see too much downside with this.

 

[ZBBM]

I think people may be expecting too much out of Cowan.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I'm definitely not against it. We're so thin with winger depth, I'm sure we'll run into injuries etc. that will necessitate some depth and his numbers last year were reasonable, especially since he's a two way forward playing on a terrible Caps team. I don't see too much downside with this.

Well the downside is he looks good enough in camp that he earns a roster spot but we have to move/waive a guy like Robertson or Holmberg to make room for that to happen. Then what happens if Pacioretty starts showing his age later in the season or worse yet suffers another injury and we don't have a Robertson or Holmberg (or Cowan who wouldn't be able to get called up) to replace him.

I'm not against signing Pacioretty (although I think it makes a little bit less sense with Robertson finally signed) but I don't think it's a risk-free signing exactly considering our potential cap space situation.

 

[cabber24]

I mean if we're talking about a league-minimum signing the Leafs shouldn't be in a position where they cannot afford to have a few of them on the books as depth players...

 

[herman]

I would prefer to keep Cowan up instead of signing Pacioretty, and then sending Cowan down when the World Juniors comes around if he is struggling with the game speed. He can finish the season with another likely Mem Cup run while Alex Nylander gets a late SPC.

The goal is Cowan's development: gotta see the game speed to feel how much further you have to push and push again.

The benefit is Cowan will have a year on his first contract where the numbers are meh and we can extend him on his second deal to something that is not crazy, like 6x6 if he consistently hits 40+ pts in his final two ELC seasons.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

https://x.com/frank_seravalli/status/1833547104783897039
https://x.com/TheFourthPeriod/status/1833544872374243707

Interesting. The only real cap clearing options for the Leafs would be Kampf or Jarnkrok. Or I guess Reaves but I'm skeptical they're looking at that option. I've never really been against moving Kampf or Jarnkrok but after not really acquiring any legit NHL defensive forwards this offseason I don't know if we can really afford to see one of them go.

 

[Bender]

I'm definitely not against it. We're so thin with winger depth, I'm sure we'll run into injuries etc. that will necessitate some depth and his numbers last year were reasonable, especially since he's a two way forward playing on a terrible Caps team. I don't see too much downside with this.

Well the downside is he looks good enough in camp that he earns a roster spot but we have to move/waive a guy like Robertson or Holmberg to make room for that to happen. Then what happens if Pacioretty starts showing his age later in the season or worse yet suffers another injury and we don't have a Robertson or Holmberg (or Cowan who wouldn't be able to get called up) to replace him.

I'm not against signing Pacioretty (although I think it makes a little bit less sense with Robertson finally signed) but I don't think it's a risk-free signing exactly considering our potential cap space situation.

Before I saw news of Robertson probably being traded my thought is they wouldn't sacrifice young, cost controlled talent for MP unless they were absolutely sure there was no viable future with said player.

 

[Bender]

I would prefer to keep Cowan up instead of signing Pacioretty, and then sending Cowan down when the World Juniors comes around if he is struggling with the game speed. He can finish the season with another likely Mem Cup run while Alex Nylander gets a late SPC.

The goal is Cowan's development: gotta see the game speed to feel how much further you have to push and push again.

The benefit is Cowan will have a year on his first contract where the numbers are meh and we can extend him on his second deal to something that is not crazy, like 6x6 if he consistently hits 40+ pts in his final two ELC seasons.

I mean Cowan should only stay up if he's earned it, which is why the PTO for Max makes a lot of sense.