Comments on: Leafs Thoughts

By: leafmeister

leafmeister — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:44:53 +0000

I say grab Luongo. Then focus the saved assets from acquiring such a valueless goalie on grabbing Staal/Statsny/etc.

By: glotz_99

glotz_99 — Tue, 22 May 2012 22:48:41 +0000

you can watch the marlies games for free on atdhenet.tv

By: reinjosh

reinjosh — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:39:33 +0000

I'd have to think it's sort of high. 2nd round pick and a high end prospect at the very least.

As a Flames fan, I'd think they could get a 1st rounder, decent to good prospect and a roster player for him (more likely a player who is a dump but could do better in a new place).

Maybe Jesse Blacker, 2nd Rounder in 2012, Clark MacArthur?

That way they clear a little salary, get some future pieces but also a current top 6ish type player.

By: Steven_Leafs

Steven_Leafs — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:44:21 +0000

did not know that, just confirmed it on CapGeek. Well then Luongo is looking better and better, if we feel Reimer is ready in 2 seasons we can always trade him. Without the clause to hold us back there is virtually no risk to getting him.

I officially change my preference to Luongo. Anyway I still want to know what people think the Leafs would have to give up for Kipper, and now I'm curious to know what Leaf fans would give up for Luongo knowing that we can flip him if the time comes we need to.

I'll re-post my questions for you guys just in case any of you didn't feel like clicking the Read the rest of the comment button:

The only question now becomes what would the Leafs have to give up for Kiprusoff and what direction the Flames are going by giving up Kipper. I'm kind of curious what everyone (especially Flames fans) think is a fair deal for Kipper. I want you to post 2 deals: one deal is assuming that the Flames are still fighting for a playoff spot and the other deal is assuming they are completely re-building (they are trading Iginla, etc).

I hope you all enjoyed the post. Let me know what you think of my evaluations and which goalie you would target.

By: MystifoLeafs

MystifoLeafs — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:34:37 +0000

I think Lou's NMC can be dropped if the team taking it on would like to do so.

By: Steven_Leafs

Steven_Leafs — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:25:28 +0000

I don't think Backstrom will become available, even with the idea of losing Harding for nothing is not worth keeping him and trading Backstrom IMO (which is probably the only way to re-sign Harding).

The Leafs best options to me are the following:

Luongo
Kiprusoff
Backstrom

The other high end goalies out there are not going to be available, St.Louis will not move Halak, Boston has mentioned they do not intend to move Thomas (even if they do I doubt they move him to a division rival), and anyone else out there worth getting are not available at all or are not much of an improvement over Reimer/Gustavsson which is pointless to throw money and term or assets in a trade to get them.

Now out of the 3 goalies available there are big pros and cons to each trade:

Luongo:

Pros:
-Highly skilled goalie (great winning record in his last 7 seasons)
-Has serious playoff experience (made it to game 7 SCF)
-no fear of losing him to free agency anytime soon
-trade value estimated to be extremely lower than skill level

Cons:
-full NMC (should we get him and feel we have a younger, better goalie down the road trading him will be next to impossible)
-is signed well past his 40th birthday (if he doesn't retire early we could end up having a very high cap hit for a goalie that can't play anymore)

Personally Luongo's cons are nothing. The NMC will only hurt us if a new goalie beats Luongo for his job which is happening right now in Vancouver and it looks like he will be leaving there without issue, and the long-term contract doesn't bug me since I cannot see Luongo make less than 2M a year as a backup or for a team with little chance of winning a cup, which means we should be able to trade him or he will retire and hit cap will come off our books.

Luongo is a great goalie who will cost us little to trade for and has a very good cap hit for a player of his skill level. The risks that come with a player with his term and NMC IMO are more than worth it to have a SCF level, Olympic gold medal winning goalie who should give us 4-8 years of stability in goal.

Kiprusoff:

Pros:
-excellent veteran goalie (good winning record in last 7 seasons)
-Has playoff experience
-signed for 2 more seasons

Cons:
-even with some good records his team has missed the playoffs the last 3 seasons
-is getting older, his skills could start declining
-will likely cost a lot in a trade

Kiprusoff is probably the best option for the Leafs for everyone that thinks Reimer is going to be a legitimate no.1 goalie in a few years as both will be free agents (Reimer will be RFA) in 2 seasons. I don't believe that if Kipper repeats his number from this season that the Leafs will miss the playoffs, in fact if our offense produces on par or better next season then Kipper's numbers can give the Leafs at a shot at the division title.

There is some risk that he will not be able to produce the same way he has been doing but that is unlikely for the 35 year old as he has shown no signs that his career is over. The biggest issue will be his trade value, if the cost to get his is a top pick or prospect or more then the Leafs will likely pass on him.

Backstrom:

Pros:
-very solid goalie (win/loss record can be much better but GAA/Sv% is still good)
-Has playoff experience

Cons:
-has only 1 year left on contract
-will cost the Leafs a fortune to acquire

Backstrom is highly skilled and could give us the same quality goaltending Luongo would without the negatives of a 10 year deal but he has similar, yet opposite risks that Luongo has. With only 1 year left on his deal the price to get him will definitely not be worth it if he fails to re-sign, but if Burke can get Backstrom signed before trading for him then he may be the best option for the Maple Leafs.

Taking all the pros and cons into consideration I think Kiprusoff would be the Leafs best option. He has the talent to win the cup on the right team, with a great contract and gives the Leafs an easy out if Reimer takes over the no.1 spot with allowing the Leafs to re-sign Kipper to a one year deal if Reimer isn't quite ready.

The only question now becomes what would the Leafs have to give up for Kiprusoff and what direction the Flames are going by giving up Kipper. I'm kind of curious what everyone (especially Flames fans) think is a fair deal for Kipper. I want you to post 2 deals: one deal is assuming that the Flames are still fighting for a playoff spot and the other deal is assuming they are completely re-building (they are trading Iginla, etc).

I hope you all enjoyed the post. Let me know what you think of my evaluations and which goalie you would target.

By: mojo19

mojo19 — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:44:36 +0000

Nabakov signed an extension with Islanders. Cross him off.

If you're gonna include guys who don't play many games like Alex Auld (who doesn't belong in the NHL) you really should've included Johan Hedberg who posts great numbers every year. Hedberg is an awesome goalie, even for his age and he'd be a welcome addition anywhere.

Anyway's, I think we gotta go trade route, because only Vokoun is an enticing UFA, or maybe Harding.

The best goalie to potentially available via trade is obviously Kipper but I think it would cost a ton to get him. Next best is Tim Thomas, but given his age, he'd probably be better suited to go to a team with a shot at winning next year or the year after (Chicago, San Jose, possibly Detroit, etc.)

The next best goalies after those two are Backstrom and Halak, and this is where the Leafs should be looking. However, given Elliott's shit play in the playoffs the Blues might wanna hold onto both their goalies, and his cheap contract, it wouldn't hurt to stick Elliott on the bench for another year.

In conclusion, I hope the Wild re-sign Harding to an extension and deal us Backstrom. Thank you.

By: nordiques100

nordiques100 — Sun, 20 May 2012 21:36:38 +0000

Toronto cannot absolutely go again with two unproven netminders.

A proven, number 1, veteran goalie needs to be acquired. While each of the final 4 teams have established themselves as shot blocking, defensive machines, they are backed by some incredible goaltending.

To go in again and hope Reimer is going to be better, or hope Scrivens can deliver what he's done in the A at the NHL level is too much to ask for this coming season.

Reimer was just bad all last year. Maybe he didnt fully recover from the concussion, who knows, but he needs a massive improvement.

I fully understand, Mike Smith came from nowhere, so it can be done, but I really don't trust the psyche of this team in front of a rookie/inexperienced goalie.

To me, they need a proven player, like a Luongo or Kiprusoff to say "hey gents, I got this, score me some goals". They need a guy who even if he has an off night, will easily recover as he has over time, like Luongo has proven, Kiprusoff same.

Far too often for me they sagged when Gus or Reims gave up goals at bad times or the softies. I personally think that would ruin Scrivens and I rather not take those chances.

Lets not dwell on we cant give up this guy or that, and just get it done.

Whether BB has the stones, I have no idea. All I have to say is Dan Cloutier. He has never proven to me he'd get a true No. 1. He inherited that in Anaheim.

By: MystifoLeafs

MystifoLeafs — Sat, 19 May 2012 15:51:04 +0000

Also Flames really don't need goalie prospects they have Ramo/Irving. If Ramo re ups with KHL then we can talk about Goalie prospects.

By: nordiques100

nordiques100 — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:40:00 +0000

The Blues didn't look very confident or as confident with Elliott as they did with Halak in the playoffs.

The dynamic duo works for them, but in the playoffs, and Halak's pedigree, he's the guy the Blues will lean on.