• Moderators, please send me a PM if you are unable to access mod permissions. Thanks, Habsy.

The ****ing Offseason Thread - 2016

BeLeafer said:
According to generalfanager, Bozak is not paid a signing bonus.

I'm not even sure it's desirable to trade Bozak at this stage. He's not a bad option for 2/3 slot with a bunch of kids coming in.
Click to expand...

Agreed. He's a solid second/third-line hybrid option who contributes above his salary level offensively. There are far more pressing issues with this team than Bozak's below market-value contract.
 
leaffan2005 said:
As long as it is for no more than 2 years, I don't mind a veteran guy like Russell around to help provide a stabilizing presence on the blueline and help the kids. No matter what the stats nerds think, you need veterans on a young team like this to help the kids grow and learn how to be pros. If I'm not mistaken, he regularly is amongst the league leaders in blocked shots and would help provide a bit more freedom for our young puck-movers to move up the ice.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree, but I think that his skill-set is somewhat redundant given the Zaitsev signing and the plethora of 4-6 type defenders that the Leafs have in their depth chart at the moment that can step in immediately and not miss a beat (Marincin, Corrado, Hunwick, Carrick, Valiev, etc).
 
Very little playoff/winning experience in that group. Russell has gone on multiple playoff runs and has played in a Stanley Cup final. He is much more valuable than the fringe bottom pair guys we are throwing out there.
 
Wisniewski on a short-term one or two year deal at minimal cap hit actually wouldn't be terrible. He's a really good transition defender who can put up points and a really fantastic possession player to boot.

He'd be a very good, sneaky under the radar type signing to make. If he rebounds, a contending team at the deadline might be willing to part with a nice piece for him to boot.
 
leaffan2005 said:
Very little playoff/winning experience in that group. Russell has gone on multiple playoff runs and has played in a Stanley Cup final. He is much more valuable than the fringe bottom pair guys we are throwing out there.
Click to expand...

You understand he grades out as a 6/7th defenseman in most categories, right? He's awful.
 
Deckie007 said:
You understand he grades out as a 6/7th defenseman in most categories, right? He's awful.
Click to expand...
...and on top of that, he's going to get paid like a very good top-4 defenseman on a long-term deal, probably.

v4CrbNS.jpg
 
leaffan2005 said:
Very little playoff/winning experience in that group. Russell has gone on multiple playoff runs and has played in a Stanley Cup final. He is much more valuable than the fringe bottom pair guys we are throwing out there.
Click to expand...

Except he's a midget that has posted league-worst esque Corsi ratings the past three seasons (43.8 CF% which is brutal), well below average possession metrics (46.2%, 44.0%, and 47.0%), and he can't produce anything offensively.

Literally the only thing that Russell is good at is shot-blocking. He doesn't score, he doesn't defend, he doesn't carry the puck, and he's easily overpowered physically. The Leafs management team should be well past the point of overpaying for leader bean intangibles.
 
Jesus...listening to Dave Poulin talk about the David Clarkson signing on the TSN panel is enough to make your brain leak out of your ears.

He still flat-out doesn't accept that the they even made a mistake signing Clarkson. He thinks that the only problem is that when Clarkson got big money, it caused him to "change his game" and "start trying to do too much". He also said that Leaf management's evaluation of him was that he was "a #3 winger, a HIGHLY-RATED #3 winger".

There's so much astounding stupidity and denial there that I don't even know where to start addressing it.
 
It doesn't really make any sense to talk up this analytics team you've got and then sign a guy that analytics says *DO NOT SIGN*... So I'm guessing it's BS.
 
JaysCyYoung said:
The only explanation that I can think of is that 2005 got him mixed up with the similarly-profiled Robyn Regehr.
Click to expand...

Was thinking he was part of the Flames' run to the SCF in 2004. I stand corrected, however he does still have a lot more playoff experience than any blue-liner we are currently trotting out there.

It's funny how this board's view on players has become so unilateral over the years. Analytics in hockey has come a long way, but it is still an imperfect science. It can not measure every single thing that goes into putting together a hockey team and putting forth a winning product. Mock Russell all you want, but the guy is a gamer. Has been top-three in BS's every year over the last three years. He also had a 34 point season in 2014-2015, so it is not like he is some sort of black hole on offensive side either. He struggled last year, especially after the move to Dallas. Doesn't change the fact that he is the type of guy who lays his body on the line every game and that kind of work ethic can become infectious to a band of pups just learning how to win in this league.

Like I said, short-term deal for reasonable dollars only. Think he would make a good add to our PK.
 
Good for James. I hope he can finally put it together somewhere (as long as he signs outside our division).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top