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Armchair GM 2021-2022: Catharsis

Guilt Trip said:
BrownRolo said:
Bring Naz home.
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Hard pass...we don't need another playoff suspension and the trust is long gone.
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He probably costs too much but if somehow you could get him at a deep discount I'd totally bring him back.
 
That's tough to say. It would have been great to get him when Boston traded him or when Calgary traded him but now as a 28-year old about to maybe get $8mil or more on his next deal? I'm a little more hesitant.

If there was a world where he REALLY wanted to live close to the ROM and would take $7mil and the Leafs had a trade lined up to move Rielly for a pretty big return I'd consider it though.
 
When thinking about blue liners I'd want the Leafs to get, Dougie isn't at the top of the list but he could be a nice fit on the problematic power play...
 
I think you'd need to know the other bits of the story. What could the team get for Rielly, what you'd have to give Carolina in the sign and trade, what sort of deal Hamilton would need...

If you could come out of it with, say, a couple of good prospects and a 1st or 2nd/3rd and Hamilton is a reasonable-ish deal, sure.
 
Nik said:
I think you'd need to know the other bits of the story. What could the team get for Rielly, what you'd have to give Carolina in the sign and trade, what sort of deal Hamilton would need...

If you could come out of it with, say, a couple of good prospects and a 1st or 2nd/3rd and Hamilton is a reasonable-ish deal, sure.
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Yeah. I think, at the very least, the Leafs need to have those conversations, and figure out what makes sense. Could this be one of the mythical 3-team deals? Would Carolina take a deal that has Rielly as the centerpiece instead of being focused around picks and prospects?

Adding Hamilton in the right deal would certainly improve the team in the short-term. The Leafs have 3 years with cost certainty among their current core pieces other than Rielly. It's probably the right time to make a big move, and adding Hamilton while subtracting Rielly seems like the most straightforward big move the team can make without further diluting the talent up front.
 
I'm sort of stuck between two extremes:
a) roll it back with the whole main crew, maybe some minor modifications with the cheapo brigade (younger, faster). It was honestly a very good roster (see regular season results, even against the North).

b) Marner out, Hamilton or Eichel in (and whatever crazypants maneuvers are required), fill in the bottom 6 with players very good at being extremely boring and fetching the puck and really learn to flip the switch as a team between high octane and ACC-ice sludge hockey.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Was scanning through the list of pending UFAs to see if there were any interesting middle-6 forwards who could potentially replace Hyman and/or Kerfoot if we lose them to FA/expansion. A couple of names immediately jumped out at me in Mikael Granlund and Blake Coleman, both of whom have been linked to the Leafs in the past. Jaden Schwartz was another tempting name if he's looking for a show-me type deal after a down-ish season.

Then the name of 25-year old, Group 6 UFA Michael Bunting caught my eye. I recalled an Arizona Coyotes reporter/observer speak pretty highly of him earlier this year. Some quick background info: he's 5'11" and 197lbs, turns 26 years old this September, was a former 4th round pick of the Coyotes way back in 2014, didn't played AAA hockey until he was 16 years old, and has just 26 NHL games under his belt. After his OHL career finished he spent 5 years in the AHL and slowly but steadily improved each year. This season he popped off with 19 points in 16 AHL games and that earned him a call-up to the NHL where he scored 10 goals and had 13 points in 21 games. He's unlikely to keep up a 26.3% shooting percentage but he also had some very good underlying numbers as well. He's generally described as a hard-working, pest type player.

Did I mention that he played his OHL hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds where he was selected in the ninth round of the OHL draft by Kyle Dubas and coached by Sheldon Keefe? Certainly sounds like a very intriguing late-bloomer type player that the Leafs might be interested in this offseason.
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https://twitter.com/JMallory9/status/1405514252924882949
I read that initially as uninspiring... but then my brain corrected  :)
 
https://jmalloryhockey.substack.com/p/examining-michael-buntings-goal-scoring said:
Special Teams Usage: He thrived as a net-front player on the power play tipping pucks and cleaning up rebounds. It would be prudent of Bunting?s potential suitors to have a plan in place to emulate his PP situation in ARI if they want a comparable PP impact next season.
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Hmmmm
 
CarltonTheBear said:
https://jmalloryhockey.substack.com/p/examining-michael-buntings-goal-scoring said:
Special Teams Usage: He thrived as a net-front player on the power play tipping pucks and cleaning up rebounds. It would be prudent of Bunting?s potential suitors to have a plan in place to emulate his PP situation in ARI if they want a comparable PP impact next season.
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Hmmmm
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https://jmalloryhockey.substack.com/p/examining-michael-buntings-goal-scoring said:
Deployment: He was deployed perfectly as a garbage man (finisher), primarily off the rush, on a line with two impactful and shifty play-driving forwards.
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This part didn't get you first?
 
herman said:
https://jmalloryhockey.substack.com/p/examining-michael-buntings-goal-scoring said:
Deployment: He was deployed perfectly as a garbage man (finisher), primarily off the rush, on a line with two impactful and shifty play-driving forwards.
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This part didn't get you first?
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3rd line Michael Bunting, don't read this...

...

...

Top-6 Michael Bunting, hello.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
https://jmalloryhockey.substack.com/p/examining-michael-buntings-goal-scoring said:
Special Teams Usage: He thrived as a net-front player on the power play tipping pucks and cleaning up rebounds. It would be prudent of Bunting?s potential suitors to have a plan in place to emulate his PP situation in ARI if they want a comparable PP impact next season.
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Hmmmm
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Hyman replacement....sign him!
 
I like the idea of signing Bunting but if the move of the offseason is let Hyman walk and replace him with Bunting we aren't going to be a great team next year.
 
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