Leafs sign C Armstrong

[RomaniaLuvTR]

rw from trashers...3 years 9 mil

[whysoserious]

Leafs seem to have a lot of these middle tier guys. It's not too long of a contract and he's only 27 years old so it's not like signing someone over the hill but Burke needs to get some top level talent.

[number15]

He's a good player but Leafs should invest more in upper level guys now. The money could have been used better on a player through trade...... like mentioned too many middle tier guys.

perfect Burke type of bottom 6 player nevertheless.

[dawn_wan]

not great, not bad, far better than last year.

[bryant08]

I'm not overly impressed, a little pricey for my liking. And Armstrong isn't a center, he's capable of playing both wings as far as I know. Burke did a good job adding a very good second line player in Versteeg and an elite third liner in Armstrong - but those weren't exactly difficult pieces to add. Our first line is still very weak. We need to re-up Kulemin and make a move for another top forward to be in decent shape going into the season.

[kush-]

huge mistake... just like all those overpaid defenseman signings a year ago.

leafs have more than enough 3rd/4th line grinders, they need legit top 6 forwards.

liked the versteeg trade, but Burke has been a complete bust with his FA signings.

[bryant08]

The one thing we can be very happy about at this point is that we will either get a great return for Kaberle or he'll stay a Leaf. The FA market on defense dried up like CRAZY today and a few teams totally struck out (LA Kings notably).

[whysoserious]

I understand Burke's vision in building this team, top 6 forwards with skill and bottom 6 with grit. But he seems to be building his forward core from the bottom up. The bottom 6 are the easy ones to address every year. He hasn't addressed the top 6 and we don't have top picks, gave up this years and gave up next years. We have Kessel, hopefully Kadri is ready and here's hoping he robs someone on a Kaberle deal.

I'd target Boyes if he's available now.

[bryant08]

What I like is the youth of this team right now as well - assuming the season starts tomorrow, this is our roster:

Kulemin (23) - Bozak (24) - Kessel (22)
Versteeg (24) - Kadri (19) - Armstrong (27)
Caputi (21) - Grabovski (26) - Sjostrom (27)
Orr (28) - Hanson (24) - Brown (25)

Beauchemin (30) - Phaneuf (25)
Kaberle (32) - Komisarek (28)
Gunnarsson (23) - Schenn (20)

Giguere (33)
Gustavsson (25)

Average age of the forwards: 24.1 years
Average age of the defensemen: 26.3 years
Average age for the entire team: 25.3 years

I think it's clear the offense is still weak, but I'm a little more pleased with the fact Versteeg/Armstrong are still very young players.

[Brew666]

Personally I like this signing. It addresses our PK which has been brutal for a few years now. He may not be a top line winger but lets be honest, the Leafs need help in most place including their checking line. Though he may have paid a bit too much, but it's not crazy. Armstrong could still be moved at the trade deadline or whenever, if necessary.

Burke isn't done yet and I'm sure he's going to address our need for a top centremen. Beyond Kovy, there wasn't too much top end talent for Toronto to get in the FA market. The top end talent will have to addressed through trade and I'm sure we'll see something sooner than later.

[number15]

Canucks signed Manny Malhotra to a 3 year 7.5 million contract....... That in my opinion was a better signing

unlike Armstrong, Malhotra can add on the offencive end and he is just as tough as Armstrong. He has more to his game, whiole Armstron is only better at devastating hits...... also Burke has tried to get Malhotra before so its not like he is a stranger to him

That would have been a better move

Armstrong is fine too.... but now for 3 years and 9 milliom

[PopAGat]

Why don't they get a star wing to play with Kessel on the 1st line ?
Tired of this slightly better than mediocre players.

[bryant08]

Burke actually mentioned yesterday he was happy with the depth at the center position (on a conference call). He seems to find the wingers the weaker part of the squad.

[Relentless88]

Can someone tell me how much cap space we have left to spend? We should target Alexander Frolov.

Sign Frolov and Torres, trade Kaberle for a top 6 forward and call it a day.

[bryant08]

^We have the cap space, but Steve Simmons reported earlier (prior to Lombardi signing) that the Leafs have 0 interest in either Frolov or Lombardi. The Leafs are in on Afinogenov according to LeBrun although nothing is imminent. In terms of cap space, with the re-signing of John Mitchell - I'd say we're pretty tight at this point, someone posted this on another forum:

[rarefind]

so how does armstrong's contract seem justified when higgins gets about half? florida even labels higgins a top six guy, mind you he's eclipsed 50 points before in his career.

hate to say it, but i'm not sure what burke is doing. he has vastly improving the team, but could be doing it more efficiently. i just hope he hits a home run dealing kaberle rather than striking out.

i really hope kadri gets a chance to center the first line, i will feel a lot better knowing that perhaps we have a top line center of the future. bozak is a nice player, but not sure he is a long term fit as a top center, rather a 2nd or 3rd line guy might be a more realistic claim for him.

[Brew666]

so how does armstrong's contract seem justified when higgins gets about half? florida even labels higgins a top six guy, mind you he's eclipsed 50 points before in his career.

hate to say it, but i'm not sure what burke is doing. he has vastly improving the team, but could be doing it more efficiently. i just hope he hits a home run dealing kaberle rather than striking out.

i really hope kadri gets a chance to center the first line, i will feel a lot better knowing that perhaps we have a top line center of the future. bozak is a nice player, but not sure he is a long term fit as a top center, rather a 2nd or 3rd line guy might be a more realistic claim for him.

Maybe not merited for twice as much, but Armstrong can do way more for your team than Higgins...Armstrong is more of a 3rd liner but he can provide scoring and be a body in front of the net...and I wouldn't be too suprsied if he found himself on the powerplay...as opposed to Colton Orr..and he can kill penalties and improve our brutal PK

Higgins isn't a top six forward either, unless your team sucks, like the Panthers. In the last two season combined Higgins has 20 goals...Armstrong scored 15 last year and 22 the previous year...so almost twice as many goals.

By eclipsed, do you mean reaching 52 points and not coming close again? Higgins is a scrub and isn't worth what he got. That said, Armstrong's contract is a bit high but Burkie is better off signing a player like Armstrong than Higgins. He can fill in as a top six until one of the younger players step up and then move him down to the 3rd where he can provide quality depth and scoring on our checking line.

I would rather overpay a serviceable player as opposed to paying a scrub who isn't going to contribute to your team.

Though I would rather see Burke build through the draft, I can't deny the talent he has brought in so far. Hopefully this pans out better than the previous GMs who didn't build through the draft.

[rarefind]

i just cannot justify 3m for this guy, i'd rather have higgins on his deal rather than armstrong on his. armstrong is indeed the better player who will obviously contribute more; but not worth 3m per season.

[CRACKSMATIC]

not as bad of a signing as people are making it out to be in my opinion

he might be over paid by like 500k but thats what you'd expect on the free agent market