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Leaf Rumours

I really think that would be a sh*tty 1-2 center combo. Two weak smallish playmaking centers? Not a fan.
 
I'm not a fan of any of the remaining free agent centers (including Bozak, at the prices reported). With Lecavalier off the market, they may as well just roll with Kadri-Grabbo-Bolland-McClement and hope that Grabovski rebounds. And if he doesn't, buy him out next summer. Roy, Weiss, Ribeiro, etc. are all flawed players that will be overpriced, and not really bring us anything that we don't already have in our group of centers.

Of course, if something good comes up on the trade market, that'll do too.
 
I ****ing hate Ribiero.

I too would rather just go with Grabs, and maybe give Colborne a shot and bury Grabs on the third line if he's still not up to par.

I have zero appetite for another Connolly or some other loser who will be a waste of cap space and rob our younger players of time.
 
Yeah, a trade is probably best. There are guys available we probably haven't even heard rumours about.

Never been a Weiss fan myself.
 
Right. It'd be nice to get two playmaking C's, guarantee one of them plays with Kessel.

He does suck at faceoffs though, so that might be a problem.
 
JaysCyYoung said:
That's kind of hilarious, but what was your sister doing hanging out at pool halls at twelve years old?
Click to expand...

She was on a self destructive streak after my Dad was arrested and parents divorced, she started getting involved with drinking and drugs at a young age and yes that included going to this pool hall in Markham.
 
Well, I'm sorry to hear about your family problems. That's not fair to the kids in any case.

I did laugh at the thought of this NHL draftee being told that the girl he had just asked out wasn't even a teenager though.

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LeafGm said:
I'm not a fan of any of the remaining free agent centers (including Bozak, at the prices reported). With Lecavalier off the market, they may as well just roll with Kadri-Grabbo-Bolland-McClement and hope that Grabovski rebounds. And if he doesn't, buy him out next summer. Roy, Weiss, Ribeiro, etc. are all flawed players that will be overpriced, and not really bring us anything that we don't already have in our group of centers.

Of course, if something good comes up on the trade market, that'll do too.
Click to expand...

Weiss at least has the dimension of being solid on draws:

2012-13: 51.1%
2011-12: 53.2%
2010-11: 53.9%
2009-10: 52.4%
2008-09: 50.9%
2007-08: 51.2%

Given how greatly out-performed the Leafs centres were in the Boston series, it could be invaluable having a guy who could win at a 52-53% rate taking late-game defensive zone face-offs.
 
Yeah that McCabe season was amazing for sure. As you know I am a glutton for great lateral mobility which most NHL hockey players have trouble with in the conflicted space that NHL arenas provide with five on five hockey. Guys like Leetch, Kaberle and now Gardiner made that puny amount of space look like a free style road hockey game at its finest.

And to get rid of a Gardiner, well I gotta tell ya, that would put enormous pressure on this Rielly kid that he probably doesn't need.

Bozak? If he was three inches taller, well, eight years would be just fine. The thing with him, is the pull he appears to have with Kessel. Kessel is so amazingly talented, I would just hate to see what kind of a team we will have if he jets off to the United States. Hate to even contemplate it.

Another big plus for Bozak? He seems to have a gift for scoring in shootouts and guess what? That could be the difference between MLSE/Tanenbaum making an extra 30 million a year by making the playoffs.

Don't forget guys we HAVE Detroit this year, instead of the Peg in our conference. Big difference imo. Going to be tougher for Larry to get that 30 million. 5 million to Bozak at 26? Might be worth doing. Might get to keep Kessel.

IF we sign Bozak, I really believe there is a BIG Kessel factor involved.
 
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The funny thing about that Mccabe season is all we heard is how crappy he was. He barely saw the ice in the Olympics, yet got so much blame for the loss.

Once Bozak asks for 8 years, **** him. I understand trying to sign him to keep Kessel, but there's a limit, as Kessel himself will cost a lot to sign. Phil will still sign without Bozak. You DO NOT give a supporting piece an 8 year contract. That's insane. Bozak has it so good in Toronto. He won't find another place like it where he can get first line minutes with two superstar wingers.
 
Given that Bozo and Kessel are so tight, they really should get Phil locked down on an extension now before they let Bozak walk.
 
Weiss is a pretty good player. He's better overall than any centre we have right now as things stand now. Given that Bolland replaces Bozak, if we can trade Grabovski for some help on D and sign Weiss to replace him, we're in IMO a significantly improved position even if we don't have that #1. Kadri can play behind Weiss at first and then hopefully surpass him. Meanwhile Bolland and McClement are solid on the bottom two lines.

The argument for Ribeiro is that he has produced legit top line numbers multiple times. Weiss could do that playing with Kessel, but we don't know that for sure. Ribeiro I think would be a lock to hit 70 points assuming health all round, but of course the problem is he is not a good faceoff man/big/physical etc. The argument against Weiss is that he's not a true #1C, will probably be pretty expensive as a UFA, and also that at 30 he has only 7 career playoff games, so isn't likely to be a tough experienced leader to be relied upon in situations like the Boston series we just went through(although I'm sure he could have done better than the total shitshow Grabovski put on for us).
 
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