Holland placed on waivers, signs contract [1 year, $1.3mil AAV]
- Thread starter CarltonTheBear
- Start date
There must be more to this. Perhaps he has issues off the ice. Maybe he's a cancer in the dressing room. Maybe he has a poor work ethic. Maybe he's lazy with his conditioning or his nutrition. We just don't know. But for the Leafs to cut bait on a young player like him it says a lot.
L K
Active member
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
Greening - 41 point pace in 14 minutes, I might disagree a bit on Michalek but if he bounces back I think he has better deadline value than Holland. I was never a huge Holland fan so I'm not really all that fussed. I think the biggest thing is I want to see spots opened up so younger players can take them. I don't want it to simply be a way to ensure that guys like Michalek are handed every-day spots based on old reputation.
WAYNEINIONA
New member
I'm not surprised he got waived and won't be surprised if he gets claimed.
Highlander
Active member
I liked Holland, loved his Opus. Seriously a boy from Caledon where I grew up should be in the Blue and White, however the Leafs are stocking on talent that will need an expression very soon. If he clears waivers he gets a one year deal and kick in the arse from Babcock saying "Show Me".
herman
Well-known member
Did a bit more reading up on this move on /r/leafs: As an arbitration tactic, it has its merits and Leafs have a pretty good chance coming out on top in most scenarios.
If Holland is claimed on waivers, pre-arbitration, the claiming team now has jacked up his price, compared to if he was placed on waivers with an existing contract.
If Holland is not claimed, we go into arbitration with the evidence that he is not as valuable as he seems and the team gets a friendlier deal. Holland can start the season in the AHL and get some prime minutes to drive his value back up (a la Arcobello).
It's not a direct comparison (UFA vs RFA), but Matt Martin got 4 years @ 2.5M AAV for his high water mark of 19 pts last season, playing 4th line minutes.
If Holland is claimed on waivers, pre-arbitration, the claiming team now has jacked up his price, compared to if he was placed on waivers with an existing contract.
If Holland is not claimed, we go into arbitration with the evidence that he is not as valuable as he seems and the team gets a friendlier deal. Holland can start the season in the AHL and get some prime minutes to drive his value back up (a la Arcobello).
It's not a direct comparison (UFA vs RFA), but Matt Martin got 4 years @ 2.5M AAV for his high water mark of 19 pts last season, playing 4th line minutes.
That's actually not that bad. Generally the arbitrator just splits it down the middle so $1.5mil would be fine.
Cap-wise at least, you can still definitely make the argument the roster spot is better used for a younger player.
Frank E
Active member
Even at $1.5, I'm not sure there's a point to having him in the lineup over the other options currently available.
I understand that management wants competition for roster spots, but do we really care about the competition for a 4th line centre job?
What might be learned here is that you don't put mediocre players in positions to get points during a RFA contract season.
I understand that management wants competition for roster spots, but do we really care about the competition for a 4th line centre job?
What might be learned here is that you don't put mediocre players in positions to get points during a RFA contract season.
Kin
New member
Frank E said:
Seriously. Ideally right now roster spots should be used on one of four things:
1) Young established players
2) Prospect types in developmental roles
3) Older players who might serve as trade bait/are here because of their contracts
4) Useful role players
Does Holland really fit in any of those categories? Martin might not either but, well, that's why a lot of people thought signing Martin wasn't too smart.
Misty
New member
Nik the Trik said:
Based on occasional comments from Babcock, also (unless this falls under your #4)
5) A few veterans with exemplary on- and off-ice professional work habits to set an example/standard for the kids about what it takes to be a "man" or a "pro's pro"
I suspect that's the appeal he finds in Laich and could very well have been a large factor in their desire to acquire Martin.
Holland seems to have had issues throughout his playing career of constantly being inconsistent in his efforts. He'll have a few shifts or even entire games where he's very noticeable on the ice (in a good way) but then he always seems to lapse into stretches where he doesn't seem to be contributing to things as anything other than a warm body. Comparing what you see from him to the work put in by someone like Uncle Leo or Hyman when he was up, Holland just doesn't seem to have the same drive or urgency to his game. It's too bad because Holland probably has better overall skills, when he takes the trouble to use them.
