oh great the leafs are getting Mike Green

Same way they taught Kadri to grow the hell up a few years ago. I am also hoping they mature with age. But I'm a believer that it is easier to teach a skilled player to give a poop than it is to teach the level of skill that Matthews/Marner/Nylander/Tavares have.

Your strategy would undoubtedly have us stuck with a Lucic/Clarkson types.
- Leafs43

Kadri is the type of player they need.

Sandin and Lilljegren?
- RogerRoeper

Sandin can't play defense and Liljegren can't even crack the line-up.

Sorry buddy but reality is those guys are both projects, not top pair D. They'll be lucky if they're reliable 2nd pairing D at this point. Not nearly strong enough to consider them cornerstones of a Cup winning D-core.

Rielly is the only legit player they have on D and even his defensive game is suspect on most nights. They have a major problem defending and the solution is not in the system of players they have.

oh great the leafs are getting Mike Green
- Fruitcakenipple

Dubas WOULD get Mike Green. Another one-way, offensive defenseman.

This line is tirsesome. What Dman?
- RogerRoeper

C'mon man. Am I making calls to other GMs? Are you for that matter?

The point is he is the piece to move for defensive help if you get the player that can help you, and is fair return.

They are "fine" in the sense that they have their high draft pick players locked up. But their depth and defense, long term, is a disaster.

Similar to how Edmonton had all these 1st overall picks that were all offensive forwards. Their blueline was garbage for years. It wasn't until they got Nurse, Broberg and Bouchard in their system that it started to even out a little bit. Leafs don't have any D prospects that good and that's a big problem.
- JohnFergusonJr

Kap, Johnsson, kerfoot, Mickey, gauthier....engvall.... plenty of depth...

Defense needs work though

Sandin can't play defense and Liljegren can't even crack the line-up.

Sorry buddy but reality is those guys are both projects, not top pair D. They'll be lucky if they're reliable 2nd pairing D at this point. Not nearly strong enough to consider them cornerstones of a Cup winning D-core.

Rielly is the only legit player they have on D and even his defensive game is suspect on most nights. They have a major problem defending and the solution is not in the system of players they have.
- JohnFergusonJr

Oh lord you are already saying they are busts?

Only got through about 1/2 of this word salad.

But thank (frank) people like you aren't running the team.
- Leafs43

lazy asses like you should run it.

If Leafs offer him the biggest NHL contract he says no?
- RogerRoeper

What makes you think leafs would have the cap space and even if they create one, what makes you think other teams especially in the us won’t try to do the same? If leafs are not winning next 4 years, what loyalty do you think he would have? People who haven’t experienced warm weathered low tax environments overate TO so much.

There's a substantial list of players like that who won Cups in the past. Mike Richards, before his drug problems, was another one of those types of players. Brad Richards was kind of like that too. Jonathan Toews is another one. Never going to win a major offensive scoring trophy but huge player in the playoffs. Crosby and Ovechkin qualify as heart and soul players who also win MVP titles but Matthews doesn't seem to be in the category, not yet anyway.
- JohnFergusonJr

Yzerman for his era as well. He was never a scoring champ but had massive heart and balls and did have plenty of skill. Played on a broken ankle FFS.

Kadri is the type of player they need.
- aminnes

And hew really helped the Leafs didnt he?

if they plan on sticking up the team then trade them.
- ghetto puck

Agreed. The Leafs need cap space and flexibility.

The funny thing about this is ROR couldn't even take his team to the playoffs until he was 28. He couldn't lift the Avs or Sabres to anything. Perspective my friend,
- RogerRoeper

Colorado wishes they still had him and Buffalo was a poophole team that also wishes they still had him but he wanted out.

Again, you people have this idea that 1 player puts the team on his back and does it all. Reality is, even McDavid's team misses the playoffs. It's not a 1 player job. But when the playoffs start, there's certain guys who rise above because of their heart, not solely because of their talent.

Yzerman for his era as well. He was never a scoring champ but had massive heart and balls and did have plenty of skill. Played on a broken ankle FFS.
- aminnes

I think you missed the first few years of Yzermasn's career. He only did not win a scoring titlew because he had Lemieux and Gretzky. He was also destroyed as a player you couldn't win with until he was in hjis 30's.

Kadri is the type of player they need.
- aminnes

That was such a steal. 1 year of Barrie for 3 years of heart and soul guy.

That was such a steal. 1 year of Narrie for 3 years of heart and soul guy.
- gamerdoc

I think someone else was involved...

Kap, Johnsson, kerfoot, Mickey, gauthier....engvall.... plenty of depth...

Defense needs work though
- Aaron_85

That's some soft ass depth, sorry to say. Those aren't guys I see winning too many playoff wars. Literally half of those names should be traded and replaced.

Colorado wishes they still had him and Buffalo was a poophole team that also wishes they still had him.

Again, you people have this idea that 1 player puts the team on his back and does it all him. Reality is, even McDavid's team misses the playoffs. It's not a 1 player job. But when the playoffs start, there's certain guys who rise above because of their heart, not solely because of their talent.
- JohnFergusonJr

My point is ROR did nothing special until he was 28 traded into the right situation.

Colorado wishes they still had him and Buffalo was a poophole team that also wishes they still had him.

Again, you people have this idea that 1 player puts the team on his back and does it all him. Reality is, even McDavid's team misses the playoffs. It's not a 1 player job. But when the playoffs start, there's certain guys who rise above because of their heart, not solely because of their talent.
- JohnFergusonJr

My point is ROR did nothing special until he was 28 traded into the right situation.

And hew really helped the Leafs didnt he?
- RogerRoeper

Yes he did. And he was so important that not having him had massive impact, right?

I would love to see Kadri on a team with a Martin or Clifford where he didn't have to be the enforcer.

Dubas had a vastly superior building blocks than Burke ever had, and nothing he has done so far convinces me he know what it takes to win anymore than Burke.

In sports, in my experience, you either have “ir” or you don’t... he would make a great assistant GM, but he hasn’t shown fan anything other than he is stubborn about skill or bust approach, despite evidence otherwise.
- gamerdoc

Well, the Leafs are in still in great shape going forward even if your truthiness take on the narrative were accurate, so it's all good.

Yes he did. And he was so important that not having him had massive impact, right?

I would love to see Kadri on a team with a Martin or Clifford where he didn't have to be the enforcer.
- aminnes

So him getting suspended twice shows how much we missed him?

I think someone else was involved...
- RogerRoeper

A guy you can find dime a dozen?

I would argue missing P.O. is better than getting embarrassed in the 1st round for this team in the long run.
- gamerdoc

the leafs 1st round pick is only top 10 protected. remember, they traded it to carolina because dubas was hurting so bad for cap space that he couldn't wait out a year on marleau that he gave up his first round pick to have carolina buy him out? meaning if the leafs land anywhere 11-31 in the draft, carolina is making the leafs pick and the leafs are making no 1st round pick based on their own team's performance for the season.

My point is ROR did nothing special until he was 28 traded into the right situation.
- RogerRoeper

Your point is irrelevant because ROR job, his role, wasn't to be the best player in the league and single handily carry his team. His job and his role is to be a heart and soul player when it mattered most. And that's the type of player the Leafs are missing.

They have a Tarasenko in Matthews, who scores the goals and plays with skill, what they're missing is the guy who shows up when poop gets tough and the games get tougher. The guy who wins the big FOs, who blocks the shots on the PK, who scores the big OT goal with a gritty effort etc.