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The Official 2026 Off-Season Thread: Revenge of the Nerds

zeke said:
try this list and see if anyone pops out

i like sorting by rating instead of gamescore.

note that guys who were on the shittastic nerdies teams (like the leafs) are likely having their number suppressed, and the guys on great nerdies teams might be having them boosted.

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Dom likes Raddysh, Burns, Carlson and Andersson, but Raddysh is the only one that wasn’t sheltered.
 
leafman101 said:
I’d be hesitant to spend out cap space just because we have it (Petterssen/Dougie etc).

I liked this Mehta quote:


View: https://x.com/amandacstein/status/2046721180585939150?s=46

If a stud like Werenski/Thomas/Fox type player can be had in a trade, if you believe in Raddysh/Andersson/Tuch as top tier players, get it done. but otherwise there are affordable ways to improve the team.
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Yup. Or, you can still spend the space, but don't lock yourself in for 5+ years on contracts that may be questionable. Go short-term on some aging vets to plug some holes for now to buy you some time to find a longer term solution (whether it's through a prospect of your own developing, a trade, FA signing, etc).

I just did this for fun and I'm realizing that it's almost dangerous how much cap space they may have if they dump a lot of their dead weight (Carlo, Domi, Joshua in this case). This roster has like $10m in cap space to fill 1 hole. Tre would have done some serious damage if he was still in charge. But you better be beyond sure about Rasmus and Raddysh if this is the path you take. I'd prefer a little more creativity than this, but it would certainly be a playoff team I think.

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leafman101 said:
I don’t think so. For a legit, prime age #1 I’m willing to do almost anything, including Knies.
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Yes, and unless Columbus absolutely adored Knies above anything else, other bidders have their own version to headline a deal.

What the Leafs lack is the supplementary pieces to compete in a deal
 
MyNameIsJonas said:
Yes, and unless Columbus absolutely adored Knies above anything else, other bidders have their own version to headline a deal.

What the Leafs lack is the supplementary pieces to compete in a deal
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I used to agree with this, but I'm coming around to thinking that's BS now. Scamford, the Avs 1st, Chadwick, even toss Cowan in there. Lots of pieces. But Knies alone is super rare.
 
The real roadblock is that Werenski's are never traded. But if one becomes available, there's no reason the Leafs wouldn't be able to put together a top tier package for them.
 
Preston said:
I used to agree with this, but I'm coming around to thinking that's BS now. Scamford, the Avs 1st, Chadwick, even toss Cowan in there. Lots of pieces. But Knies alone is super rare.
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I guess it depends what the Jackets want.

If they are doing a hockey deal, sure i can see a Knies led package being uber interesting, even if the Leafs supplementary pieces really arent that impressive and super interchangeable within other orgs.

But if any team wants a futures deal? There's no chance.
 
MyNameIsJonas said:
I guess it depends what the Jackets want.

If they are doing a hockey deal, sure i can see a Knies led package being uber interesting, even if the Leafs supplementary pieces really arent that impressive and super interchangeable within other orgs.

But if any team wants a futures deal? There's no chance.
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Teams will almost always prefer a young emerging power forward over a futures deal, whether they are rebuilding or not. It's just that the team acquiring the players rarely want to give those guys up. But the Leafs can and would.
 
If you can add guys like Andersson and Raddysh for free, you should never even entertain the thought of trading Knies. Whatever the upgrade a Werenski over Andersson would be, it’s not anywhere near the loss of Knies over his replacement. Not to mention the great long term AAV that Knies is locked into.
 
Preston said:
Teams will almost always prefer a young emerging power forward over a futures deal, whether they are rebuilding or not. It's just that the team acquiring the players rarely want to give those guys up. But the Leafs can and would.
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I just feel like there are a few teams, like Detroit for example who would be insane to let a Werenski go on the block without getting him.

Hell, the Sharks, who have the deepest pool in hockey and desperately need a D, should be offering 2nd overall in a package.

I dont think Toronto competes with this.
 
LeafOfFaith said:
If you can add guys like Andersson and Raddysh for free, you should never even entertain the thought of trading Knies. Whatever the upgrade a Werenski over Andersson would be, it’s not anywhere near the loss of Knies over his replacement. Not to mention the great long term AAV that Knies is locked into.
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Werenski is a Norris caliber D.

Andersson at peak is maybe 30th in the NHL and there is a real risk hits his downside really soon.
 
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