He had a poop year for sure. Doubt we'll see a repeat though.
- A_Tree

I also doubt he gets 30 though. He's going to be a 20-25 goal type guy who plays good two-way hockey. Scoring 30 isn't something Kulemin is going to do very often and definitely not every single year.

Luckily his contract only lasts until the end of next season.

If the Leafs get a little bit of luck, they could dump Connolly at the deadline. Same goes for Armstrong. Lots of teams love to add depth at the deadline and as long as we get a couple draft picks, everybody wins.

Definitely Murray. Absolutely no doubt about it. If the Leafs are lucky enough to be at 5th and have Murray still on the board, they would be idiots to pass on him.
- Unholy_Goalie

and boom, Burke is an idiot

True...tough to rid of connolly s contract.

Would burke draft another defensemen if murray falls to five? could have of choice of forsberg or murray at pick five.
- perrinsl

Possible. Not likely though. There are already so many defensemen in the system, I don't see a point. If Burke drafted one of those guys he better explain how intends to use those that are already waiting in the AHL/Juniors who are looking for a promotion. Ideally one or two of those teams ahead of us draft a D instead of a forward.

and boom, Burke is an idiot
- bobbyisno1

Lol.


Yup!

Possible. Not likely though. There are already so many defensemen in the system, I don't see a point. If Burke drafted one of those guys he better explain how intends to use those that are already waiting in the AHL/Juniors who are looking for a promotion. Ideally one or two of those teams ahead of us draft a D instead of a forward.
- A_Tree

you have to take the best player, doesn't matter what position he plays
in the end he's just an asset anyway

Possible. Not likely though. There are already so many defensemen in the system, I don't see a point. If Burke drafted one of those guys he better explain how intends to use those that are already waiting in the AHL/Juniors who are looking for a promotion. Ideally one or two of those teams ahead of us draft a D instead of a forward.
- A_Tree

Simple. If Murray is believed to be better then many of our defensive prospects, trade some of those.

You simply don't pass up skill because you have a stock of it already. Upgrade is an upgrade.

you have to take the best player, doesn't matter what position he plays
in the end he's just an asset anyway
- bobbyisno1

Unless you know exactly what you're getting, which is almost never the case.

you have to take the best player, doesn't matter what position he plays in the end he's just an asset anyway
- bobbyisno1

The Leafs need everything. In a couple years, Komisarek is going to be gone, who knows if they keep or trade Schenn, Phaneuf is going to be a UFA, Gunnarsson isn't all that special. Sure they have Gardiner, Blacker and Percy in the system but at the end of the day, if the Leafs end up with Murray, it's still a great pick. Imagine the Leafs with a great defense. But for real, not just on paper. Hasn't been done in decades.

Unless you know exactly what you're getting, which is almost never the case.
- A_Tree

i don't know what wife i'm getting when i get home from work

Simple. If Murray is believed to be better then many of our defensive prospects, trade some of those.

You simply don't pass up skill because you have a stock of it already. Upgrade is an upgrade.
- McSully

Okay, but there is an obvious deficiency up-front and in goal. Otherwise I agree.

Unless you know exactly what you're getting, which is almost never the case.
- A_Tree

That's the beautiful part about Murray; you know exactly what you're getting. He's going to be one of the safest picks in the draft. Absolutely everything he does is done very well and what you see is what you get. He's going to be a very good player and it's as close to a lock as you're going to get.

The Leafs need everything. In a couple years, Komisarek is going to be gone, who knows if they keep or trade Schenn, Phaneuf is going to be a UFA, Gunnarsson isn't all that special. Sure they have Gardiner, Blacker and Percy in the system but at the end of the day, if the Leafs end up with Murray, it's still a great pick. Imagine the Leafs with a great defense. But for real, not just on paper. Hasn't been done in decades.
- Unholy_Goalie

won't matter, the goalie will still suck
so the defense will look twice as bad

Okay, but there is an obvious deficiency up-front and in goal. Otherwise I agree.
- A_Tree

this draft pick wont help any of that anyway

The Leafs need everything. In a couple years, Komisarek is going to be gone, who knows if they keep or trade Schenn, Phaneuf is going to be a UFA, Gunnarsson isn't all that special. Sure they have Gardiner, Blacker and Percy in the system but at the end of the day, if the Leafs end up with Murray, it's still a great pick. Imagine the Leafs with a great defense. But for real, not just on paper. Hasn't been done in decades.
- Unholy_Goalie

True at best blacker and percy become a bottom pairing d man. Murray should be a top pairing guy down the road.

I wouldn't mind seeing the leafs move back a few spots and taking faksa.

won't matter, the goalie will still suck
so the defense will look twice as bad
- bobbyisno1

That's bogus. You think Mike Smith is as good as he is? He was a back-up who got cast off in Tampa Bay. Then Dave Tippett and his defensive system changed him. Overnight.

Think back to the Potvin days. Was it a big surprise to anyone that his career took a nose dive after Pat Burns and his defense first approach left town?

Great goaltending is amazing to have but if you don't have it, it's not the end of the world. Great coaching and attention to defense can make up for it.

True...tough to rid of connolly s contract.

Would burke draft another defensemen if murray falls to five? could have of choice of forsberg or murray at pick five.
- perrinsl

Murray, no question. However I take Faksa over Forsberg.

True at best blacker and percy become a bottom pairing d man. Murray should be a top pairing guy down the road.

I wouldn't mind seeing the leafs move back a few spots and taking faksa.
- perrinsl

The Leafs won't have to trade down to get Faksa. If things stay the way they are now, Edmonton takes Yakupov, Columbus takes Galchenyuk, Montreal takes Grigorenko, New York takes Murray and the Leafs are left with Forsberg or Faksa to choose from.

Simple. If Murray is believed to be better then many of our defensive prospects, trade some of those.

You simply don't pass up skill because you have a stock of it already. Upgrade is an upgrade.
- McSully

I agree, from what Huddle has talked about Murray is the kind of D that takes his partner to the next level (ie Suter to Weber). That guy would be fantastic for Phaneuf's game.

The Leafs won't have to trade down to get Faksa. If things stay the way they are now, Edmonton takes Yakupov, Columbus takes Galchenyuk, Montreal takes Grigorenko, New York takes Murray and the Leafs are left with Forsberg or Faksa to choose from.
- Unholy_Goalie

Burke will pick Dumba

Burke will pick Dumba
- Symba007

Jacob Trouba.

Jacob Trouba.


- Unholy_Goalie

Also a strong possibility

Burke will pick Dumba
- Symba007

Burke was 1 of 3 GM's to check out Faksa. kid has Jordan Staal qualities; size, hands, defensively sound center, and is a gamer, never takes a shift off. Aside from Galchenyuk, it's exactly who I think the Leafs need.

The big question for me is, barring trades affecting the draft order of course, is one of the teams above the Leafs actually going to pick a Dman? Teams always want that skilled forward with these high picks, but a guy like Murray might actually end up being the third or fourth best pick.

It's not likely that one of the forwards will really help the Leafs at centre this year anyway, so if it happens that no one has picked a Dman by the five spot, maybe they should take Murray.

I'm at the point now where I'm mildly interested in how the rest of the playoffs turn out, but after the second round I basically want to fast forward to draft day.

Oh yeah, and nice to see that Gardiner, Kadri, etc will get at least three rounds of AHL playoff experience this spring and Scrivens is putting up super chocolatey numbers in goal. This can't be hurt. Go Marlies Go!

i don't know what wife i'm getting when i get home from work
- bobbyisno1

This is true.

this draft pick wont help any of that anyway
- bobbyisno1

Yes so it's a toss up, really.