Armchair GM 2018-2019

[AvroArrow]

So, Marleau... Any chance he retires or agrees to move on?  He's clearly in decline at a high rate.  His play wasn't even worth half his cap hit.

As for Zaitsev, hopefully Dubas can move that contract without receiving another bad contract back... he was decent for most of the playoffs, but just not good enough for that contract.  And he can't move the puck for poop.

Brown - I like his hustle, but we can't afford his cap hit on the 4th line.

I'd keep Kapanen and Johnson if possible - they're both good mid-range players.  Hopefully they don't ask for the moon.

Gauthier sucks - not good enough for playoffs hockey.  Borderline not good enough for regular season hockey.

I've said it elsewhere, but I'd move Kadri.  What a jackass.

I'd let Gardiner walk and look for an alternative.  However, at the right price, I wouldn't hate him coming back.

Hainsey should be gone.  We need someone better.  Ditto Oz and Marincin.

 

[Guilt Trip]

So, Marleau... Any chance he retires or agrees to move on?  He's clearly in decline at a high rate.  His play wasn't even worth half his cap hit.

As for Zaitsev, hopefully Dubas can move that contract without receiving another bad contract back... he was decent for most of the playoffs, but just not good enough for that contract.  And he can't move the puck for poop.

Brown - I like his hustle, but we can't afford his cap hit on the 4th line.

I'd keep Kapanen and Johnson if possible - they're both good mid-range players.  Hopefully they don't ask for the moon.

Gauthier sucks - not good enough for playoffs hockey.  Borderline not good enough for regular season hockey.

I've said it elsewhere, but I'd move Kadri.  What a jackass.

I'd let Gardiner walk and look for an alternative.  However, at the right price, I wouldn't hate him coming back.

Hainsey should be gone.  We need someone better.  Ditto Oz and Marincin.

Gardiner isn't signing for 4 mill and isn't good enough defensively to warrant anything more then that. We have to get the kids playing. Hope Liljegren, Rosen, and possibly Sandin are ready next season.
We need an upgrade at 4th line centre. Goat is not for us.
Add Hyman to the list. Can't pay a guy 2.3 mill to be a checker. That line needs an upgrade on left wing. When Hyman was out, the line never missed a beat. Moore will do fine and is 1.4 cheaper.

 

[Zee]

So, Marleau... Any chance he retires or agrees to move on?  He's clearly in decline at a high rate.  His play wasn't even worth half his cap hit.

As for Zaitsev, hopefully Dubas can move that contract without receiving another bad contract back... he was decent for most of the playoffs, but just not good enough for that contract.  And he can't move the puck for poop.

Brown - I like his hustle, but we can't afford his cap hit on the 4th line.

I'd keep Kapanen and Johnson if possible - they're both good mid-range players.  Hopefully they don't ask for the moon.

Gauthier sucks - not good enough for playoffs hockey.  Borderline not good enough for regular season hockey.

I've said it elsewhere, but I'd move Kadri.  What a jackass.

I'd let Gardiner walk and look for an alternative.  However, at the right price, I wouldn't hate him coming back.

Hainsey should be gone.  We need someone better.  Ditto Oz and Marincin.

Marleau "retiring" without an injury does the Leafs no good cap-wise.  He has to agree to leave or pull a Hossa where they can get rid of his cap hit because he's supposedly too injured to play anymore.

 

[cabber24]

So, Marleau... Any chance he retires or agrees to move on?  He's clearly in decline at a high rate.  His play wasn't even worth half his cap hit.

As for Zaitsev, hopefully Dubas can move that contract without receiving another bad contract back... he was decent for most of the playoffs, but just not good enough for that contract.  And he can't move the puck for poop.

Brown - I like his hustle, but we can't afford his cap hit on the 4th line.

I'd keep Kapanen and Johnson if possible - they're both good mid-range players.  Hopefully they don't ask for the moon.

Gauthier sucks - not good enough for playoffs hockey.  Borderline not good enough for regular season hockey.

I've said it elsewhere, but I'd move Kadri.  What a jackass.

I'd let Gardiner walk and look for an alternative.  However, at the right price, I wouldn't hate him coming back.

Hainsey should be gone.  We need someone better.  Ditto Oz and Marincin.

Marleau "retiring" without an injury does the Leafs no good cap-wise.  He has to agree to leave or pull a Hossa where they can get rid of his cap hit because he's supposedly too injured to play anymore.

Any 40+ year old can get a doctor to tell them it's not a good idea to play hockey anymore.

 

[Zee]

So, Marleau... Any chance he retires or agrees to move on?  He's clearly in decline at a high rate.  His play wasn't even worth half his cap hit.

As for Zaitsev, hopefully Dubas can move that contract without receiving another bad contract back... he was decent for most of the playoffs, but just not good enough for that contract.  And he can't move the puck for poop.

Brown - I like his hustle, but we can't afford his cap hit on the 4th line.

I'd keep Kapanen and Johnson if possible - they're both good mid-range players.  Hopefully they don't ask for the moon.

Gauthier sucks - not good enough for playoffs hockey.  Borderline not good enough for regular season hockey.

I've said it elsewhere, but I'd move Kadri.  What a jackass.

I'd let Gardiner walk and look for an alternative.  However, at the right price, I wouldn't hate him coming back.

Hainsey should be gone.  We need someone better.  Ditto Oz and Marincin.

Marleau "retiring" without an injury does the Leafs no good cap-wise.  He has to agree to leave or pull a Hossa where they can get rid of his cap hit because he's supposedly too injured to play anymore.

Any 40+ year old can get a doctor to tell them it's not a good idea to play hockey anymore.

Consecutive games streak + all time games played number.  Marleau is a proud guy he's not going to just walk away and Leafs can't force him to.  Let's all thank Lou for $10.75million dollars of cap space we could better use if we didn't have Marleau and Zaitsev.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Consecutive games streak + all time games played number.  Marleau is a proud guy he's not going to just walk away and Leafs can't force him to.  Let's all thank Lou for $10.75million dollars of cap space we could better use if we didn't have Marleau and Zaitsev.

He's a proud guy, so after some reflecting in the offseason he could see how ineffective his game is right now. Guys like him don't want to finish their careers as a 4th liner. I'm still expecting him here next season until told otherwise, but if he does decide to stop playing it's likely because of his pride.

 

[Zee]

Consecutive games streak + all time games played number.  Marleau is a proud guy he's not going to just walk away and Leafs can't force him to.  Let's all thank Lou for $10.75million dollars of cap space we could better use if we didn't have Marleau and Zaitsev.

He's a proud guy, so after some reflecting in the offseason he could see how ineffective his game is right now. Guys like him don't want to finish their careers as a 4th liner. I'm still expecting him here next season until told otherwise, but if he does decide to stop playing it's likely because of his pride.

That would be the best case scenario for the Leafs going forward but I'm not anticipating it.

 

[Andy007]

So for some reason it was reported that the Oilers were interested in Brown this season and that the Leafs tried to facilitate a Brown for Larsson swap, to no avail. Perhaps we can convince them that Zaitsev is a viable replacement?

I wonder if something to the effect of this would work:
Brown + Zaitsev + pick (3rd?) or prospect (Timashov?) and/or Gauthier for Larsson? The cap savings (approx. 3 million) could allow for a Lovejoy signing to solidify the back end of that RD.

Potentially we could have next year:

Johnsson            Matthews    Marner
Moore                  Tavares      Nylander
Marleau                Kadri          Kapanen
Marchment/Hyman  Petan        Bracco

                    Muzzin- Rielly
                  Dermott Larsson
                    Rosen-  Lovejoy
                          Holl

 

[dappleganger]

I wouldn't be surprised if Marleau is thinking of retirement. He probably realizes he can't play at a level he wants to be at and is a proud guy. Retiring doesn't help the Leafs because they are still on the hook for his cap hit and he still has $4.25m owing to him if he shows up.  :-\

I think he's the 3rd line LF next season. I don't think there's any way around that.

 

[Zee]

I wouldn't be surprised if Marleau is thinking of retirement. He probably realizes he can't play at a level he wants to be at and is a proud guy. Retiring doesn't help the Leafs because they are still on the hook for his cap hit and he still has $4.25m owing to him if he shows up.  :-\

I think he's the 3rd line LF next season. I don't think there's any way around that.

Pride goes both ways.  There's probably still a part of him that thinks he can come back and be better than he was this past season.  Sometimes it's difficult to admit the body can't do what it used to do.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I wouldn't be surprised if Marleau is thinking of retirement. He probably realizes he can't play at a level he wants to be at and is a proud guy. Retiring doesn't help the Leafs because they are still on the hook for his cap hit and he still has $4.25m owing to him if he shows up.  :-\

I think he's the 3rd line LF next season. I don't think there's any way around that.

If he "retires" he's getting LTIR'd for a sore back or something.

 

[Bullfrog]

He's completely fine as a third line winger, but do you really need a $6M third line winger? I'm with Carlton, I think he's coming back to finish his contract.

But if he does retire, the Leafs can probably find a suitor for his contract. Maybe even Ottawa takes it on? It's not like they'll be anywhere near the cap. I can't imagine it'd cost that much for them to take it.

 

[Zee]

He's completely fine as a third line winger, but do you really need a $6M third line winger? I'm with Carlton, I think he's coming back to finish his contract.

But if he does retire, the Leafs can probably find a suitor for his contract. Maybe even Ottawa takes it on? It's not like they'll be anywhere near the cap. I can't imagine it'd cost that much for them to take it.

I don't agree that's he's fine as a 3rd line winger.  He had 0 goals this series, that's 4th line material.  Even if his salary was only $2M I wouldn't think he was a 3rd line acceptable winger at this stage of his career.

I highly doubt he would accept a trade to Ottawa.  Maybe if the Sharks want him back for some reason to retire a Shark.

 

[Zee]

If you're an Athletic subscriber, great article by a Boston writer:

How Bruce Cassidy outcoached Mike Babcock

https://theathletic.com/941969/2019/04/24/how-bruce-cassidy-outcoached-mike-babcock/

 

[Chris]

He's completely fine as a third line winger, but do you really need a $6M third line winger? I'm with Carlton, I think he's coming back to finish his contract.

But if he does retire, the Leafs can probably find a suitor for his contract. Maybe even Ottawa takes it on? It's not like they'll be anywhere near the cap. I can't imagine it'd cost that much for them to take it.

I don't agree that's he's fine as a 3rd line winger.  He had 0 goals this series, that's 4th line material.  Even if his salary was only $2M I wouldn't think he was a 3rd line acceptable winger at this stage of his career.

I highly doubt he would accept a trade to Ottawa.  Maybe if the Sharks want him back for some reason to retire a Shark.

Maybe if you have two other skilled players on the 3rd line (Kadri/Kapanen perhaps). Maybe he's OK then, he can go stand in front of the net. But his deficiencies were plainly visible in this playoff series when he was paired up with Brown as the other winger.

He can't handle the puck. It goes to the other team almost every time. He doesn't win puck battles. He's really not physical (it's becoming obvious how he's managed to play 5000 games in a row).

His contract is really going to hurt the team next year if he's still here.

 

[Bullfrog]

He's completely fine as a third line winger, but do you really need a $6M third line winger? I'm with Carlton, I think he's coming back to finish his contract.

But if he does retire, the Leafs can probably find a suitor for his contract. Maybe even Ottawa takes it on? It's not like they'll be anywhere near the cap. I can't imagine it'd cost that much for them to take it.

I don't agree that's he's fine as a 3rd line winger.  He had 0 goals this series, that's 4th line material.  Even if his salary was only $2M I wouldn't think he was a 3rd line acceptable winger at this stage of his career.

I highly doubt he would accept a trade to Ottawa.  Maybe if the Sharks want him back for some reason to retire a Shark.

Meh, he had a bad playoffs, but I don't think he's the boat anchor some are making him out to be. Either way, he's nowhere near worth his contract.

The trade to Ottawa isn't Marleau, it's Marleau's cap hit. The trade was suggested IF he retires this off season. His cap hit would still be on Toronto's books. They'd have to flip a draft pick or prospect to Ottawa (or another team with lots of cap space) to have them take on his contract. Ottawa wouldn't have to pay Marleau a dime [he'd be retired]

Anyway, to be clear: I don't think Marleau intends on retiring and we'll be stuck with his cap hit. I wish he would though; that $6M will be needed to pay our mid-tier guys and to have a chance at picking up another quality defenseman to replace Gardiner.

 

[Bender]

He's completely fine as a third line winger, but do you really need a $6M third line winger? I'm with Carlton, I think he's coming back to finish his contract.

But if he does retire, the Leafs can probably find a suitor for his contract. Maybe even Ottawa takes it on? It's not like they'll be anywhere near the cap. I can't imagine it'd cost that much for them to take it.

I don't agree that's he's fine as a 3rd line winger.  He had 0 goals this series, that's 4th line material.  Even if his salary was only $2M I wouldn't think he was a 3rd line acceptable winger at this stage of his career.

I highly doubt he would accept a trade to Ottawa.  Maybe if the Sharks want him back for some reason to retire a Shark.

Meh, he had a bad playoffs, but I don't think he's the boat anchor some are making him out to be. Either way, he's nowhere near worth his contract.

The trade to Ottawa isn't Marleau, it's Marleau's cap hit. The trade was suggested IF he retires this off season. His cap hit would still be on Toronto's books. They'd have to flip a draft pick or prospect to Ottawa (or another team with lots of cap space) to have them take on his contract. Ottawa wouldn't have to pay Marleau a dime [he'd be retired]

Anyway, to be clear: I don't think Marleau intends on retiring and we'll be stuck with his cap hit. I wish he would though; that $6M will be needed to pay our mid-tier guys and to have a chance at picking up another quality defenseman to replace Gardiner.

Marleau at that contract is absolutely a boat anchor. I think he's been one of the Leafs worst players all season and he'll only be worse next year. We can no longer afford bad value contracts like his or Zaitsev's

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Meh, he had a bad playoffs, but I don't think he's the boat anchor some are making him out to be. Either way, he's nowhere near worth his contract.

Marleau at that contract is absolutely a boat anchor. I think he's been one of the Leafs worst players all season and he'll only be worse next year. We can no longer afford bad value contracts like his or Zaitsev's

Yeah it wasn't just a bad playoffs too, he had 3 goals and 8 points in his last 25 regular season games and just generally didn't look nearly as effective as he was the season prior.

For next season only in terms of performance vs. cap hit, I'd say Marleau at $6mil is much worse than Zaitsev at $4.5mil. And I've made it pretty clear what I think about Zaitsev.

 

[cabber24]

I doubt he is currently tradeable so we might as well look at the bright side.

Zaitsev had a good playoff and some good chemistry with Muzzin. I am okay continuing this experiment. We need right-handed defensemen and if he can continue his playoff play into next season we have a decent pairing to play against the opponents best.

 

[Bullfrog]

Meh, he had a bad playoffs, but I don't think he's the boat anchor some are making him out to be. Either way, he's nowhere near worth his contract.

Marleau at that contract is absolutely a boat anchor. I think he's been one of the Leafs worst players all season and he'll only be worse next year. We can no longer afford bad value contracts like his or Zaitsev's

Yeah it wasn't just a bad playoffs too, he had 3 goals and 8 points in his last 25 regular season games and just generally didn't look nearly as effective as he was the season prior.

For next season only in terms of performance vs. cap hit, I'd say Marleau at $6mil is much worse than Zaitsev at $4.5mil. And I've made it pretty clear what I think about Zaitsev.

I can agree with that. Ignoring his contract, 16 goals and 37 points are pretty decent for a third line winger. I'll concede though, that he spent a decent amount of time as Matthew's winger.