Agreed - Leafs PP does not need help so any addition up front has to be about 5v5 improvement.

I Like Miller but he's going to cost a bundle and might not even be available.

I'd be interested in a guy like Copp who can bring some size and forecheck to the middle 6 and should come at a much cheaper cost.
- The Law

JT Miller would help every team in the NHL in all three zones immensely.

Leafs don't have a player like him, he can play physical but is also 1st line caliber. He has a 200 foot game and is on a fantastic contract.

A Miller trade is a trade for now and the offseason. IF Muzzin is truly shut down you can keep Kerfoot for the run then trade him at the draft where he most certainly gets a late 1st and maybe even a mid prospect back.

The big guys are reporting that Dubas will be aggressive if Muzzin's 5.6M comes off the books. Get your good contract top6 forward for now and next season, trade for a rental D and then unload Kerfoot/Mrazek to recoup picks and cap at the draft.

He's got a trend going where he has 1 good month a season. This appears to be the month this season.

If he could get it going all the time, he'd be great.
- GreatGigInTheSky

If a team with cap space (not the Leafs) offer sheets him at $8.2M x 7 - does Columbus match?

Avery is available🥴

That’s all you got pin head? Weak! LMFAO! Keep making those predictions it’s very entertaining
- Bobd62

they're homer prediction in a Leafs thread.

gee

You have battered wife syndrome CC.

If this team doesn't get passed the 1st round, they're not a good team. They might be a bunch of talented players with amazing individual stats that are good at regular season hockey but they're not a good "hockey team". Being a good hockey team means winning in the playoffs.

The GMs job is to see passed the regular season and individual stats and assemble a team of players with the mettle to get the job done when it matters most. If the job doesn't get done then the GM is not good at his job. The players are not good at their job of winning.
- underhill14

The second best team in the league could lose in the first round. Assess performance in both the regular season and playoffs and make adjustments.

If a team with cap space (not the Leafs) offer sheets him at $8.2M x 7 - does Columbus match?
- winsix

This season he is over a ppg, however the past two seasons he's been 0.76ppg as a result of a rough 2020/2021 season. Career he averages 0.80 ppg. So pretty good.
I think Laine turns down the 8.2 x 7 offer and signs an 8.5 - 9m x 8 contract with Cbus.

JT Miller would help every team in the NHL in all three zones immensely.

Leafs don't have a player like him, he can play physical but is also 1st line caliber. He has a 200 foot game and is on a fantastic contract.

A Miller trade is a trade for now and the offseason. IF Muzzin is truly shut down you can keep Kerfoot for the run then trade him at the draft where he most certainly gets a late 1st and maybe even a mid prospect back.

The big guys are reporting that Dubas will be aggressive if Muzzin's 5.6M comes off the books. Get your good contract top6 forward for now and next season, trade for a rental D and then unload Kerfoot/Mrazek to recoup picks and cap at the draft.
- Santo_44

If they believe Muzzin can come back and contribute. If not, your top two priorities are 2nd pairing leftie and rightie.

JT Miller would help every team in the NHL in all three zones immensely.

Leafs don't have a player like him, he can play physical but is also 1st line caliber. He has a 200 foot game and is on a fantastic contract.

A Miller trade is a trade for now and the offseason. IF Muzzin is truly shut down you can keep Kerfoot for the run then trade him at the draft where he most certainly gets a late 1st and maybe even a mid prospect back.

The big guys are reporting that Dubas will be aggressive if Muzzin's 5.6M comes off the books. Get your good contract top6 forward for now and next season, trade for a rental D and then unload Kerfoot/Mrazek to recoup picks and cap at the draft.
- Santo_44

JT Miller is not a superstar. He's a good hockey player. He's better than Kerfoot, yes, but he is not so much better that the acquisition of Miller pushes you over the top. You wouldn't trade Miller to get Kerfoot because that would be a downward move, but trading to get Miller means giving up assets and picks for a player who will make you incrementally better, not significantly better.

Miller's opportunities here would be limited by second line ice and second PP time. He can PK, and he's better in the faceoff circle, so there's probably not a lot lost there - but in terms of his 200 foot game: Every year that Alexander Kerfoot has been in the NHL, he's had a better xGA than Miller - including Miller's years in Tampa. Kerfoot's value may not drive the offense, but it helps the defense more than is realized.

While I would expect Dubas to be aggressive if Muzzin is out long-term, what the big guys are reporting is merely speculation - just like us - I very much doubt that Dubas has told them that he'll be aggressive if Muzzin is out. He's going to have a wait-and-see public approach right now. That said, if Muzzin is out long-term you wouldn't fill him with JT Miller. You're now in the game for a real Top-4 Defenseman not another winger.

This is such a peculiar subject in a way. You can be unsuccessfully successful - like San Jose and Ottawa. Dubas has built, what I think is, the best Leafs team I've ever seen. Keefe is coaching them very well. They are going through a bit of a rough period where not everyone is together and whether it's the Defense, the Goaltending, the second line or all of the above - doesn't matter. Rough patches are good because you learn how to fix them and adapt and adjust. That will be necessary in the playoffs as well.

But I digress from the peculiar subject that popped in my head: One of the Leaf teams that many of us loved was the late 70's Leafs with Palmateer, Sittler, McDonald, Salming, Turnbull, Williams, Ellis and Thompson. That was a very good team that was on the rise - but they ran into the powerhouse dynasty Canadiens (I still think the best team ever assembled) and it prompted the management team to start tearing it apart. Could they, with growth, have interrupted the Canadiens dynasty or stood toe-to-toe with the Islanders dynasty that followed? As they were constructed in 77-78, maybe not, but they had the pieces in place that with proper management, they could have tweaked and changed and gotten better - instead of into the laughingstock they became for over 15 years. It still took them over 30 years to realise that a real rebuild was required.

Sometimes you have to outwait the other powerhouses and build with them until you beat them. Washington didn't give up their core with Ovi - they built and grew. So, too, can the Leafs - I think.

At the end of the day, if this not a successful Leafs team, our post mortem would likely conclude that while overpaying Marner in particular, signing Tavares was the largest misstep in the team's construction.
- Monkeypunk

Many give Bowman the most credit for those Hab Teams of the 70's and I agree he was a terrific coach. Sam Pollock is often overlooked, perhaps the best GM in NHL history.

Pollock believed drafting good young prospects was the key to long-term success in the NHL. To this end he was always planning, sometimes years in advance, in order to be in position to pick up the "cream of the crop" in any annual entry level draft.
Among his shrewdest moves was a series of trades in which the Canadiens obtained the first overall pick in the 1971 NHL Entry Draft, the year in which Guy Lafleur would be eligible. It appeared as if the first overall selection would be held by the California Golden Seals so he persuaded Seals owner Charlie Finley to trade the Seals' pick and François Lacombe in return for Montreal's first round pick and a 23-year-old rookie,[3] Ernie Hicke. Pollock hesitated between Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne, but chose Lafleur with his overall no.1 pick.[4]
On another occasion he traded two college prospects to Boston for a young goalie named Ken Dryden. He was also instrumental in acquiring Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe and Yvan Cournoyer, all of whom would become superstars for the Canadiens.

Today's NHL is much different, but scouting and drafting are still key factors in building a team. In the 70's the absence of a salary cap could have afforded wealthy teams such as NY Rangers or Leafs to compete at a much higher level. Unfortunately, the ownership was highly incompetent for both franchises as were the GM's, especially for the Leafs.

The second best team in the league could lose in the first round. Assess performance in both the regular season and playoffs and make adjustments.
- Canada Cup

I think the only problem we're seeing as "outsiders" is that it really looks like if things don't go well that the "tweaking" time is getting smaller and smaller.

JT Miller is not a superstar. He's a good hockey player. He's better than Kerfoot, yes, but he is not so much better that the acquisition of Miller pushes you over the top. You wouldn't trade Miller to get Kerfoot because that would be a downward move, but trading to get Miller means giving up assets and picks for a player who will make you incrementally better, not significantly better.

Miller's opportunities here would be limited by second line ice and second PP time. He can PK, and he's better in the faceoff circle, so there's probably not a lot lost there - but in terms of his 200 foot game: Every year that Alexander Kerfoot has been in the NHL, he's had a better xGA than Miller - including Miller's years in Tampa. Kerfoot's value may not drive the offense, but it helps the defense more than is realized.

While I would expect Dubas to be aggressive if Muzzin is out long-term, what the big guys are reporting is merely speculation - just like us - I very much doubt that Dubas has told them that he'll be aggressive if Muzzin is out. He's going to have a wait-and-see public approach right now. That said, if Muzzin is out long-term you wouldn't fill him with JT Miller. You're now in the game for a real Top-4 Defenseman not another winger.
- Monkeypunk

jt miller is a point short of a point per game pace over the last three seasons.

Enjoy your ban!

Flagged 17 times by accident.
- winsix

This season he is over a ppg, however the past two seasons he's been 0.76ppg as a result of a rough 2020/2021 season. Career he averages 0.80 ppg. So pretty good.
I think Laine turns down the 8.2 x 7 offer and signs an 8.5 - 9m x 8 contract with Cbus.
- Fakepartofme

Columbus has a very poor track record at retaining talent. Even if he is offered a max length contract from CBJ, he may ask for one that just gets him to UFA status, which could lead to a trade.

I think the only problem we're seeing as "outsiders" is that it really looks like if things don't go well that the "tweaking" time is getting smaller and smaller.
- AdamFrench

It’s really hard to say in theory. If we see subpar performances by key parts or if they get blown out, then yeah you might have to do something major. I just don’t buy that losing to TBL or Florida automatically means dumping part of the core.

If a team with cap space (not the Leafs) offer sheets him at $8.2M x 7 - does Columbus match?
- winsix

I doubt it.

That's a lot of money for a guy that's proven so far that he rarely shows up.

EDIT: Meant to say I doubt a team offer sheets him for big $$$. I think Columbus probably gets him signed.

Many give Bowman the most credit for those Hab Teams of the 70's and I agree he was a terrific coach. Sam Pollock is often overlooked, perhaps the best GM in NHL history.


Today's NHL is much different, but scouting and drafting are still key factors in building a team. In the 70's the absence of a salary cap could have afforded wealthy teams such as NY Rangers or Leafs to compete at a much higher level. Unfortunately, the ownership was highly incompetent for both franchises as were the GM's, especially for the Leafs.
- winsix

Absolutely. Lost opportunities for sure.

jt miller is a point short of a point per game pace over the last three seasons.
- TheMussel

Can he play D?

Columbus has a very poor track record at retaining talent. Even if he is offered a max length contract from CBJ, he may ask for one that just gets him to UFA status, which could lead to a trade.
- winsix

It's kinda sad really.

Aside from Werenski, I can't recall a star player signing a long term contract into his ufa years with this team.

Their GM is doing the best he can but it's gonna take more than that to change that culture of losing imo.

Absolutely. Lost opportunities for sure.
- Monkeypunk

One of the things Pollock also did, which is likely not possible in today's NHL, is that he made a few smaller trades where he strengthened teams that were close to the bottom to ensure that the Seal's pick that Montreal had would be 1st overall. The guy was relentless.

It's kinda sad really.

Aside from Werenski, I can't recall a star player signing a long term contract into his ufa years with this team.

Their GM is doing the best he can but it's gonna take more than that to change that culture of losing imo.
- Scabeh

With Torts gone, why would anyone stay in Columbus?

Unless you like Ohio State football.

Can he play D?
- Canada Cup

probably not, but he's more than a hair better than kerfoot

One of the things Pollock also did, which is likely not possible in today's NHL, is that he made a few smaller trades where he strengthened teams that were close to the bottom to ensure that the Seal's pick that Montreal had would be 1st overall. The guy was relentless.
- winsix

Definetely the best GM of his time.

Fun fact, no one cared he didn't speak french at all.

Too busy watching cup parades I guess.

jt miller is a point short of a point per game pace over the last three seasons.
- TheMussel

He's playing 21 minutes / game right now and is on his team's first power play unit. Right now 24 of his 53 points are on the Power Play. I have no doubt he'd be on the second unit, but you have to reduce those PP points in half. He'd also get less even strength opportunity where he has 28 points currently in 15:20 / game; Kerfoot has 31 points in 13:30 of even strength time. This, while noting, that again Kerfoot has better xGA numbers.

I am not saying that I'd prefer Kerfoot to Miller; I am saying that I wouldn't pay the price to acquire Miller because he is not going to improve upon the role that Kerfoot is already providing enough to make it worth the acquisition price.

Avery is available🥴
- WendelClark82

sean avery?

shrewd

probably not, but he's more than a hair better than kerfoot
- TheMussel

Agree, he's much better, the cost to acquire him wouldn't be a hair more than Kerfoot either. Leafs biggest needs are on shoring up the D not the offense. Adding a better option at LW on JT's line is possible, but the main focus should remain adding a solid defender or two.