Leafs could land Forsberg and Roberts without jeopardizing their future
I was listening to Hockey Central last week and Kipper and Millard were saying it would be possible to fit both these guys under the cap if Wellwood and Tucker were put on long term IR in a Lamorello’esk move. This got me thinking.Everyone else is pretending to be JFJ so here goes my opinion of what the Leafs should try to do. Now I wouldn’t want to trade away for a shot at the cup and mortgage the future, but there could be a way to go for a cup run this year without sacrificing too much:
– Firstly Tucker would bring back a 1st round draft pick and decent young guy. (Nothing special, think Brendan Bell calibre except a forward).
– Now with two 1st rounders, we can deal one of them away in a package for Forsberg and still be in good shape. So you trade a 1st rounder with either Ponikarovski (21 goals last year, 15 in 45 games this year), or Matt Stajan and one of our young defensman. (Wozneiwski, Kronvall, or Harrison) Most likely Kronvall.
-Lastly Bell and a 3rd or 4th rounder (of which we have two thanks to the Tellqvist trade) are dealt for Roberts
So its effectively Tucker and Poni out, Roberts and Forsberg in.
We lose a couple decent young D-men but nothing instrumental and still have a first round draft pick:
Assuming its Poni and not Stajan here’s my line-up:
Forsberg – Sundin – Antropov
Roberts – Wellwood – Devereux/Pohl
Steen – Stajan – O’Neil
Kilger – Green – Battaglia/Belak
Kaberle – Kubina
McCabe – Carlo
Gill – White *Wozy/Harrison
Raycroft
Aubin
23 Responses to Leafs could land Forsberg and Roberts without jeopardizing their future
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i like that idea but poni is a soild young player
and how long would wellwood be out for if he was placed on the longtime injured reserve?
i think in terms of the trade market that might actually be feesable . . .and forsberg is a huge upgrade on tucker ASSUMING he stays healthy . .don't get me wrong I love Tucker but he's no Forsberg. The only other concern i might have is available cap room. .obviously. Gary Roberts is integral to the leafs making the playoffs . . .i don't care what anyone else says (especially that blow hard leafy mc leaf) Roberts would be a HUGE aquisition he will help the young guns in thier conditioning and training and bring a strong work ethic to the room. Now all we have to do is find a way tto get rid of Hal Gill and we will be on the right track.
yes i agree, LeafyMcLeaf is a blowhard!
Players that i would not mind giving up/ need to to make our team better: Tucker, Woz., Bell, Harrison, and or Antropov.
We should NOT go for forsberg. Go for Smyth or Jokinen or Zherdev(even though i know its close to impossible)
Forsberg and Roberts would be a great move. Forsberg has that nagging foot injury though.
How about Bill Guerin?
Forsberg I consider a long shot so if that doesn't happen maybe a Bill Guerin could add some fire power. I don't think it would take much either. Weight went to Carolina last year for a draft pick didn't he?
The only way I want to see Roberts on the Leafs is to replace Tucker if he's traded!
Ok…
1. Darcy Tucker may be back in 2 Weeks, so you can't put him on IR.
2. Kyle Wellwood maybe, but in case he returns early, it's too risky to put him on IR.
3. Were not going to trade Tucker, and no team would want him if hes injured and on IR.
4. We could get more, than a 1st Rounder and a "Brendan Bell Player" for Tucker.
5. As much as I hate to say it we aren't Cup Contenders this year.
6. JFJ doesn't want Forsberg and isn't in the running to get him anymore.
7. We would never trade away Alexi Poni or Matt Stajan, atleast not for a few years.
8. We wound't trade a package for a player (Gary Roberts) who probably won't stay with the Leafs.
9. Trading both Poni and Tucker would destroy our team.
10. If these trades did happen, Roberts or Wellwood would be on the first-line over Antropov.
Antropov is only on the first-line beacuse of Poni.
10 reasons why your article sucks, but good try! 🙂
NOT MATT STAJAN! DOES "FUTURE SELKE 60-70 POINT SCORER" MEAN NOTHING TO YOU MORONS! NOT PONI EITHER! CLARKEY WANTS A FIRST ROUNDER AND A PROSPECT, SO THE FIRST ROUNDER AND BELL OR THAT RUSSIAN DUDE WE GOT IN THE SECOND ROUND!
Can we bring back Tucker in the off-season?
I don't see the Leafs getting Forsberg. JFJ tried to prove he had balls with Pronger, and he failed.
Thankyou, the only error I see here is Roberts would probably at least attempt to stay here.
Still not worth it for a guy we can wait two months for, getting him now serves no purpose other than making sure the Sens DON'T get him.
Two of Guerin, Roberts, and Bertuzzi.
I think this atricle may be a bit much. however i wouldnt miss Poni and would LOVE for Roberts to come back he's got the biggest heart i've seen in this sport, but i would NEVER give up Tucker, we really dont need Forsberg anyway, one mroe forward on Sundin'd line is all thats necessary.
Could someone clarify how player salaries work towards the cap. Say if McCabe is paid 7 mil for his first 2 seasons and 4 mill for his last 3 (i know numbers are off) how much would go towards the cap in a given year?…would it be the amount for the given year or is it the average of all 5 amounts??
I think we are out of the Forsberg bidding. Teams like Detroit and Colorado can afford to give up a 1st round pick. Toronto NEEDS (and I cant stress that enough) to keep their pick wherever they stand. It is a deep draft and we still need some key prospects for the future.
However, should the leafs find themselves close to a playoff spot by the deadline, I think picking up a rental player like Bill Guerin would help this team as much or more then Forsberg. And if the deal looks good, renting Tucker would be a plus no matter what. Ive heard rumours like Tucker for Bobby Ryan, I know its a rumour but if its the offer, take it no matter if we win 10 in a row.
it's the average over the five years. in your scenario, it would be 26 million divided by 5, which would be a little over 5M per year.
hope this helps
Mojo, don't let'em get you down, if you post anything on this site all you're only gonna hear is criticism, in which case, pull a 92-93 and declare yourself a genius and use the word 'shrewd' a lot. Anyways, the Leafs getting Forsberg is a long shot, but the scenario or at least one similar to the one you've laid out may be their only chance of landing him. I'd keep Stajan and dump Steen though and put Antropov in place of Poni.
However I still say the Leafs are better off signing Tucker for 3 years. They'll never (never, never, never) get a better deal for a quality winger, who can score in the neighborhood of 30 goals a year. Let 's consider who they could sign in Tucker place. Symth? Not worth the 5.5 a year he'll command not to mention he'll want about 4-5 years. Nagy? Eight goals in 55 games this year, talk about blue chip talent huh, he just potential baggage for whoever overpays him. Bertuzzi? See the fall of Eric Lindros. Modin or Carter? Their no Tucker, but will get similar contracts.
Tucker gives the Leafs consistent scoring from a line other than Mats' and a mid to late round 1st round pick is likely the best Tucker will fetch, I'd rather have quality winger for 3 years in his prime, especially since the Leafs are desperate from wingers. To sum up, sign Tucker for 3 years, caps going up anyway.
until the remaining part of his contract could be paid off, still staying under the cap. So probably the last 7 or 8 games of the year.
And Poni would be missed but oh well. he's a guy who's replaceable.
I doubt Smyth or Jokinen would be traded unless you give up a ton, and I mean a ton, especially for Jokinen who signed a contract extension last year. And Zherdev would be costly too because he is still young. I think Forsberg is a lot more available than these guys.
Weight went to Carolina for 2 draft picks and 3 players. I can't remember two of the three players but I dont think they were anything special and the other one was Zigomanis.
Yes we can bring back Tucker in the offseason.
Stajan is NOT a future selke winner. He's a very good player, but every team in the league has a guy like Stajan on it.
I don't think JFJ has the balls to pull it off either, or the brains for that matter.
We can trade Tucker and get him back in the offseason. I think he would understand. But I agree he rocks, its just that he's our best candidate to trade because I would like to get a 1st round pick back, and theres no one else we could trade to land that that I can see. (Unless you count Mats of course, but he won't go, or Kubina if you think you could move him for something, Tucker is the only one on a contract year)
1. you can put anyone you want on long term IR, ask Lou Lamorello re: Matvichuck, Mogilny (playing in Europe)
2.Wellwood isn't missed right now, and you can bring him back well before the playoffs anyway because his contract is fairly low
3.Lots of teams would want Tucker, don't be crazy.
4. I don't think we could for the reason you just said (hes hurt)
5. We would be if we pulled these deals off, wouldn't we? Yes we would.
6. True, but thats because he's stupid
7. Why, Poni is replaceable, he's a hard worker who uses his body, but Battaglia would produce the same way if he was playing with Mats and Nik
8.its not much of a package, and Roberts will only waive his clause if he gets an extension on his contract so…… besides he requested a trade back to TO in the summer to be near his daughter and to be closer to his business
9.Not really, Poni a restricted free agent will want a raise this offseason, and Tucker is asking for a no trade clause and IMO a little more money than he deserves and its a thick free agent pool for wingers, these two guys were barely missed when they were both hurt at the same time, how would it destroy the team?
10. Antropov is the best leaf next to Mats and Kaberle
In the summer Maurice asked each leaf forward individually which player they would most want on their line, and almost all listed Antropov (the teams best playmaker) as their #1 choice. He and Poni have been the +/- kings for years on this team, and he's 5x more talented than Ponikarovski a big body. Keep watching the games and you'll understand soon, just like the rest of leaf nation who have been coming around more and more as the seasons gone on.
But good try.
Yeah, they could still sign him but it'd be a huge gamble and it would also force Tucker to explore the open market which would surely drive up his price.
Its not like the Leafs are desperate for another first round pick anyway.
True. But I still think they should trade Ponikarovski, who is a restricted free agent at the end of the year, I think he would be a valuable trade commodity and I think he's due for a big fat raise which he might not deserve. I wouldn't be surprised if he asked for between 1.5 and 2 mil a season for a 3 year deal, which would probably be overpaying. But If he gets it, I won't hate it, because he is a good positional guy and look at what Armstrong got in LA.