Comments on: Are the Leafs after Malone?

By: Steven_Leafs

Steven_Leafs — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:23:46 +0000

would not be bad at all. would make flipping a couple of top 6 forwards+ for a big centerman much less painful. Maybe try to do it all at once:

To Tampa Bay:

MacArthur (3.25M cap / 3.25M cash)
Lombardi (3.50M cap / 3.50M cash)
Komisarek (4.50M cap / 3.50M cash)

To Toronto:

Lecavalier (7.727M cap / 10.0M cash)
Malone (4.50M cap / 3.00M cash)

Tampa Bay saves 2.75M in cash next year and loses about 1M in cap while getting an extra player. Toronto gets a big center to play with Lupul/Kessel, replaces MacArthur with Malone and gets rid of Komisarek. We take on 2 bad contracts but would definitely be worth it.

That being said no chance in hell Tampa does this, I do feel if Tampa Bay can dump Lecavalier's cancer of a contract they will but I doubt this offer is enough.

Also noticing that Malone's contract pays 3M this year and 2.5M the next 2 years in cash, I dont think Tampa is moving Malone anymore. He is a solid player that is making almost half of his cap hit in cash, an excellent contract for a team like Tampa Bay.

By: Steven_Leafs

Steven_Leafs — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:13:12 +0000

yeah good point, I wouldn't do this trade at all unless Lupul's value was a bit higher (right now he is playing like a top line forward but his trade value is considerably less than the other top line forwards in the league). But I suppose getting a big centerman like Kopitar, and a massive inprovement in net with Bernier as a bonus is hard to pass up.

By: thisgamewelose

thisgamewelose — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:42:37 +0000

I think Kopitar is the go after guy in this trade, getting Bernier is really just a bonus…or perhaps I just have Kopitar rated way too high here. I think Bernier has more value than Gus. A lot of teams would love to have him, and the only reason he's not number 1 in LA is because Quick battled and emerged as their franchise goalie.

By: mojo19

mojo19 — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:17:01 +0000

His contract just makes it so tough. Like we were talking about in another article, I'd only do Komi for Malone straight up, because the contracts are equal, and we basically shift a big tough hitter from the back end, to up front.

It wouldn't be a bad thing to have a guy like Malone in the line up when you face Boston either. I'd try Komi for Malone if I could (if I were Burke), and then I'd still try to add one more big winger after that.

By: Steven_Leafs

Steven_Leafs — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:50:11 +0000

personally I wouldn't go after Bernier at all. He does have potential to be better than Reimer but he is still a young unproven goalie. I think if we are going to give up Kadri and/or Lupul for better goal-tending then we better get a proven young goalie like Halak, Rask or Schneider.

By: mapleleafsfan

mapleleafsfan — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:29:36 +0000

Lol this.. Considering Lupul is the best piece in the trade, you can't remove him. And say you do remove him, how is lupul only worth a 2nd and a 3rd? Regardless, that package wouldn't get kopitar alone.

By: JoelLeafs

JoelLeafs — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:29:11 +0000

I dunno, even Kadri, Gus, and a 1st wouldn't even do it, IMO. This "replace hims with a 2nd" tells me that his value is around a 2nd. No *****ing way that is the case.

By: thisgamewelose

thisgamewelose — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:53:22 +0000

2nd and 3rd*

By: thisgamewelose

thisgamewelose — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:46:31 +0000

Replace Lupul with a 2nd or 3rd? You're getting Kopitar…the initial offer wasn't good enough, there's no way you replace him with a 2nd.

By: JoelLeafs

JoelLeafs — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:00:13 +0000

Well, I think your former option is most likely. The leafs are in the midst of a youth movement, which involves a certain deal of waiting and developing. Same goes with the goalies. There is too much of a log jam in the minors at the G position, so bringing a goalie in would likely mean less games for the prospects, ultimately hurting development.

I'm fine with the situation, I suppose. You have to think that Reimer is only going to get better, and it's hard to assess how much his play is being affected by the injury and the time off. Plus, he's had shit luck. Vs Ottawa for example: first goal could have been an interference call (it was iffy), second one should not have been a goal, and the third... well, he should have had that one.

My concern is if they can resign Gus after this season. His number of games has gone up considerably, but he's clearly never been the #1 guy. If he thinks he can do that in another city, what's keeping him here? I'd really like to sign him for another 2 years at his current amount or maybe what Reimer makes.

Thing is, if all the young guys stay on track this groups could be very deadly in 2-4 years; however, the likelihood of at least some of the dropping off is very high.

Also, I know he's not regarded as a number 1 by most, but Bozak has looked good since his return and seemingly invigorated the top line.