Unofficial 2013-2014 Armchair GM Thread

[pmrules]

I'm in agreement.  We don't need a top 4 d man, we actually need a top 2 d man.  Byfuglien and Edler are probably the only two d men available that remotely qualify. 
Buff is the guy I target.

Reimer and X for big Buff.

 

[mc]

Byfuglien is playing defence again? I thought under Paul Maurice he was back to his forward position?

 

[Coco-puffs]

Byfuglien is playing defence again? I thought under Paul Maurice he was back to his forward position?

Yup, he's back to playing forward right now.  I personally don't think he's a great defenceman and have always thought he should play forward.  I'd much prefer Edler.

 

[Bullfrog]

I'd definitely prefer Edler as well.

 

[Highlander]

Wonder what it would take to pry Yandle from the Yotes?

 

[Rebel_1812]

Is he really an offensive D-man?  I do know he had 38 points one year with the Predators, but I always thought of him as more of an all-purpose D-man, kinda like Brent Seabrook.

Edler's a more offensive guy than Hamhuis, but Hamhuis isn't going anywhere. He signed a very good deal with them that includes a no-trade clause because he wanted to play there. Edler might be available though, he and Byfuglien are really the only top-4 guys that are rumoured to be on the trade block. Like I've said before, I'd go hard after either of them.

And the free agent pool isn't really that bad. There's no big name guy but a lot of 4's or 5's that could help the team. A conversation here last week reminded me of Stralman and it seems like he's really stepped up his defensive game in New York. I've mentioned Robidas would be a great fit before, but that all depends on if he can recover from his injury. I wanted Hainsey last summer and would still go after him in this one. Any one of those guys could be signed to replace Franson's spot in the top-4 I think. Ideally we would trade for one of the two names that I mentioned, sign a free agent, and move Gleason to another team. That would give us:

Gunnarsson-Phaneuf
Gardiner-Edler
Rielly-Stralman
Holzer/MacWilliam/Ranger

The funny thing is Byfuglien could have been had from Chicago too.  We gave up way more forVersteeg that season that Atlanta traded for him.

Toronto gave up Stalberg and some below average prospects for Versteeg. Other than an exchange of some lower depth players, Atlanta essentially gave up a 1st and a 2nd for Byfuglien. Not sure how Toronto gave up "way more."

Phillipe Paradis was a first round pick so shouldn't be considered below average prospect.  Atlanta didn't just get Byfuglien in the trade, they got a good 3rd liner in ben eager, a vet defensemen in brent sopel.  Atlanta really got a good deal.

 

[pmrules]

I'd definitely prefer Edler as well.

Well, I guess I go with who has the better defensive side to him, since that is important to this team?  I honestly haven't watched either enough, so I don't know.  Also, I am assuming we put Buff back at defense, where he has played a lot of his career, otherwise we have no need for him.

However, Edler's primary stats are not as impressive compared to Buff over the last few years?  How are the advanced stats for these guys and lets throw Yandle into the conversation (although I doubt he is available).

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Is he really an offensive D-man?  I do know he had 38 points one year with the Predators, but I always thought of him as more of an all-purpose D-man, kinda like Brent Seabrook.

Edler's a more offensive guy than Hamhuis, but Hamhuis isn't going anywhere. He signed a very good deal with them that includes a no-trade clause because he wanted to play there. Edler might be available though, he and Byfuglien are really the only top-4 guys that are rumoured to be on the trade block. Like I've said before, I'd go hard after either of them.

And the free agent pool isn't really that bad. There's no big name guy but a lot of 4's or 5's that could help the team. A conversation here last week reminded me of Stralman and it seems like he's really stepped up his defensive game in New York. I've mentioned Robidas would be a great fit before, but that all depends on if he can recover from his injury. I wanted Hainsey last summer and would still go after him in this one. Any one of those guys could be signed to replace Franson's spot in the top-4 I think. Ideally we would trade for one of the two names that I mentioned, sign a free agent, and move Gleason to another team. That would give us:

Gunnarsson-Phaneuf
Gardiner-Edler
Rielly-Stralman
Holzer/MacWilliam/Ranger

The funny thing is Byfuglien could have been had from Chicago too.  We gave up way more forVersteeg that season that Atlanta traded for him.

Toronto gave up Stalberg and some below average prospects for Versteeg. Other than an exchange of some lower depth players, Atlanta essentially gave up a 1st and a 2nd for Byfuglien. Not sure how Toronto gave up "way more."

Phillipe Paradis was a first round pick so shouldn't be considered below average prospect.  Atlanta didn't just get Byfuglien in the trade, they got a good 3rd liner in ben eager, a vet defensemen in brent sopel.  Atlanta really got a good deal.

Paradis was a below average prospect from the time he was drafted.  Your draft position doesn't make you an above average or below average prospect.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Byfuglien is playing defence again? I thought under Paul Maurice he was back to his forward position?

And the trade rumours have kinda stopped with that change. He might not be available anymore. Even if he was, I'm not sure we have enough to land him. I proposed Reimer and Franson before, but that won't be enough. Especially with neither of their trade values being all that high. Lupul is our other trade chip, and I suggested that we could move him for Edler, but I doubt he'd waive his NTC to go to Winnipeg.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Wonder what it would take to pry Yandle from the Yotes?

Yandle's a fantastic offensive defenceman, but he doesn't really have the defensive acumen that we're looking for.

 

[Jalili]

I'd definitely prefer Edler as well.

Well, I guess I go with who has the better defensive side to him, since that is important to this team?  I honestly haven't watched either enough, so I don't know.  Also, I am assuming we put Buff back at defense, where he has played a lot of his career, otherwise we have no need for him.

However, Edler's primary stats are not as impressive compared to Buff over the last few years?  How are the advanced stats for these guys and lets throw Yandle into the conversation (although I doubt he is available).

Regarding Edler, I haven't heard exactly ringing endorsements of his play over the last two or so seasons. I think people actually underrate the impact that losing his defense partner (Christian Ehrhoff) had on him. I'm not so sure that he would be worth the price it would take to acquire him.

On the flip side, he's got a lot of desirable skills, is still young for a D-man and is also a Swede (who tend to develop later).

 

[AvroArrow]

Some alterations from my last roster that I feel are within the realm of possibility.

• Beefed up the 4th line centre, making a better defensive line.
• Also sheltered Phaneuf a little bit with Edler - Gunnarsson doing the heavy lifting.

Leaves us with a big cap cushion, too.
*I estimated some RFA and UFA salaries, hopefully not too poorly*

Leafs Use the Farm

FORWARDS
James Van Riemsdyk ($4.250m) / Tyler Bozak ($4.200m) / Phil Kessel ($8.000m)
Josh Leivo ($0.793m) / Nazem Kadri ($2.900m) / Nikolai Kulemin ($3.000m)
Jerry D'Amigo ($1.000m) / Peter Holland ($1.000m) / Carter Ashton ($1.000m)
Troy Bodie ($0.900m) / Brian Boyle ($2.500m) / Leo Komarov ($2.000m)
Teemu Hartikainen ($0.900m) /

DEFENSEMEN
Alexander Edler ($5.000m) / Carl Gunnarsson ($3.150m)
Dion Phaneuf ($7.000m) / Tim Gleason ($4.000m)
Morgan Rielly ($0.894m) / Jake Gardiner ($1.250m)
Andrew MacWilliam ($0.875m) / Korbinian Holzer ($0.788m)

GOALTENDERS
Jonathan Bernier ($2.900m)
Drew MacIntyre ($0.900m)

BUYOUTS
Mike Komisarek ($0.000m)
Mikhail Grabovski ($0.000m)
David Clarkson ($2.292m)
------

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $70,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $61,490,833; BONUSES: $1,195,000
CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $8,509,167



*edit to fix some numbers...haven't used this capgeek tool before

 

[OldTimeHockey]

Where's Lupul?

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Where's Lupul?

Leivo beat him out for a spot. 

 

[AvroArrow]

Where's Lupul?

Traded for Edler, or the picks/prospects required to get Edler.

Edit: Even though he could still fit in this roster, I prefer to move his cap hit to defense, where we need it more.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

Where's Lupul?

Leivo beat him out for a spot. 

Must of had a good camp. Can't wait to see it!

 

[princedpw]

Some alterations from my last roster that I feel are within the realm of possibility.

• Beefed up the 4th line centre, making a better defensive line.
• Also sheltered Phaneuf a little bit with Edler - Gunnarsson doing the heavy lifting.

Leaves us with a big cap cushion, too.
*I estimated some RFA and UFA salaries, hopefully not too poorly*

Leafs Use the Farm

FORWARDS
James Van Riemsdyk ($4.250m) / Tyler Bozak ($4.200m) / Phil Kessel ($8.000m)
Josh Leivo ($0.793m) / Nazem Kadri ($2.900m) / Nikolai Kulemin ($3.000m)
Jerry D'Amigo ($1.000m) / Peter Holland ($1.000m) / Carter Ashton ($1.000m)
Troy Bodie ($0.900m) / Brian Boyle ($2.500m) / Leo Komarov ($2.000m)
Teemu Hartikainen ($0.900m) /

DEFENSEMEN
Alexander Edler ($5.000m) / Carl Gunnarsson ($3.150m)
Dion Phaneuf ($7.000m) / Tim Gleason ($4.000m)
Morgan Rielly ($0.894m) / Jake Gardiner ($1.250m)
Andrew MacWilliam ($0.875m) / Korbinian Holzer ($0.788m)

GOALTENDERS
Jonathan Bernier ($2.900m)
Drew MacIntyre ($0.900m)

BUYOUTS
Mike Komisarek ($0.000m)
Mikhail Grabovski ($0.000m)
David Clarkson ($2.292m)
------

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $70,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $61,490,833; BONUSES: $1,195,000
CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $8,509,167



*edit to fix some numbers...haven't used this capgeek tool before

If you've got the current cap space, there is no reason to buy out Clarkson (that just wastes future cap space unnecessarily.

 

[AvroArrow]

If you've got the current cap space, there is no reason to buy out Clarkson (that just wastes future cap space unnecessarily.

His play is reason to buy out Clarkson.

 

[princedpw]

If you've got the current cap space, there is no reason to buy out Clarkson (that just wastes future cap space unnecessarily.

His play is reason to buy out Clarkson.

That is probably sarcasm, but Clarkson's play isn't worse than your average 4th liner.  Even if you think it is, sitting him in the press box is better than a buyout.

 

[AvroArrow]

If you've got the current cap space, there is no reason to buy out Clarkson (that just wastes future cap space unnecessarily.

His play is reason to buy out Clarkson.

That is probably sarcasm, but Clarkson's play isn't worse than your average 4th liner.  Even if you think it is, sitting him in the press box is better than a buyout.

Actually, it wasn't sarcasm.

The reason for the buyout is to open that cap space for use.  For instance, if Eric Staal suddenly becomes available (as is being speculated), we wouldn't be able to acquire him without Clarkson going back.  And I doubt they'd take him.

Also, having that cap space allows us to re-jig the team throughout the season.  Something we were unable to do this season because we were tight against the cap.  More space means more options.