herman said:
I guess. But in a 3rd pairing role I figured Brannstrom wouldn't even need a defence partner to be effective.
Kovalchuk sweepstakes are on
- Thread starter CarltonTheBear
- Start date
I guess. But in a 3rd pairing role I figured Brannstrom wouldn't even need a defence partner to be effective.
disco said:
I wonder if a 2 year deal at a cap-hit higher than teams who are offering 3 years would entice him. Would be a good move to capitalize on Matthews and Marner's last 2 ELC years.
http://www.tsn.ca/report-leafs-express-interest-in-kovalchuk-1.770303
So if the Leafs give up assets in the form of forward prospects, and then trade JVR for a less equivalent haul of defensive prospects, then this sort of prospect laundering scheme would be okay by me. However, of they trade for Kovalchuk, and then keep JVR, that seems like they are building a team that is ultimately going to be forward heavy.
So if the Leafs give up assets in the form of forward prospects, and then trade JVR for a less equivalent haul of defensive prospects, then this sort of prospect laundering scheme would be okay by me. However, of they trade for Kovalchuk, and then keep JVR, that seems like they are building a team that is ultimately going to be forward heavy.
herman
Well-known member
The TSN article says we have 40+M in space but that's referring to 2018-19.
We have Hyman/Brown/4C/2G (let's pall bark an upper bound of 8M for all four) left to sign at minimum, and we're pretty much up against the performance bonus cushion ceiling before it starts to eat away at our actual cap ceiling.
This means bad news for Rychel, Rosen, Borgman as they'll be less likely to be accommodated due to their potential bonuses, and great news for Kapanen and Dermott who, thanks to signing their ELCs right out of the gate after the draft, now have 0 performance bonuses.
That leaves about 4-5M for UFA. If we move JvR/Bozak, that's another ~4M to play with. If we want Shattenkirk or Kovalchuk, that third line needs to be traded off, freeing up Marner to play Kadri's or Matthews' wing.
Kovalchuk makes more sense to spend on than Shattenkirk, especially with the NJD trade freeing up contract slots and cap room. Forward heavy + mobile defense (even average ones) can work as long as you don't play conservatively.
We have Hyman/Brown/4C/2G (let's pall bark an upper bound of 8M for all four) left to sign at minimum, and we're pretty much up against the performance bonus cushion ceiling before it starts to eat away at our actual cap ceiling.
This means bad news for Rychel, Rosen, Borgman as they'll be less likely to be accommodated due to their potential bonuses, and great news for Kapanen and Dermott who, thanks to signing their ELCs right out of the gate after the draft, now have 0 performance bonuses.
That leaves about 4-5M for UFA. If we move JvR/Bozak, that's another ~4M to play with. If we want Shattenkirk or Kovalchuk, that third line needs to be traded off, freeing up Marner to play Kadri's or Matthews' wing.
Kovalchuk makes more sense to spend on than Shattenkirk, especially with the NJD trade freeing up contract slots and cap room. Forward heavy + mobile defense (even average ones) can work as long as you don't play conservatively.
herman said:
The other day his old Russian team put his name on their online roster along with a couple other players. That could very well mean nothing, but I'm kinda hoping the KHL promises him a spot on the Olympic team and poaches him to be honest. Even ignoring the fact that he was awful as a Leaf, his $1.45mil cap hit is too high for a 6/7 defenceman.
Kin
New member
I realize it's being done for working out hypotheticals but the idea of not trading JVR can't really be being entertained, can it? I mean at some point this team needs to get realistic about what's on its back end and signing JVR to an extension seems like not only unworkable but highly ill-advised.
Nik the Trik said:
I think that the armchair-GM in me sees/wants him traded but the "try to be realistic"-GM in me thinks that the organization wants to hold onto him.
dappleganger
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
I guarantee both Bracco and Dermott are better NHL defensemen than Marchenko, and at less money, without having played a game at that level.
Dappleganger said:
Swapping him for Corrado was a pretty pointless waste of (admittedly a small amount) cap space.
herman said:
I imagine it was a faux pas.
As for the bolded, neither did Marchenko really.
herman said:
I doubt Rosen's bonuses will be a major consideration when deciding if he's on the team or not.
Although, somewhat to Nik's point a few posts up, a big goal (if not the biggest goal) in this offseason should be to find a way to bump Carrick down to the 3rd pairing where he likely belongs. If it's by landing a big fish like Shattenkirk or a smaller fish like Smith in free agency or by trading JVR or Kapanen or somebody for a Vatanen-type, something NEEDS to happen there.