Connolly signs 2 year $9.5 Million deal with leafs

winstonsmith85 · Post #1 » by **winstonsmith85** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 8:01 pm

Welcome to Toronto Timmy!
http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=370708

Good signing imo. Yea its a little pricey but its only for 2 years. Big upgrade over what we have. Gives us legit #1 centre until some of the kids are ready to step up. At least Burke stayed away from all the insanity yesterday.

Good luck Timmy!

Relentless88 · Post #2 » by **Relentless88** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 8:02 pm

Agreed. Slightly overpaid, but it's only 2 years. If he's healthy (and yes that's a big if), this is a good deal. I wonder what Burke will do next.

andyo · Post #3 » by **andyo** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 9:30 pm

Defintely overpaid but the term is short so I can't complain too much. He's just a stopgap until Kadri or Colborne can potentially take over the #1C role, I don't think Bozak has it in him.

SharoneWright · Post #4 » by **SharoneWright** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 9:36 pm

USA! USA!

Boy, Burkey likes to look south of the border these days...

Fine by me in this instance - for whatever reason, I've always really liked Connolly... And for 2 years, the dollars had to be upped a bit in order to get it done. Love the term. Kadri and Colborne can now be added when its right, and not out of desperation. I think Kessel is happy today.

whysoserious · Post #5 » by **whysoserious** » Sun Jul 3, 2011 1:15 am

I love how Simmons is ripping Burke and the team on twitter and what not. They made a hard pitch for Richards and came up short. They went out and got one of the next best players at their biggest need and it's still not good enough.

Comments like can't believe Leaf fans are happy, how low are the expectations, and we're happy cause this is an upgrade to Bozak. Well ofcourse we're happy. The Leafs are better today then yesterday.

It's not the big name or big improvement but it's still an improvement and a short contract that can easily be managed.

Ducksplatt · Post #6 » by **Ducksplatt** » Sun Jul 3, 2011 3:33 am

I like it.
Good short deal. Can help on the PP/PK.
Also, if we somehow were able to get Stamkos, he could be a 3rd line C (1st line PP).

Edit:
Just thought of something - maybe Burke is putting together a Stamkos "trade for his rights" and like the M Richards "offer" it is Kadri and Grabo (instead of Kul). ANd then Connolly can be the 2nd line C.

Yeah, I know - wishful thinking.

s e n s i · Post #7 » by **s e n s i** » Sun Jul 3, 2011 3:45 am

not really a "legit" #1 center, but yea connolly's def an upgrade, and is the best center on this team now by default.

how anyone can complain or laugh at a short-term inconsequential contract like this one is baffling. for the most part, no true leaf fans are saying this signing is vaulting this team to the cup finals...it just makes the team better than it was yesterday. yes it's nearly 10 mil for a player that's never cracked the 70 pt plateau in his career, but it's only two years.

the asking price for richards was too steep. i wanted him until i heard those outlandish prices. connolly isn't the greatest consolation prize but that's a testament to how sh*t this FA class is rather than being a poor signing.

Post #8 » by **Crowned** » Sun Jul 3, 2011 5:03 am

I'm still unsure as to whether or not he'll be our #1 center come opening night. They may give that to Grabo based on his performance last season. Either way, he's an improvement and I hope he stays healthy.

andyo · Post #9 » by **andyo** » Sun Jul 3, 2011 9:09 pm

Crowned wrote:I'm still unsure as to whether or not he'll be our #1 center come opening night. They may give that to Grabo based on his performance last season. Either way, he's an improvement and I hope he stays healthy.

I don't think they will mess with the 2nd line, they really had some great chemistry last year. Conolly as the first line C is meh I guess, I hope there are some big moves to follow so we can get a real #1 center. If we do, I wouldn't re-up Bozak personally.

J-Roc · Post #10 » by **J-Roc** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:24 pm

I feel bad for a guy like Tim Conolly. He'll come in with a lot of pressure to be "the guy".

sanity · Post #11 » by **sanity** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 9:37 pm

Its only 2 years. What the hell is the big deal about the contract? The media here is ridiculous. This team should make the damn playoffs for once before Burke is held to more strict penny pinching terms when filling out a roster with young talent. He's by far the most talented C we've had since Mats left