NEEDED! Defensive defencman – What a concept
With the forward position basically set and goaltending already in place the one place that will see movement from here to training camp will be the defence. With 9 NHL caliber d-men on the roster (10 if like me you consider Jay harrison a very solid player) and a max of seven spots available. Here is a quick look at the contenders.
McCabe – clearly trying to be moved. If he wont budge look for limited ice time and a buy-out following next season. Not in long term plans, this year is only question mark.
Kubina – I believe Cliff and Ron like him but if McCabe wont go he may have to be dumped to clear some space for younger, cheaper players who fit in long term plans. Also selling high with him is a pretty good option right now.
Kaberle – Best player under best contract. Value is severly high. Although I doubt management has the guts a trade could be positive down the road. Could have fetched Jeff Carter at deadline, value is similar now. If he would waive what a return we could get. He will be 30 and getting along.
Finger – Type of d-man we want. Little overpaid yes but not as outrageous as some people believe. Will be a solid pro and top 3 man on any NHL corps in a few years.
Carlo – maybe most talent as a two way player of the bunch but injuries have hampered. He is one reason why this depth is so useful. If he can stay healthy is a BIG part of the future.
White – Good puck mover and should get better with confidence, needs to be paired with a player like Finger but should be on Leafs when season opens.
Stralman – proved he was NHL ready if raw at the end of last year. Great World Championships and should have new confidence and experience entering camp. Projects to make squad.
Kronwall – Showed physical flashes last year that match his responsibility. He appears to have an NHL career but this could be a tough crew to bust into.
Frogren – Risky by Cliff to say he will play in our top 6. Seeing he is 28 how big will his impact be when we are competitive? Interesting pick up. No offence. If he has a bad start could be a bust.
Harrison – Bruiser whos skating has improved dramatically. Should have gotten some sort of chance last year. Will start year with Marlies but hopefully new regime will see his hard-nosed play and give him a chance if injury or poor play sets in.
All in all I believe McCabe and Kubina will likely be shown the door.
Kaberle Carlo
Finger White
Stralman Frogren
Kronwall
74 Responses to NEEDED! Defensive defencman – What a concept
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Very valid point. Having said that, Al Coates (a well respected scout) was raving about Finger. I guess we'll find out in a few months.
Exactly, that defense in 2002 was horrendous, yet we got 100 points (without shootouts) and reached the Final 4.
Yes, Cujo was a major factor. But our forwards were excellent in 2002, the opposite of last season.
Sundin, Mogilny, and Roberts were the leaders. Tucker was in his prime. But even Renberg and Green were still very good at that time. A tenacious Tie Domi. Corson was a great 2-way guy, great checker with toughness. Reichel was overpaid, but 51 points in 78 games was still very good. And even Alan McCauley got some big goals in the playoffs after Sundin's injury.
Excellent combination of skill and grit. That was a pretty deep Toronto offense. NO COMPARISON to last year.
Again, even with a crappy defence, that team did amazing, largely because of Cujo AND the forwards. If we had those forwards today, we'd be a force.
Yes on Kubina, I agree.
The problem with Stajan and Steen is that they are simply not top-6 forwards. But because they play on a team with limited scoring depth, they often get 2nd line duties, which is putting them in over their head.
They are certainly not bad players by any means, but there's no way they'd be on the 2nd line if they played for a contender.
What I meant is
– hard shot
– PP specialist
– no defense skills
– no skating skills
– overrated
– overpaid
1 : Calgary doesn't care about Kubina, they already have 4 highly paid d-men in Phaneuf, Regehr, Sarich and Aucoin. and who cares about Newbury? plus, you already have a Lombardi in Steen. good on 2nd line, great on 3rd line.
2 : POUHAHAHAHA. for Statsny, it's at least Tlutsy, Stralman and a 1rst round pick. for Svatos Tlusty and a 2nd. and Colorado really doesn't care about Stajan, they have Arnason who rocks on the 3rd line. they don't care about Kubina, they have Liles and Clark for the PP. they don't care about the 2nd round pick. and who cares about Ian White? He'd be the 8th d-man on any decent team. your trade is pure non-sense.
3 : the most realistic trade, even though Toronto doesn't need Hunter and the Isles don't need McCabe.
4 : Vyborny is no center, he's a winger. And he already signed in Europe.
Svelha was huge when playing with the Panthers, it's just that everyone seems to suck when they join Toronto.
We never said anything about making the playoffs, this team is created to free salary cap and tank so we can rebuil properly
I thinK Ottawa should do the same because they have the worst prospects in the NHL
We never said anything about making the playoffs, this team is created to free salary cap and tank so we can rebuil properly
I thinK Ottawa should do the same because they have the worst prospects in the NHL
Actually Svehla played very well in Toronto. Some people think he stunk just because he played 1 year, which is totally ridiculous. I never realized how good a player he was until he joined the Leafs. Excellent D.
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McCabe abd White have to go NOW. Then at the trade deadline the leafs HAVE to get Kaberle to waive his no trade and get a nice package of picks and prospects for him.
1)Trade McCabe and White for anything
2)leafs Defence before trade deadline…….
Kubina——Kaberle
Finger——-Colaiacovo
Stralman—-Frogren
Kronwall—–Harrison
3)leafs Defence after trading Kaberle
Kubina——-Finger
Colaiacovo—Kronwall
Stralman—–Frogren
Harrison
Niko Kapanen wouldn't make the team, let alone top line. Kulemin will be in the line up next season unless he has a terrible camp.
Or just keep Kubina. If we miss the playoffs again does his NTC not have another window next summer?
http://www.nhlkvasni.blogspot.com look up the part about Leafs defense and specifically Kubina. Why not keep him?
Antropov can play top line centre. He shuts down guys like Lecavalier, Crosby, Staal 5 on 5. He's matched up really well against them.
The reason radio, that you don't hear Sens fans hyping up their team is because the Sens essentially don't have any fans. They have only a little over half a million people in Ottawa and no surrounding cities. No fan base = no hype. Leafs fans on the other hand are a world wide party.
I'd rather keep him if we're getting little in return, ie, a salary dump.
When I say move him, I'm assuming the Leafs are going to get back a good young player or 1st pick. Otherwise, he's too good to just give away I think.
Im with you there Leafy
Jay Harrison is another Wozniewski
Agreed, just like how Phil Oreskovich will probably be the same also.
There all clones of each other, defensive defencemen with very limited skill, easily replacable, dime a dozen.
A couple things wrong with that…
1) the way fletch has been running this team, we wouldnt be able to get that kind of a return
2)Kapanen became a UFA July 1. And on top of that, he signed with Ak Bars Kazan in Russia in the middle of June.
3)Even if he was traded here, even the Leafs brass wouldnt put an (on average) 25point getter as our 1st line starter
I agree too. He looked slow as molasses for one thing. I always liked Brendan Bell more than Harrison, although Bell wasn't all that great either.
Yes, T.O is the centre of all existence.
Even The Diesel wants a piece of Laff central:
You guys are forgetting about Phil Oreskovic he was the hardest hitting d man in th ohl when he played