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UFA d-men

ZBBM

ZBBM

Well-known member
Watching the game tonight and thinking about the list of under-30 UFA d-men they showed.  Anyone up for getting Colaiacovo back?  Or going after a guy like Wideman?
 
Outside of Suter and Schultz, the Leafs shouldn't really be thinking about any of the pending UFA dmen unless a couple currently under contract are dealt.
 
bustaheims said:
Outside of Suter and Schultz, the Leafs shouldn't really be thinking about any of the pending UFA dmen unless a couple currently under contract are dealt.
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Let's assume a couple go and Suter isn't in play.  So you're saying only Schultz?
 
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
Let's assume a couple go and Suter isn't in play.  So you're saying only Schultz?
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Pretty much. What's out there isn't really that different from what's already on the roster.
 
Britishbulldog said:
AvroArrow said:
I'd take a run at Matt Carle out of Philli, but I suspect he'll be one of those guys who gets paaaaaiiiiid.
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I have been seeing where Flyer fans don't like Carle.  Any idea why?
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He makes a lot of really terrible decisions on the defensive side of things.
 
bustaheims said:
Outside of Suter and Schultz, the Leafs shouldn't really be thinking about any of the pending UFA dmen unless a couple currently under contract are dealt.
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Yeah, if you assume that Gardiner, Phaneuf, Liles and Gunnar are sort of penciled in as the top 4 right now then any FA's would either have to be better than one of them or would be being signed to play bottom five minutes.

In terms of guys that are better than them I think Suter is really the only candidate I'd be excited about adding and he's probably priced outside of the Leafs budget and I don't know the Leafs want to be spending UFA prices for any defensemen in the 5-7 spots when they've already got Schenn/Komisarek getting paid a lot of money there.

Obviously trades would clear up cap space and playing time but, outside of Gunnar, I don't know if I see any of those top four getting dealt.
 
bustaheims said:
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
Let's assume a couple go and Suter isn't in play.  So you're saying only Schultz?
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Pretty much. What's out there isn't really that different from what's already on the roster.
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Yeah, barring a lot of wheeling and dealing of players from the back end. I mean, if they want to get Holzer in the mix they already have a problem.
 
Tigger said:
Yeah, barring a lot of wheeling and dealing of players from the back end. I mean, if they want to get Holzer in the mix they already have a problem.
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Well, yeah, there's that aspect as well - there's a couple guys in the system that really deserve a look and who are likely as good or better options than what's available on the UFA market for the spots the Leafs will potentially be looking to fill. As I said earlier, Schultz or Suter are the only free agent blueliners the team should be looking at. Suter, for obvious reasons, and Schultz because of his youth and, with him, the team could conceivably put together 3 pairings that can all play 18-22 minutes a night.

And, honestly, outside of one of Franson and Schenn, I doubt any of the defence get moved in the summer. Maybe Gunnarsson, but, I only see him going as part of a package that gets the Leafs a young 1st line centre back, and, what are the odds of that happening?
 
bustaheims said:
Tigger said:
Yeah, barring a lot of wheeling and dealing of players from the back end. I mean, if they want to get Holzer in the mix they already have a problem.
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Well, yeah, there's that aspect as well - there's a couple guys in the system that really deserve a look and who are likely as good or better options than what's available on the UFA market for the spots the Leafs will potentially be looking to fill. As I said earlier, Schultz or Suter are the only free agent blueliners the team should be looking at. Suter, for obvious reasons, and Schultz because of his youth and, with him, the team could conceivably put together 3 pairings that can all play 18-22 minutes a night.

And, honestly, outside of one of Franson and Schenn, I doubt any of the defence get moved in the summer. Maybe Gunnarsson, but, I only see him going as part of a package that gets the Leafs a young 1st line centre back, and, what are the odds of that happening?
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I agree 100% with you 2 and Nik3.  Especially your last paragraph Busta.

Gunnarsson / Phaneuf as the top pairing although Liles / Phaneuf might be a poor man's version of Suter / Weber.

Add Gardiner and you have a solid top 4.

With Schenn, Komisarek, Franson and Holzer all looking to play the RH in the final 2 spots behind Phaneuf.

Liles, Gunnarsson and Gardiner on the LH side. 

Suter is LH and Justin Schultz is RH.
 
I would not at all mind seeing Matt Carkner signed by the Leafs this off season he would be a solid #6 and tough as nails.
 
moon111 said:
Would any D-man, Leaf or UFA be any good on forward?
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I wouldn't move him back up front again but I believe Gardiner was a forward quite recently. I'm sure he'd do well there but he's just fine where he is.
 
Sarge said:
I wouldn't move him back up front again but I believe Gardiner was a forward quite recently. I'm sure he'd do well there but he's just fine where he is.
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Not only that, but I imagine he'd be much less impressive as a forward than he is as a defenceman. He'd still be pretty good, but, we wouldn't be talking about him with the same level of praise.
 
bustaheims said:
Sarge said:
I wouldn't move him back up front again but I believe Gardiner was a forward quite recently. I'm sure he'd do well there but he's just fine where he is.
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Not only that, but I imagine he'd be much less impressive as a forward than he is as a defenceman. He'd still be pretty good, but, we wouldn't be talking about him with the same level of praise.
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That's kind of a backhanded criticism, isn't it?  Are we impressed with him just because of his obvious skating skills and potential scoring, or do we think he'll develop into a positionally sound defender too?  He's still a bit of an enigma on that count IMO.

Anyway, and this isn't really right on topic, but seeing Stralman do pretty darn well with NYR reminds me that we should give Gardiner (who's a somewhat similar kind of player, hence this non sequitur thought) plenty of time to develop.  A couple of years ago Stralman looked like he might not stick in the league at all.
 
I think we're impressed at his smooth skating and poise for a defender, which is valuable for starting the breakout.  If he were a forward, say a winger, he'd be tied to the boards up and down the ice, not leading the breakouts, his poise and calm with the puck would be wasted where we could use it most - breaking out.  That's how I see it anyways.
 
Potvin29 said:
I think we're impressed at his smooth skating and poise for a defender, which is valuable for starting the breakout.  If he were a forward, say a winger, he'd be tied to the boards up and down the ice, not leading the breakouts, his poise and calm with the puck would be wasted where we could use it most - breaking out.  That's how I see it anyways.
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That's pretty much what I meant. His skillset is much more of an asset to the Leafs as a defenceman than it would be to them as a forward.
 
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