Why Didn't we go for a Proven Veteran??

[Capital Leaf]

I don't understand why we aren't trying for a proven veteran for leadership and to help the young guys learn what it takes to win..
Someone like Justin Williams or Brad Richards.  Both have won the Conn Smythe trophy and both were available at a very reasonable price.
They need someone like that in the room....
I don't get it...thoughts???

 

[herman]

I don't understand why we aren't trying for a proven veteran for leadership and to help the young guys learn what it takes to win..
Someone like Justin Williams or Brad Richards.  Both have won the Conn Smythe trophy and both were available at a very reasonable price.
They need someone like that in the room....
I don't get it...thoughts???

They'd be too expensive for the roles we want filled (in term, not dollars, per se), and that role is 'temporary roster spot filler who is good enough to yield some picks at the deadline'.

 

[cabber24]

I don't understand why we aren't trying for a proven veteran for leadership and to help the young guys learn what it takes to win..
Someone like Justin Williams or Brad Richards.  Both have won the Conn Smythe trophy and both were available at a very reasonable price.
They need someone like that in the room....
I don't get it...thoughts???

St.Louis?

 

[Joe S.]

maybe call those players up and ask them.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

I don't understand why we aren't trying for a proven veteran for leadership and to help the young guys learn what it takes to win..
Someone like Justin Williams or Brad Richards.  Both have won the Conn Smythe trophy and both were available at a very reasonable price.
They need someone like that in the room....
I don't get it...thoughts???

This isn't NHL15, they need to actually want to sign in Toronto. 

 

[Capital Leaf]

I never heard anything about the Leafs even trying to sign them.  I would feel better knowing they at least tried.
I agree with the earlier post....St.Louis would be nice right about now.
He works hard in all areas of the ice, proven winner and would be a good role model for the kids.

 

[Joe S.]

Give me one reason why any established veteran player, at the end of the career, would want to sign with a team that's rebuilding?

And if you'll recall, the leafs were part of that contingent that met with Richards when he became a free agent the first time.

 

[LuncheonMeat]

I never heard anything about the Leafs even trying to sign them.  I would feel better knowing they at least tried.
I agree with the earlier post....St.Louis would be nice right about now.
He works hard in all areas of the ice, proven winner and would be a good role model for the kids.

I never heard anything about the Leafs trying to sign Winnik either, but they did and they did.  And BTW, he's one of those veterans of whom you speak (stay away whom police!).

 

[Kin]

The Leafs are trying to bottom out next year. Most guys with options won't want to sign there. If the Leafs call up an agent and say "How would your player feel about signing here" and the player says no thanks...why would you hear about that? Why would the Leafs put it out there that they were trying to sign guys they had no shot at?

Signing veteran leadership might be in the game plan for when guys like Marner and Nylander are actually on the club but aside from Rielly who really needs mentoring that figures to be a big part of the team when they're contending?

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Plus, Robidas is still on the team.

 

[Capital Leaf]

The Leafs are trying to bottom out next year. Most guys with options won't want to sign there. If the Leafs call up an agent and say "How would your player feel about signing here" and the player says no thanks...why would you hear about that? Why would the Leafs put it out there that they were trying to sign guys they had no shot at?

Signing veteran leadership might be in the game plan for when guys like Marner and Nylander are actually on the club but aside from Rielly who really needs mentoring that figures to be a big part of the team when they're contending?

Sure but you have to admit if we offered someone like Justin Williams an extra $250 000 a year over Washington he would have took it.  Players for the most part go to the team that pays the most....just the way it is....

 

[Kin]

Sure but you have to admit if we offered someone like Justin Williams an extra $250 000 a year over Washington he would have took it.

No, I don't have to admit that. Mainly because I think it's not true.

 

[Frank E]

The Leafs are trying to bottom out next year. Most guys with options won't want to sign there. If the Leafs call up an agent and say "How would your player feel about signing here" and the player says no thanks...why would you hear about that? Why would the Leafs put it out there that they were trying to sign guys they had no shot at?

Signing veteran leadership might be in the game plan for when guys like Marner and Nylander are actually on the club but aside from Rielly who really needs mentoring that figures to be a big part of the team when they're contending?

Sure but you have to admit if we offered someone like Justin Williams an extra $250 000 a year over Washington he would have took it.  Players for the most part go to the team that pays the most....just the way it is....

*Not just the way it is.

Nik made the right point, there really isn't any need for Williams or Richards at this point, regardless of if they wanted to sign here or not.

 

[L K]

The benefit of a veteran cannot be understated when you have a very young team...this isn't actually going to be a young team next year.

Kadri, Panik, Gardiner, Rielly, JVR and maybe Hyman are the only young players that are going to be on the roster.  Of those guys only Hyman lacks NHL exposure. 

Next year is when we are going to start to see the youth start to break out on the roster. This year is a team filled with guys in the 28-32 range who aren't good enough to win but will be swapped for assets at the deadline over the next 1-2 years.

 

[Capital Leaf]

The Leafs are trying to bottom out next year. Most guys with options won't want to sign there. If the Leafs call up an agent and say "How would your player feel about signing here" and the player says no thanks...why would you hear about that? Why would the Leafs put it out there that they were trying to sign guys they had no shot at?

Signing veteran leadership might be in the game plan for when guys like Marner and Nylander are actually on the club but aside from Rielly who really needs mentoring that figures to be a big part of the team when they're contending?

Sure but you have to admit if we offered someone like Justin Williams an extra $250 000 a year over Washington he would have took it.  Players for the most part go to the team that pays the most....just the way it is....

*Not just the way it is.

Nik made the right point, there really isn't any need for Williams or Richards at this point, regardless of if they wanted to sign here or not.

Let's change that figure to $500000 more per year...so Williams would have an extra million dollars after 2 years.  No way he doesn't accept that offer...
When a player is probably getting the last big contract of his life he isn't going to squander $1 million. 
Plus worst case if the team isn't doing well he knows the team will deal him to a contender at the deadline anyways so the player can have his cake and eat it too...
Win Win for him

 

[Tigger]

Increasing the overpayment is kind of ignoring the fact that those players likely didn't want to play in Toronto and Toronto likely didn't go after them, and that kind of need doesn't really exist for the Leafs right now.

 

[Kin]

Let's change that figure to $500000 more per year...so Williams would have an extra million dollars after 2 years.  No way he doesn't accept that offer...

It still doesn't work that way. If the Leafs offered Richards 3.5 million then Richards would use that offer to go back to Detroit's management to get a higher offer.

So unless your plan is for the Leafs to simply bid 500,000 dollars more than Detroit no matter what Detroit was willing to offer, something that would hurt Richards trade value if the Leafs then wanted to deal him, and drastically overpay him for the nebulous benefits of his "leadership" the likelihood is he'd still sign where he wanted to go.

Plus worst case if the team isn't doing well he knows the team will deal him to a contender at the deadline anyways so the player can have his cake and eat it too...

Except that's not taking into account that these guys are human beings with families and, at least in Richards' case, small children. He wants to know where he's going to live next year. He's not going to be cool with being traded "wherever" in the middle of the season and create hardships for his family when he can choose for himself where to live and play.

Players turn down higher salaries all the time.

 

[Kin]

Looks like St. Louis is retiring.

 

[Capital Leaf]

Let's change that figure to $500000 more per year...so Williams would have an extra million dollars after 2 years.  No way he doesn't accept that offer...

It still doesn't work that way. If the Leafs offered Richards 3.5 million then Richards would use that offer to go back to Detroit's management to get a higher offer.

So unless your plan is for the Leafs to simply bid 500,000 dollars more than Detroit no matter what Detroit was willing to offer, something that would hurt Richards trade value if the Leafs then wanted to deal him, and drastically overpay him for the nebulous benefits of his "leadership" the likelihood is he'd still sign where he wanted to go.

Plus worst case if the team isn't doing well he knows the team will deal him to a contender at the deadline anyways so the player can have his cake and eat it too...

Except that's not taking into account that these guys are human beings with families and, at least in Richards' case, small children. He wants to know where he's going to live next year. He's not going to be cool with being traded "wherever" in the middle of the season and create hardships for his family when he can choose for himself where to live and play.

Players turn down higher salaries all the time.

Good points I agree he may use it as leverage and not ideal to move when you have a family etc...regardless I don't think its that common that players turn down higher salaries.  I would say the majority (90% of the time) the athlete chooses the place that is paying more.

Anyways my frustration is they aren't trying to sign a proven winner top 6 type guy...I know some will say, "how do we know the Leafs didn't try"....well in today's day and age with guys like Darren Dreger, Bob Mckenzie, Nick Kypreos etc...we would would have heard had the Leafs made an effort or were pursuing them.

I just don't see any downside of having someone like Justin Williams, Brad Richards, or Martin St. Louis on this roster.  To me it is all upside!!

 

[Kin]

I just don't see any downside of having someone like Justin Williams, Brad Richards, or Martin St. Louis on this roster.  To me it is all upside!!

The downside is we don't want the team winning this year. We want them losing.

And for a team to really pursue a player there does have to be at least some reciprocal interest. If you call up an agent to schedule a meeting and he says no...who's going to leak that to Kypreos?