Steve Stamkos?

[Kin]

Tlusty and Franson topping the list last year...

Clarkson the year before...

Yeah, this year's list is just a little better than the last two.

Your time line is wrong. Last year's UFA crop wasn't very good. Clarkson was 2013. 2014, on the other hand, had:

Jarome Iginla
Anton Stralman
Paul Stastny
Ryan Miller
Mike Cammalieri
Brooks Orpik
Brad Richards
Thomas Vanek
Matt Niskanen
Kulemin/Grabo

And so on.

 

[TBLeafer]

So step back, and look at the guys we have in our system, its just like before when we had the McCabe, Kab group. just not ready yet. However we do have the parts. I will say by the end of the up coming season you will see that we have had our top four for a bit now.

I am looking at the guys in the system, and I see one realistic top pairing candidate - Rielly. There's a number of potential 2nd pairing guys, and, yeah, maybe one of them will turn out better than expected, but, the odds are that's not going to happen - and, in fact, a significant number of them won't even end up as 2nd pairing guys, and may not turn into NHL players at all.

Just because we didn't draft him doesn't mean Gardiner isn't in our system.  He is more than a potential 2nd pairing guy.  He is a 2nd pairing guy.

We also just added a KHL first team All-Star young D in Zaitsev.

Carrick looks to be very Tyson Barrie like with the way he is developing and how he looked in his short time up with the Leafs and he absolutely killed it on the Marlies.

The group of Rielly, Zaitsev, Gardiner, Carrick could very well develop into a very capable NHL top 4 and Marincin started to turn a corner in his development once he started playing with Rielly, too.

Its a group worth a season of evaluating and adding Stamkos doesn't in any way change that.

 

[TBLeafer]

Tlusty and Franson topping the list last year...

Clarkson the year before...

Yeah, this year's list is just a little better than the last two.

Your time line is wrong. Last year's UFA crop wasn't very good. Clarkson was 2013. 2014, on the other hand, had:

Jarome Iginla
Anton Stralman
Paul Stastny
Ryan Miller
Mike Cammalieri
Brooks Orpik
Brad Richards
Thomas Vanek
Matt Niskanen
Kulemin/Grabo

And so on.

Oh yeah, I'd almost forgotten about all the Stastny talk.  My bad.
Still, I don't see that list as comparable all things considered.  How old was Iginla at the time again?
Stralman has found his footing, but he's been an NHL journeyman, not a core member, etc.

 

[Kin]

Oh yeah, I'd almost forgotten about all the Stastny talk.  My bad.
Still, I don't see that list as comparable all things considered.  How old was Iginla at the time again?
Stralman has found his footing, but he's been an NHL journeyman, not a core member, etc.

Stralman is a better player, and was a better player on the Rangers, than Yandle. Lots of those guys are comparable to Backes/Ladd.

Stamkos is a big deal if he makes it to free agency but aside from him this year's free agent class is not all that exceptional.

 

[TBLeafer]

Oh yeah, I'd almost forgotten about all the Stastny talk.  My bad.
Still, I don't see that list as comparable all things considered.  How old was Iginla at the time again?
Stralman has found his footing, but he's been an NHL journeyman, not a core member, etc.

Stralman is a better player, and was a better player on the Rangers, than Yandle. Lots of those guys are comparable to Backes/Ladd.

Stamkos is a big deal if he makes it to free agency but aside from him this year's free agent class is not all that exceptional.

Again I never said exceptional.  I said deep. 

 

[Al14]

Oh yeah, I'd almost forgotten about all the Stastny talk.  My bad.
Still, I don't see that list as comparable all things considered.  How old was Iginla at the time again?
Stralman has found his footing, but he's been an NHL journeyman, not a core member, etc.

Stralman is a better player, and was a better player on the Rangers, than Yandle. Lots of those guys are comparable to Backes/Ladd.

Stamkos is a big deal if he makes it to free agency but aside from him this year's free agent class is not all that exceptional.

Our Leafs should have hung on to Stralman.  Too bad we let him go by trading him for nothing (Wayne Primeau).

 

[Kin]

Again I never said exceptional.  I said deep. 

What you said is that this group of free agents is too good for the Leafs not to try and sign some to add to their core even if they don't sign Stamkos. There's really nothing supporting that.

 

[rdowdall]

Oh yeah, I'd almost forgotten about all the Stastny talk.  My bad.
Still, I don't see that list as comparable all things considered.  How old was Iginla at the time again?
Stralman has found his footing, but he's been an NHL journeyman, not a core member, etc.

Stralman is a better player, and was a better player on the Rangers, than Yandle. Lots of those guys are comparable to Backes/Ladd.

Stamkos is a big deal if he makes it to free agency but aside from him this year's free agent class is not all that exceptional.

Our Leafs should have hung on to Stralman.  Too bad we let him go by trading him for nothing (Wayne Primeau).

Well that's the other part of being patient.  You need to wait until you see what you have as conclusively as possible.  You have to give players the room to grow and to let them progress along their learning curve.  As long as there is progressive at a rate that is acceptable, you should probably hold on to the player to see where they get to. 

 

[McGarnagle]

If the Leafs were to have major interest in Stamkos, I would seriously question the logic as to why they moved Kessel.

There, I said it.

 

[Zee]

If the Leafs were to have major interest in Stamkos, I would seriously question the logic as to why they moved Kessel.

There, I said it.

Cause Stamkos is better and younger?

 

[TBLeafer]

If the Leafs were to have major interest in Stamkos, I would seriously question the logic as to why they moved Kessel.

There, I said it.

Cause Stamkos is better and younger?

Plus he could be flanked by JVR and Marner instead.

 

[Zee]

I don't understand why moving Kessel and having interest in Stamkos are at odds with one another.  Neither move is tied to the other, they are totally different players. 

 

[TBLeafer]

I don't understand why moving Kessel and having interest in Stamkos are at odds with one another.  Neither move is tied to the other, they are totally different players.

Agreed.

 

[Al14]

I don't understand why moving Kessel and having interest in Stamkos are at odds with one another.  Neither move is tied to the other, they are totally different players.

You bet.  Stamkos can actually play as a #1 centre.  Kessel, not so much.

 

[McGarnagle]

I don't understand why moving Kessel and having interest in Stamkos are at odds with one another.  Neither move is tied to the other, they are totally different players.

They represent the same thing. Kessel wasn't moved because he was a bad player, he was moved 1 year ago because he was an impediment to the rebuild.

 

[nutman]

So step back, and look at the guys we have in our system, its just like before when we had the McCabe, Kab group. just not ready yet. However we do have the parts. I will say by the end of the up coming season you will see that we have had our top four for a bit now.

I am looking at the guys in the system, and I see one realistic top pairing candidate - Rielly. There's a number of potential 2nd pairing guys, and, yeah, maybe one of them will turn out better than expected, but, the odds are that's not going to happen - and, in fact, a significant number of them won't even end up as 2nd pairing guys, and may not turn into NHL players at all.

Just because we didn't draft him doesn't mean Gardiner isn't in our system.  He is more than a potential 2nd pairing guy.  He is a 2nd pairing guy.

We also just added a KHL first team All-Star young D in Zaitsev.

Carrick looks to be very Tyson Barrie like with the way he is developing and how he looked in his short time up with the Leafs and he absolutely killed it on the Marlies.

The group of Rielly, Zaitsev, Gardiner, Carrick could very well develop into a very capable NHL top 4 and Marincin started to turn a corner in his development once he started playing with Rielly, too.

Its a group worth a season of evaluating and adding Stamkos doesn't in any way change that.

Thanks.. its nice to see someone can see that we are possibly looking much better on defense going forward then the negative group  would admit. 

 

[Kin]

Fair enough. Let's go back and look at nutman and the power of positive thinking through the years. 

 
Good call, you may just be on to somthing.  this yrs team i think will cruze into the playoffs.

Unfortunately, the 2011-2012 Maple Leafs cruzed to the 6th worst record in the league.

 

[Redleaf]

Wow. What a sleaze ball thing to post. I guess it shouldnt surprise me, but to actually take the time to dig for that... wow.

 

[nutman]

Oh my!!!! you had to go back a while didn't you. lmao.

 

[Bill_Berg]

Many people are confusing pessimism with realistic expectations around here.