You know that how? Ranger is solid defensively and a better skater. Scores more too.
- burn

Yeah, but did he take a puck in the HEAD???

FRASER IS ALL HEART!!!

Yeah but the Leafs need some shutdown guys more than offensive. Thats why I liked Fraser with the Leafs...and Im sure Carlyle did too.
- Colin Dambrauskas

Fraser was our best D last year.. Almost no one noticed it seems.

Hate to say this but... Fraser is nothing special.
- Pecafan Fan

hahah I don't think anyone thinks he's special

he's a great 3rd pairing, don't complicate things, pass the puck to a guy who has hands, solid D.

He is organizational depth.
No assets were wasted.
- Barx

exactly

its (frank)ing looney to be complaining about a 1 million $ depth signing
If the leafs are not adding Tavares its a waste of time

I am praying we can move out Liles somehow some way

So you have Brennan 40 NHL games, Holzer 24 and Ranger 270

Who the F knows which will be the better option for a 6/7th dman.
its a low risk/decent reward scenario
- senstroll

The guy hasn't played an NHL game in over 3 years. It's my opinion is all.

I'm not ready to go there yet - still hopeful it's Liles.

If we start hearing that Franson's looking for big $$ and term then we gotta go there.
- The Law

Agreed.

Like I mean I guess...and I initially figured this was nothing more than a depth move...but signing Ranger at 1M(ish) then Kadri, Franson, Fraser....thats cutting it DAMN close.
- Colin Dambrauskas

If Ranger makes it somebody (Fraser, Holzer, Brennan, whomever) doesn't - they won't carry 9 Dmen.

But yeah, with or without this signing, it's going to be close.

hahah I don't think anyone thinks he's special

he's a great 3rd pairing, don't complicate things, pass the puck to a guy who has hands, solid D.
- dragus84

For sure. But, better than Ranger? I highly doubt it.

Fraser was our best D last year.. Almost no one noticed it seems.
- mfreedman

WHAT!!!

Its not all of us, only a select few. Here are my reasons:

1. He is extremely slow which his backward skating
2. He takes stupid penalties at the worst times
3. He has no accuracy with his shot
4. He cannot perform a proper breakout without carrying the puck from end to end (failing 3 out of every 4 times)
5. He never ties up anyone in front of the net
6. He provides no leadership on the ice to warrant wearing the "C" (maybe off the ice, but I don't get to see that)
7. At $6.5M per season, e have so many better options available
- mfreedman

Number 5 is the most frustrating at all. Seen that one time and time agian. However he doesn't seem to take as many penalties as you think, and he's not that bad a skater. Also when his shot does hit the net and I know it's not that often, he still scores quite a bit for a D man.

Also Who exactly do you think we are going to get for 6.5m who is better without gutting the team?

Brennan? Have you seen him play?

There is a reason he was let go by fla and Nashville.
- burn

I'm not saying he's any good. Just that I'd prefer him to either Holzer or Ranger at this point as a 7th d-man.

FTR...Liles and Fraser are much better than all 3.

The guy hasn't played an NHL game in over 3 years. It's my opinion is all.
- djamon

And when he did he Was light years ahead of those guys.... He'll in the AHL this year he was better than then.

How do you know he doesn't make us better? Guy in his prime was playing solid d and puttin up 30pts. Yeah we don't need that.
- burn

Because he's not in his prime anymore? He's an AHL defenseman...and an average one at that. Surely we have better options than this guy?

The guy hasn't played an NHL game in over 3 years. It's my opinion is all.
- djamon

He's only 28 though and he played well with the Marlies

Mark Fraser was nothing but a shutdown AHL dman with Holzer until Carlyle gave him a chance.

I have a feeling Fraser will be cut just for messing with us like this all summer. We'll send him back down to the Marlies, or lose him on waivers. We don't give a s-hit

Every d-man on our roster except for Gardiner, Franson (pending he re-signs) and maybe Phaneuf look like stopgaps until our young guns develop

hahah I don't think anyone thinks he's special

he's a great 3rd pairing, don't complicate things, pass the puck to a guy who has hands, solid D.
- dragus84

His best attribute is that he can play a pretty reliable 15 minutes and can drop the gloves if necessary. You could see the additional respect the Leafs got when he was on the ice.

I like him on the 3rd pairing. With him as a regular you can drop one of McLaren and Orr most nights.

I'm not saying he's any good. Just that I'd prefer him to either Holzer or Ranger at this point as a 7th d-man.

FTR...Liles and Fraser are much better than all 3.
- djamon

Ranger was better then them AHL this year, so no.

He is organizational depth.
No assets were wasted.
- Barx

Cap space is an asset.

WHAT!!!
- burn

Our best D, in otherwords, best at playing Defence.. He insulated Franson all season, and was incredibly good at getting the puck out of our zone. HE may not have the points of other D, but that should be 2nd priority for a defenceman.

Because he's not in his prime anymore? He's an AHL defenseman...and an average one at that. Surely we have better options than this guy?
- djamon

Just asking, are you forming this opinion by watching him play or are you going by stats? Did you know he was injured?

He was the best Marlie dman when he was in the lineup, played penalty kill and powerplay, first units.

His best attribute is that he can play a pretty reliable 15 minutes and can drop the gloves if necessary. You could see the additional respect the Leafs got when he was on the ice.

I like him on the 3rd pairing. With him as a regular you can drop one of McLaren and Orr most nights.
- The Law

agreed.

and in all honesty, i don't remember a ton about ranger.
but if what i'm hearing is true and he is a good defensive defenseman that is something we really need.

now i'm not saying he can just jump up and slot into 2nd pairing, but if he could return to form

dion/gunnar
ranger/gardiner
fraser/franson

see ya liles, doesn't sound too bad

edit: and we may finally win the coveted masterton

Because he's not in his prime anymore? He's an AHL defenseman...and an average one at that. Surely we have better options than this guy?
- djamon

That's exactly it though, he's still in His prime.... And he's proven he can play(and much better than those you are mentioning). If he can get close to what he was a couple years ago then he's far and away ahead of these guys.[/img]

Hate to say this but... Fraser is nothing special.
- Pecafan Fan

I didn't say he was special. But you don't need special to be better than Paul Ranger. Fraser is a nice, steady, physical d-man. He's cheap and fights too. Finished a very solid +18 last year.

Cap space is an asset.
- djamon

If he doesn't make it they send him down and lose no cap space. No worries.

Cap space is an asset.
- djamon

No cap space was wasted. Only 23 make the roster.

You know that how? Ranger is solid defensively and a better skater. Scores more too.
- burn

Did you watch any Marlie games? He's dumb. Makes terrible decisions.