The Leo Komarov Question

[Arn]

So this was brought up in one of the recent game day thread, and now that Komarov has passed his career high in goals in any professional season I guess it's worth further discussion. Do you try and trade Komarov?

My take on it personally is that I'm a big fan of Komarov - and have been in all his time as a Leaf. He was a competitor even on the poorer Leafs teams in the past. Now he's a competitor on an improving team trying to create an identity. I think he brings some almost veteran leadership to the side. He comes across as a good guy to have in a dressing room and a good pro with experience of different leagues for younger guys to learn from. He also seems a pretty smart guy.

But his offensive production so far is off the charts this year, probably above what anyone would expect. So do you sell high against all the positives I think he brings as mentioned above? Thinking back to Kulemin when he had his huge offensive season he never came close again. Will Komarov?

To me it would be nice to have a guy for the next few years who the team could build an identity around and fans could get behind. But if someone offers  you up a 1st round pick, I think you have to take it. A 2nd or lower, I think I hang on to him.

 

[bustaheims]

Komarov is a situation where the Leafs definitely have to try to sell high. I wouldn't just give him away or anything, but I think you have to make it known around the league that you're willing to listen to offers on him, and see what gets presented.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I brought this up too in the GDTs, but I just feel like Komarov is the type of player that's going to make the team throw logic and reason out the window a little bit. Particularly if Babcock has any say like we think he does. Obviously every player on the team will have a price, but I just think they'll feel a pick like even a late 1st doesn't properly cover what Komarov brings to the team.

Which can both be a good and a bad thing, because if there's a team out there that does desperately want him we'll be able to make out like bandits.

 

[AvroArrow]

Trade him.

 

[herman]

Until we're ready to gear up for a championship run, we should listen to offers on all players and move on the ones that align with our projected timeline for success. No one is untradeable -- though some of our prospects will command prohibitively steep prices for obvious reasons (Rielly, Nylander, Marner).

Komarov is good, but his type of player is easy enough to pick up UFA when we really need him. Right now his value is being generously inflated by the playing time, flanking Kadri, and an unsustainable shooting percentage, and we should take full advantage of that when the opportunity presents itself.

Komarov can slot into just about any team at any point on the depth chart and fulfill the role admirably. He's still cost controlled for 2 seasons more after this one. The prices outlined by the posts above (1st Rder +) would be my starting point as well.

 

[Frank E]

If there's one good thing about the team scoring goals, it's that guys like Komarov and Bozak become tradable assets.

 

[Highlander]

Hey the Komrade help make hockey fun again. He is exactly the team player that Babcock needs and he leads by example.  We would need a very high 1st for me to feel ok about trading him.

 

[Kin]

I think it's a tricky question to answer without knowing the market for him. If teams around the league look at his goal/point totals and think it's just a product of the opportunities he's getting on the Leafs' top line that he wouldn't get elsewhere then there's an argument for holding onto him. If a team out there is going to trade for him with the idea that what he's doing right now is really a reflection of the type of player he is, then I don't know how you wouldn't explore that.

But then again it also depends on what the Leafs do with other players. I think the Leafs need to have at least one of those years where they pick 5 or 6 times in the top 2 rounds and they have multiple assets to trade to try and land those picks. Komarov is an avenue that can partially lead them there but he's not the only one.

 

[Bates]

I would need to be wowed by the trade offer.  You need some character on the team to help develop the youth and unlike others I don't think players like this are available anytime via free agency.  If they were there wouldn't be a good trade market for him. 

 

[Kin]

I'm not saying it's a hard and fast rule but I generally think any Leaf fan should take note when the arguments for trading for/signing/keeping a player resemble the arguments we heard in favour of things like signing Clarkson or the first trade for Wendel Clark or the post-lockout Domi contract.

"Grit" and "character" and "identity" typically aren't great investments unless they're matched by a really good ability to play hockey. Coming into this season, Komarov had 12 goals in 102 games. A 9 goal a year pace. Right now he's on a 38 goal pace. I think in order to overlook that fact you really need to be coming from the POV where his start this year is really a reflection of some astounding individual development at the age of 28 and not just a by-product of the oddities of the Leafs line-up and luck.

 

[Joe S.]

He's having his Klein season.

 

[Highlander]

Some of the moves that KK has been making in the last few games, holding calmly onto the puck with a lot of savvy, the thru the legs pass, seem to be the moves of an elite goal scorer (all of a sudden).  Where did that confidence come from, as he is showing bundles of it.
Also I really like the way he says "yes its ok to score goals but much better to help the team win".  Thats pretty refreshing.

 

[Boston Leaf]

If someone wanted to give up a first rounder for Leo I would jump on it. the style he plays within a couple of years he will more than likely start to break down.. Strike while the iron is hot

 

[herman]

Some of the moves that KK has been making in the last few games, holding calmly onto the puck with a lot of savvy, the thru the legs pass, seem to be the moves of an elite goal scorer (all of a sudden).  Where did that confidence come from, as he is showing bundles of it.
Also I really like the way he says "yes its ok to score goals but much better to help the team win".  Thats pretty refreshing.

The broadcasters yesterday were saying the same thing, but prior to coming over the Leafs, Komarov played on the top lines in the KHL (albeit as the puck retrieval component). He captained the Finnish Junior team in 07. This isn't coming out of nowhere; he just has skilled linemates now and is taking advantage of the situation.

It's tempting for me to get super excited about Komarov's stats this year, but really it's just him being consistently in the right place at the right time and having more bounces than usual going his way.

 

[Frank E]

He's having his Klein season.

He's having his Kulemin 2010-2011 season.

 

[LuncheonMeat]

He's having his Klein season.

He's having his Kulemin 2010-2011 season.

Which is exactly why the Leafs should think about trading him. He could fetch and first this season, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if he turned around and scored 10 next year. I never expected Komarov to be so good this year, and I think you need to leverage that for assets toward the rebuild, if you're the Leafs.

 

[Tigger]

IIRC, before the Ovechkin hit Leo was having a pretty good year too, he wasn't the same for quite a while after that.

I think Leo is a bit of a late bloomer as far as the NHL is concerned, but he plays a pretty complete game now and that should count for something should another team come calling, his price point certainly helps.

I'm not sure where the value line starts to change for the Leafs, is a late first good enough now? Is that more valuable to the team for the next two years? I don't think so, not enough, not yet, but something more and yeah, it's starting to cross that line.

 

[Kin]

He's having his Klein season.

He's having his Kulemin 2010-2011 season.

The difference being that Kulemin had that season on the team's second line, a position it was reasonable to assume the Leafs would let him stay in over the next few years. His shooting percentage may have been high but his opportunities were likely to remain constant.

Conversely, does anyone expect Komarov to be a constant presence on the PP? Or the top line? His value is almost certain to decrease when he's put back on the 3rd line.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Conversely, does anyone expect Komarov to be a constant presence on the PP? Or the top line? His value is almost certain to decrease when he's put back on the 3rd line.

I've compared him to Justin Abdelkader before. His most frequent linemate in each of his past 4 seasons has either been Zetterberg or Datsyuk. Wings fans have said that Babcock loves having that grinder-type presence on his top line. So I actually don't think that's completely out of the question.

 

[Kin]

I've compared him to Justin Abdelkader before. His most frequent linemate in each of his past 4 seasons has either been Zetterberg or Datsyuk. Wings fans have said that Babcock loves having that grinder-type presence on his top line. So I actually don't think that's completely out of the question.

Maybe but with the exception of last year Babcock never gave Abdelkader anything much in the way of PP time and, probably not coincidentally, last year is the only year he produced anything offensively in all of that time.