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Leafs @ Blue Jackets - Mar. 22nd, 7:00pm - SN, Fan 590

herman said:
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
Why trade for him then?
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He was part of the Kessel deal that had Kapanen, Spaling, and two other picks coming our way. I'm not sure we traded for Harrington, per se. We were targeting Maatta and couldn't pry him loose.
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Yes, I know.  He was one of their better prospects IIRC.  My only (minor) point is, he didn't get much of a look here and I just find that baffling.  He was kind of the original Corrado (not to the same extent obvs.)
 
herman said:
Yes. I forgot to mention him, remembered after, but then didn't bother to edit because I went to heat up my lunch.

Down the left we have:

JvR
Komarov
Soshnikov (never plays there)
Martin (ha)
Leipsic
Rychel
-- NHL Ready Cut off --
Timashov
Moore
Lindberg
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I'm not taking a position on Harrington/Rychel but honestly I don't think there's a huge difference in the effect either guy eventually has/would have had on the Leafs. Rychel might get a few games down the road but he's not a huge step up from some of the prospects already around, Harrington might have been an emergency option on defense this year but wouldn't have been much long term.

Hope it was a good lunch though.
 
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
Yes, I know.  He was one of their better prospects IIRC.  My only (minor) point is, he didn't get much of a look here and I just find that baffling.  He was kind of the original Corrado (not to the same extent obvs.)
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I get the gist of what you're saying, but I'd more readily apply it to other prospects we gave up on (Panik). I don't ever recall the Penguins holding Harrington in any particular esteem, but I could be wrong.

Rychel was a younger, waiver-exempt former first rounder who played a position we were shallow in, and who was highly touted but disgruntled with his lack of opportunity.

So we moved an older, waiver-eligible left defenseman caught in a logjam (deal with it). My thought at the time was that the Leafs had a bucket of options CBJ could choose from (probably other middling LD), so they picked Harrington.

Harrington got a brief look in the NHL, made it through waivers, struggled with the Marlies, then got injured. It looked like an easy trade to make value-wise from the Leafs' perspective.
 
Nik the Trik said:
I'm not taking a position on Harrington/Rychel but honestly I don't think there's a huge difference in the effect either guy eventually has/would have had on the Leafs. Rychel might get a few games down the road but he's not a huge step up from some of the prospects already around, Harrington might have been an emergency option on defense this year but wouldn't have been much long term.

Hope it was a good lunch though.
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Haha thanks. It was a good lunch.

On-ice wise, that sounds like a pretty fair assessment. They're both depth pieces.

The value in making the Rychel trade was asset control flexibility and getting someone with a higher projected ceiling. And while he might not be a huge step up on existing options, he also provided variety in play style.
 
herman said:
The value in making the Rychel trade was asset control flexibility and getting someone with a higher projected ceiling. And while he might not be a huge step up on existing options, he also provided variety in play style.
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Sure, but there's a limit to the extent that a move like this should be looked exclusively through the prism of Babcock's stubbornness. Realistically there should have been healthy competition for the #3 LHD spot and Harrington would have been in that mix.
 
Nik the Trik said:
herman said:
The value in making the Rychel trade was asset control flexibility and getting someone with a higher projected ceiling. And while he might not be a huge step up on existing options, he also provided variety in play style.
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Sure, but there's a limit to the extent that a move like this should be looked exclusively through the prism of Babcock's stubbornness. Realistically there should have been healthy competition for the #3 LHD spot and Harrington would have been in that mix.
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Babcock's stubbornness not withstanding, I think there still is plenty of competition for that slot once Hunwick vacates (he will right? please?). Marincin, Valiev, Dermott? What would've been a 5 horse race is still at 3, and we got something back for each of the ones lost, rather than poached via waivers.

By potential value, I'd have slotted them:
Dermott (with additional time required)
Marincin
Harrington --> Rychel
Valiev
Loov --> Sergey Kalinin (AHL centre depth)

Nielsen is in the mix too, but a different creature altogether, but I think destined for AHL greatness but not much more.
 
herman said:
Babcock's stubbornness not withstanding, I think there still is plenty of competition for that slot once Hunwick vacates (he will right? please?). Marincin, Valiev, Dermott? What would've been a 5 horse race is still at 3, and we got something back for each of the ones lost, rather than poached via waivers.

By potential value, I'd have slotted them:
Dermott (with additional time required)
Marincin
Harrington --> Rychel
Valiev
Loov --> Sergey Kalinin (AHL centre depth)

Nielsen is in the mix too, but a different creature altogether, but I think destined for AHL greatness but not much more.
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Leaving aside the hopefully unanswered question about why I should care about AHL centre depth, my point was less about the future and more about this current year. Harrington should have been in the mix this year and that was where some of his value was(especially now that we see the playoffs as a goal).

Because, honestly, neither Rychel nor Harrington represent something that couldn't be addressed fairly cheaply through free agency if the need was real.
 
My takeaway from all this?  Our defense sucks and nobody in the pipeline is going to move the needle much.
 
Hyman has his pocket picked, chases down Savard and catches  him as he makes the outlet, Hyman does not make any semblance of a hit on Savard. This is playoff hockey Zach, develop a mean streak please. 
 
Fehr to say. Nothing to Fehr but Fehr itself. Also, Fehr.

Good pace, crisp passes. Both teams have something to fight for.
 
disco said:
Fehr to say. Nothing to Fehr but Fehr itself. Also, Fehr.

Good pace, crisp passes. Both teams have something to fight for.
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OK, wiseapples, I have a riddle for you.

You are just coming off Yonge St. heading onto 401 eastbound when you see a tall guy wearing a Leafs #23 jersey hitchhiking.  You think, he looks OK, maybe I'll give him a lift.  You pull over.  What's the appropriate question to ask him before you let him in?
 
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