Leafs offseason discussion

andyo · Post #101 » by **andyo** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 9:29 pm

Ah, I was holding out hope Burke would make an offer sheet for Stamkos. As slim as the odds are, and even if it does cost 4 1st's, I would like to see him do it.

Post #102 » by **Next Coming** » Sat Jul 2, 2011 9:38 pm

rarefind wrote:tim conolly is not a first line center. better than anything we have sure but i really hope something is in the works. even trading for weiss would have made more sense in my opinion.

I'd rather sign a stop gap like Connolly to a 2 year contract like the one we gave him than trade for a stop gap and give up a good young asset.

At least this signing gives us time to let Joe Colborne and Nazem Kadri to develop at their own pace.

Post #103 » by **bryant08** » Sun Jul 3, 2011 4:27 pm

Toronto Star sources confirm Leafs have acquired D Cody Fransen and C Matthew Lombardi from NASH for D Brett Lebda and F Robert Slaney.

This is a potential big time deal for the Leafs. Lombardi has had some awesome production thus far in his career but he was out for all of last season with a concussion. Who knows if he'll be able to rebound, but Franson is the major part of this deal. Our defense corps looks pretty damn good, but could this be the precursor to another deal involving a dman??

If Lombardi manages to bounce back, his speed and playmaking will be a welcome addition to the third line. If his concussion issues are major, there's a chance he could be placed on the long term injured reserve and we'd get some cap relief (apparently you don't actually get cap relief in this case, but are allowed to spend a bit over the cap depending on the cap hit of the player). I'm very excited about adding another huge defenseman, but one who's more offensively skilled than Schenn or Komisarek. With Schenn/Aulie/Phaneuf/Franson/Gunnarsson/Komisarek/Liles in the mix, I definitely thing another deal is in the works.

Homer Jay · Post #104 » by **Homer Jay** » Sun Jul 3, 2011 5:14 pm

Yeah that was basically a contract dump of Lombardi by the Preds, with Franson the sweetener.

Cox reports that the Leafs offered Richard 6/39 with no frontloading. That was smartmove by Burke in that he is not getting into the deals that might help you now but kill your cap in the future. Honestly if you look at those deals like Richards got... basically being DiPietro, Luongo, Hossa, Kovalchuck none of those guys have ever been traded. They are win now deals that just fudge up your future real bad. Hey! the Rangers got Richards for only a 6.5 mil cap hit... yeah but in 8-9 years he will still be a 6.5 mil cap hit.

Relentless88 · Post #105 » by **Relentless88** » Sun Jul 3, 2011 5:33 pm

How did Vokoun get only 1.5 million? Burke should have been on that. Unless they're confident in Reimer as the #1 goalie next season. Vokoun would've really strengthened our depth at goalie, and with Franson, our defense looks strong as well.

Ducksplatt · Post #106 » by **Ducksplatt** » Sun Jul 3, 2011 7:44 pm

Relentless88 wrote:How did Vokoun get only 1.5 million? Burke should have been on that. Unless they're confident in Reimer as the #1 goalie next season. Vokoun would've really strengthened our depth at goalie, and with Franson, our defense looks strong as well.

I heard Vokoun wanted to win a cup - that is why there is a discount.

andyo · Post #107 » by **andyo** » Sun Jul 3, 2011 9:05 pm

Voukon wanted to play for a cup team I guess, Caps probably are top of the east on paper. Still can't understand why Avs did the Varlomov deal though. Caps are already cup contenders and might get a potential lottery pick next year in a stacked draft class. They also got Joel Ward, a bit overpaid but I like the move. They are looking really solid going into next year. Great offseason for them.

TR50 · Post #108 » by **TR50** » Mon Jul 4, 2011 12:47 am

Hold on....what are the chances of seeing Lombardi in a Leafs jersey?

Post #109 » by **bryant08** » Mon Jul 4, 2011 1:22 am

TR50 wrote:Hold on....what are the chances of seeing Lombardi in a Leafs jersey?

Extremely difficult to tell. Concussion symptoms are pretty unpredictable, he claims to be near the end of his recovery and he hopes to be ready for training camp, but I'd be happy if he gets in 55+ games with decent production.

TR50 · Post #110 » by **TR50** » Mon Jul 4, 2011 1:35 am

bryant08 wrote:
TR50 wrote:Hold on....what are the chances of seeing Lombardi in a Leafs jersey?

Extremely difficult to tell. Concussion symptoms are pretty unpredictable, he claims to be near the end of his recovery and he hopes to be ready for training camp, but I'd be happy if he gets in 55+ games with decent production.

I hope he has a good recovery, his speediness would be great to see in a Leafs jersey. I read somewhere he has a cap hit of 3.5 mil. How many years remain on his contract? 2 years?

Ducksplatt · Post #111 » by **Ducksplatt** » Mon Jul 4, 2011 2:30 am

TR50 wrote:
bryant08 wrote:
TR50 wrote:Hold on....what are the chances of seeing Lombardi in a Leafs jersey?

Extremely difficult to tell. Concussion symptoms are pretty unpredictable, he claims to be near the end of his recovery and he hopes to be ready for training camp, but I'd be happy if he gets in 55+ games with decent production.

I hope he has a good recovery, his speediness would be great to see in a Leafs jersey. I read somewhere he has a cap hit of 3.5 mil. How many years remain on his contract? 2 years?

2 more years (3.5 each year) but if he does not recover he goes on the LTI and his money does not count against the cap.

andyo · Post #112 » by **andyo** » Mon Jul 4, 2011 5:00 am

It's hard to tell with concussions but based on his prognosis by Poile, Pred GM, his prognosis wasn't that great, hence why they made the deal in the first place.

I'm assuming he sits out the season, maybe come back late if we're in for a playoff push. The guy already has a bad concussion history, we shouldn't rush him back. I still think he can be a serviceable player, hopefully he hasn't lost his speed.

Relentless88 · Post #113 » by **Relentless88** » Mon Jul 4, 2011 1:20 pm

Ducksplatt wrote:
Relentless88 wrote:How did Vokoun get only 1.5 million? Burke should have been on that. Unless they're confident in Reimer as the #1 goalie next season. Vokoun would've really strengthened our depth at goalie, and with Franson, our defense looks strong as well.

I heard Vokoun wanted to win a cup - that is why there is a discount.

Ah makes sense. Hopefully he made the right decision.

Anyone hearing any rumours with Columbus? Maybe Brassard? Read this on Leafs FB page, but I don't think it was a legit source.

Post #114 » by **bryant08** » Mon Jul 4, 2011 1:58 pm

A few unreputable sources have been saying that, really doubt it materializes.

Post #115 » by **Next Coming** » Mon Jul 4, 2011 10:49 pm

I'd love to get back Derick Brassard.

Colborne, Brassard, Bozak would be a good young 2nd, 3rd, 4th line Centers in this league.

Post #116 » by **bryant08** » Tue Jul 5, 2011 3:36 pm

Contract discussions with MacArthur are going on today. I've heard he's looking for term (3 years+) but Burke doesn't want something that long. Burke would also apparently like to avoid arbitration if possible so he has control over the deal, so I'm assuming he's offering something 2 years in length. I was also mistaken earlier, as regardless of what guys like Leino, Gagne, Connolly or others got, that cannot be used by MacArthur's agent in arbitration as they signed as unrestricted free agents:

The evidence that can be used in arbitration cases:
The player's "overall performance" including statistics in all previous seasons.
Injuries, illnesses and the number of games played.
The player's length of service with the team and in the NHL.
The player's "overall contribution" to the team's success or failure.
The player's "special qualities of leadership or public appeal."
The performance and salary of any player alleged to be "comparable" to the player in the dispute.

Evidence that is not admissible:
The salary and performance of a "comparable" player who signed a contract as an unrestricted free agent.
Testimonials, video and media reports.
The financial state of the team.
The salary cap and the state of the team's payroll.

And Stamkos is apparently close to a deal with Tampa (last offer was 5 years, $37M). Unless the CBA changes, he'll be a restricted free agent after this contract as well assuming it is 5 years in length

.

Post #117 » by **Next Coming** » Tue Jul 5, 2011 5:26 pm

John Tavares come on dowwwwwn.

andyo · Post #118 » by **andyo** » Tue Jul 5, 2011 6:31 pm

I think if Stamkos signs for 5 instead of 4 years, he'll be a UFA after his contract. Sigh, I don't think Burke even tendered an offer sheet for him.

Post #119 » by **bryant08** » Tue Jul 5, 2011 6:58 pm

andyo wrote:I think if Stamkos signs for 5 instead of 4 years, he'll be a UFA after his contract. Sigh, I don't think Burke even tendered an offer sheet for him.

I could be wrong in my thinking here, but I always assumed a player had to be 27 or older to be a UFA. I haven't seen anyone say he will be an RFA after a 4/5 year contract, just an assumption on my part that could be incorrect. Obviously you can be a UFA if you're not qualified as an RFA at any age, or if you go to arbitration and the team decides to cut you loose (like what happened with MacArthur last year).

On a side note, the Sens have signed Konopka for 1 year at $700,000. That's an awesome signing, not only does he play with a lot of grit, he wins a very high % of his faceoffs. Would've liked to have him on the 4th line but Burke seems like he's content for now:

http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/07/ ... he-better/

Post #120 » by **bryant08** » Tue Jul 5, 2011 8:54 pm

MacArthur signed just a little bit before the arbitration deadline at 5pm. Believed to be 2 years, $6.5M. Good term, good money, good deal. Happy to have him back and that's a very good price ($3.25M a season).