dappleganger
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
Save him for the playoffs.
Armchair GM Thread 2024-25
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
Save him for the playoffs.
What do you guys think of finding Robertson a new home (not sure they could get much more then a 3rd rounder in return) and then signing Ufa Alex Nylander to a 1 year? I'm sure he would be super motivated to come and play with his brother and could move up and down the lineup as needed. I know he isnt a physical player but at 6'1 I would feel way better about him winning board battles in either end than Robertson.
gunnar36 said:
Buffalo gave up on him.
Chicago gave up on him.
Pens waived him twice in Oct '22 and Oct '23 - no takers.
Columbus declined to qualify him in Jun '24.
25% of the league signed FA deals July 1 - no takers.
Leafs are on the hook with his brother for $90+ mil.
Why take the risk of ticking him off or upsetting him in a situation where it probably isn't going to end well for his brother trying to crack the roster of a playoff team after he failed to crack the roster and stick with three non-playoff teams?
They would need two way play from him and his brother is not a great example of that.
I'd stay clear of him.
I feel badly for the guy. He was a #8 overall pick and his hockey career is on the rocks (26 yrs old, .55ppg in the AHL, -21) while his brother got an enormous deal and his father was a pretty good NHLer. Has to be very tough to take. Maybe he'd flourish in Europe ...
Robertson ... might take the third rather than losing him on waivers IF they're in that sitaution. Maybe he becomes more tradeable after injuries start opening up roster spots. All that is premature until they know about Hakanpaa and whether Liljegren could be moved to get forward help.
gunnar36 said:
I'm not necessarily sure either player would really have a spot on the Leafs NHL roster so it's not really an either/or type thing.
I'd be down with giving Nylander a Martin Jones-esque contract though. League minimum, with a $100k-ish signing bonus built in to be paid at the start of the season. Leafs get some waiver protection for a guy who could potentially still be a NHL option once injuries hit, Nylander still gets some nice cash to help heal the pain of not making the NHL team. Bonus for Nylander is that even if he does have to spend some/a lot of time in the AHL, which would be a likelihood on any team that signs him, he still gets to live in the same city as his brother and by all indications they are pretty close. Heck Willy might even be able to give him a place to live rent free.
dappleganger
Active member
The Nylander - Nylander - Marner line is gonna be lit. 
dappleganger
Active member
Big Daddy said:
There's no risk signing Alex to a 1-yr/$900k deal, and I do see the potential for a nice reward.
bustaheims
Well-known member
Frank E said:
That doesn?t seem like it would an issue with Willy. He doesn?t let much bother him and he seems to understand the business and winning aspects of the league. Unless Alex is actually performing well and getting the shaft, he?d be in board with whatever needs to happen.
That being said, the younger Nylander seems like a prime candidate for a PTO if he doesn?t sign somewhere. I?d also have no problem signing him to whatever current buriable max cap hit is ($1.15m, I think) - though that does create potential cap complications, it also makes a waivers claim a little less likely.
I looked at some video of Alex in his OHL days. He had some pretty good skill. Not sure what happened. Nobody has touched him so there's something wrong. I'd want to know what that is and have some sort of a shot at a prospective fix before signing him. His recent NHL teams probably thought that when they signed him.
If Hakanpaa signing goes through, Dewar arbitration, Steeves RFA signing and they sort things out with Robertson, that is 4 more NHL contracts, taking them to 47. If Hakanpaa is good to go, they may flip Liljegren for a 3rd line center so they're still at 47. Maybe Robertson is dumped for a pick so that might free up one. You'd want 1 or 2 to give you flexibility for trades. You'd like 1 or 2 for picking up depth guys like Benoit in August last year.
If I had to call it now and they had some idea of how to turn him around and felt it would not be a problem for his brother, I might offer him a PTO to AHL deal path like they did Bellows and if he blows them away, a NHL deal. Leafs can afford to throw some good money at it to attract him. They have great facilities and a good development staff who might be able to straighten him out (probably between the ears). He might be able to stay with his brother and get his career back on track.
My focus would be on getting a 3rd line center who can check and score some (maybe via a Liljegren/Robertson trade).
If Hakanpaa signing goes through, Dewar arbitration, Steeves RFA signing and they sort things out with Robertson, that is 4 more NHL contracts, taking them to 47. If Hakanpaa is good to go, they may flip Liljegren for a 3rd line center so they're still at 47. Maybe Robertson is dumped for a pick so that might free up one. You'd want 1 or 2 to give you flexibility for trades. You'd like 1 or 2 for picking up depth guys like Benoit in August last year.
If I had to call it now and they had some idea of how to turn him around and felt it would not be a problem for his brother, I might offer him a PTO to AHL deal path like they did Bellows and if he blows them away, a NHL deal. Leafs can afford to throw some good money at it to attract him. They have great facilities and a good development staff who might be able to straighten him out (probably between the ears). He might be able to stay with his brother and get his career back on track.
My focus would be on getting a 3rd line center who can check and score some (maybe via a Liljegren/Robertson trade).
dappleganger
Active member
bustaheims said:
Sure, I hear ya, but I only see that happening if the Leafs don't give Alex a fair shake but I don't see that being an issue with this front office. It's worth the risk I guess?
Other than his name I don?t understand at all what the appeal would be.
What?s his ceiling? Kapanen? Honestly what use would be have. He?s not a centre, he?s not a defensive specialist, he?s not a penalty killer, he?s not tough. He doesn?t address any of the needs the leafs have.
What?s his ceiling? Kapanen? Honestly what use would be have. He?s not a centre, he?s not a defensive specialist, he?s not a penalty killer, he?s not tough. He doesn?t address any of the needs the leafs have.
Joe said:
Depth scoring has pretty much always been an issue with the team to some degree. And one thing A. Nylander has shown in his career is that he can score. Wouldn't hurt to have someone like that in the organization, either in the NHL or in the AHL. Again I certainly wouldn't expect him to be playing all 82 games or anything like that but a piece like him can be useful even just as an injury replacement. The Marlies right now have some interesting energy-type players but nobody you'd be able to plug into the top-6 for a short period of time and expect to score.
But sure the Willy connection makes it a little cooler.
