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Armchair GM Thread 2025/26

rdowdall said:
He's going for the 9th overall pick from last year, who is a young 6'6" dman, and a first this year.

I would argue the better part. He's definitely a beast defensively, but offensively he doesn't bring more than 35 points in his best year.

He's younger by 2 years, but that means you are on the hook for the bad years of his contract.

All I am saying is if Parayko is worth that much, then I think OEL should be worth a 1st and a 2nd without having to take on a salary dump.
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He's a top pairing defensive guy. OEL is not a top pairing anything anymore. That's a significant difference and why Parayko might be going for a lot more that OEL.
 
bustaheims said:
He's a top pairing defensive guy. OEL is not a top pairing anything anymore. That's a significant difference and why Parayko might be going for a lot more that OEL.
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I am not saying that OEL should get as much as Parayko. I am saying that the Leafs should be able to get something for OEL that is fairly significant, without having to take on a salary dump.

If they can't then that is even more proof that the Leafs are one of the worst run organizations in the NHL because they traded for Brandon Carlo last year in which they gave up a 1st, a top prospect and a 4th. Granted, the Bruins retained salary, but the Leafs have that option here as well. If they can't find deals similar to the ones that they made last year, they it means not only were they stupid because they made those deals in the first place, but they are stupid because they can't leverage the market the way it was leveraged against them.
 
rdowdall said:
I am not saying that OEL should get as much as Parayko. I am saying that the Leafs should be able to get something for OEL that is fairly significant, without having to take on a salary dump.

If they can't then that is even more proof that the Leafs are one of the worst run organizations in the NHL because they traded for Brandon Carlo last year in which they gave up a 1st, a top prospect and a 4th. Granted, the Bruins retained salary, but the Leafs have that option here as well. If they can't find deals similar to the ones that they made last year, they it means not only were they stupid because they made those deals in the first place, but they are stupid because they can't leverage the market the way it was leveraged against them.
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The Leafs gave up a package in the Carlo trade that was pretty comparable to what the Sabres just gave up for Parayko.
 
dappleganger said:
The Leafs gave up a package in the Carlo trade that was pretty comparable to what the Sabres just gave up for Parayko.
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Maybe. Depends on where the Leafs pick lands. The Sabres are giving up the 9th overall pick from last year, which from the looks of it, is a Dougie Hamilton with more bite type of player, and there first this year which is going to probably be in the 20-24 range.

Minten is good, he's having a great breakout season, and he is probably going to be a good 3rd, maybe 2nd line center for years. He might top out as a 1st line center, but I think his most likely career trajectory is 2nd/3rd line player.
 
For the upcoming offseason
https://twitter.com/x/status/2036483392548565359

if Carolina (and JK) don't want to do a buyout, the Leafs should take full freight on this contract for a sweetener; Marleau math dictates it should be a 1st-ish, but it's more likely a 3rd, and we send them... Hirvonen's rights or the well traveled Future Considerations.

Kotkaniemi is then the de facto shutdown C to soak up the minutes that Matthews should no longer be eating under a new coach. Furnish him with Dakota Joshua and Quillan (or the like).

If there's some way to swing a trade for Shane Wright without losing Cowan/Danford, then you have a King of Little Things L2 with Tavares mentoring him from the LW.
 
I keep turning over in my head what a horrific disaster it would have been to trade knies to - of all teams - the Habs.

This is exactly why Treliving should have been fired already. This jackass already gifted the bruins with a fast rebuild and was going to help out the freaking Canadiens next? This whole management team is such a freaking disaster. I think I'd rather have an armchair as the GM at this point.

And I heard on the FAN the other day that the consensus is Treliving is coming back. How?
 
Joe S. said:
Why is Steeves on the list if he's got a contract until '28?
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His current contract expires at the end of this season, which would have left him a UFA-Gr6 candidate, but the Bruins extended him in January, hence the contract until '28 that you've referenced.

The little + icon indicates the player already has a follow up contract. I think they should've removed those rows for clarity.
 
This obviously has to come after the GM is sorted out, and then the coaches, but I'd really like the Leafs roster to key in on mobile two-way defense and really develop their attack buildup from the backend. The cap sheet has plenty of room to take on expensive, disgruntled projects. Exit with control and give the forwards a real chance with controlled entries or forechecking with speed into the good spots to generate turnovers. Even better if one of the D can just Nylander it from DZ to OZ.

Dougie Hamilton is there for the asking.

Off the cheapo pile, there are some useful bets to make with Victor Soderstrom, Ville Heinola, Lassi Thomson, the return of Topi Niemela? and the elevation of some Marlie options if they're ready: Villeneuve, Chadwick, Thrun

Throw big money at Raddysh for his one contract season and PP bomb?

First quarter of the season should be old shutdown vet paired with younger puck mover, and the reverse old puckmoving vet with a shutdown prospect, played at relatively even minutes to see what floats to the top and what needs more seasoning. Settle into a more top-4 setup as the season progresses. I'm assuming Rielly will be a Shark, and Carlo probably sent away to whatever.

Back of the napkin stuff:
McCabe - Raddysh/Soderstrom/Niemela/Thomson/Villeneuve
Chadwick/Thrun - Tanev
OEL - Danford
Webber/Rifai - Hamilton
 
We need some puck-moving defencemen. With all due respect to Chadwick/Thrun/Villeneuve we can't go into the season hoping they can pull it off for a full season.

Free agent options are, of course, pretty bad. I wouldn't hate throwing money at Darren Raddysh but we're gonna have to hope the guy has some Leafs pajamas stashed away from his childhood somewhere (which is possible) because otherwise there will definitely be a team somewhere that will offer him more than what my ceiling would be.

The trade route is probably the best option, and the good news is puck-moving defencemen (especially young/small puck-moving defencemen) tend to get undervalued so a good GM (still waiting on that) should be able to identify some that would help us. We don't exactly have a ton to offer though. Trying to dangle Robertson for an equivalent defenceman might be the best chance at getting something.
 
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