Think Gunnar had a rough year with his hip last year and that's why people soured on him a bit - the year before he was awesome - hopefully he returns to form this year.
- BlowMonkey

I didn't think Gunnar was bad at all, which makes me wonder what he will be like with a healed hip

Whatever, I'm writing a stupid article on CR-CHUM. Forgive me
- mykokes[ if I'm too lazy to spell things right here.

No.

Trade Kulemin .

Sign Kadri , Franson and Raymond .

GET

ER

DONE


- .HOHO.

(frank) that don't trade Kulemam - NEVER!!!!!!! !!

no i'm not.. i think he has a weak stick when it comes to defense.. those first strides of his are lumbering.. he does have a gorgeous shot.. i wont take that away from him.. and he does have an uncanny ability to get the puck on net.

thats why i actually didnt mind him with fraser.. fraser is such a solid stay at home guy he compensates for fransons lack of ability in his own end.

i just think that pairing him up with gardiner full time second pairing will eventually bite the leafs in the ass. everyone thinks it works but nobody considers the fact that as a pairing they hadnt truly been scouted properly (they only became a pairing after fraser got hurt) AND they were playing against a slumping seguin line.

i never said franson didnt have his merits.. but i do think his skill level is being overblown

there ya go.. a complete response.. so you dont think i hate for no good reason.. i have my reasons.
- Dozzer

whoa low blow

personally i think that 26-27 is plateauing for 90% of players. you can still improve somewhat, or round out your game, but you've settled into your "tier" by that point.
- scotch_tape

i agree

(frank) that don't trade Kulemam - NEVER!!!!!!! !!
- Garnie

When it comes to Franson, he just needs to suck it up and take the 1 year deal at 2.5 mill for now.

We can re-sign him during the year. We could re-sign him next week after that if we wanted to, we just need to keep the caphit down for this one year. Come out and dominate on the 2nd pairing with Gardiner and we'll give him a nice 4-5 year extension

lol i love how to you guys some guys at 26-27 arent going to get better and some guys are.

the good ol leaf fan filter.. strong as ever.
- Dozzer

Theres a difference there Doz...to say that Franson can improve upon his defensive game and physicality are teachable things at his age. He's a strong offensive player who just needs to continue work on his defensive side.

With a better defensive system under Carlyle, it's not out of question to assume that his play in his own end wouldnt improve thus making him a more well rounded player.

Contrarily, do you think Carlyle can teach Gunnarson to shoot and have an offensive mind like Franson does?

Also, he turned 26 a month ago.

You did notice the minutes that Franson got in the second half and the playoffs right?
- mykokes

the ones after the leafs had to piece meal a defense together?

i dont give that a whole lot of weight honestly

i agree
- Dozzer

Yup.

Not everyone is a Hal Gill and learns to be effective as (frank) at 32 years old after being a useless pylon for years.

no i'm not.. i think he has a weak stick when it comes to defense.. those first strides of his are lumbering.. he does have a gorgeous shot.. i wont take that away from him.. and he does have an uncanny ability to get the puck on net.

thats why i actually didnt mind him with fraser.. fraser is such a solid stay at home guy he compensates for fransons lack of ability in his own end.

i just think that pairing him up with gardiner full time second pairing will eventually bite the leafs in the ass. everyone thinks it works but nobody considers the fact that as a pairing they hadnt truly been scouted properly (they only became a pairing after fraser got hurt) AND they were playing against a slumping seguin line.

i never said franson didnt have his merits.. but i do think his skill level is being overblown

there ya go.. a complete response.. so you dont think i hate for no good reason.. i have my reasons.
- Dozzer

Franson is just as important to this team as Gunnar. That's all anyone is saying. Most of us agree that eventually Franson will prove to be the better player, especially after watching the playoffs ( a true test IMO), but for now there is no reason to hand over good money to Gunnar and leave Franson to take a discount, yet again. He did that last year already.

no i'm not.. i think he has a weak stick when it comes to defense.. those first strides of his are lumbering.. he does have a gorgeous shot.. i wont take that away from him.. and he does have an uncanny ability to get the puck on net.

thats why i actually didnt mind him with fraser.. fraser is such a solid stay at home guy he compensates for fransons lack of ability in his own end.

i just think that pairing him up with gardiner full time second pairing will eventually bite the leafs in the ass. everyone thinks it works but nobody considers the fact that as a pairing they hadnt truly been scouted properly (they only became a pairing after fraser got hurt) AND they were playing against a slumping seguin line.

i never said franson didnt have his merits.. but i do think his skill level is being overblown


there ya go.. a complete response.. so you dont think i hate for no good reason.. i have my reasons.
- Dozzer

Yes keep him with Fraser - I think they help each other - Fraser a little slow but makes up for it with his knuckle sandwiches no (frank)ing around after the whistle when he's out there

Theres a difference there Doz...to say that Franson can improve upon his defensive game and physicality are teachable things at his age. He's a strong offensive player who just needs to continue work on his defensive side.

With a better defensive system under Carlyle, it's not out of question to assume that his play in his own end wouldnt improve thus making him a more well rounded player.

Contrarily, do you think Carlyle can teach Gunnarson to shoot and have an offensive mind like Franson does?

Also, he turned 26 a month ago.
- Colin Dambrauskas

not sure why when he turned 26 makes much of a difference.. fact is.. he isnt a prospect anymore.

and we dont need offense from gunnar.. if anything.. we need more stability like gunnar back there.

all that offense from the back end didnt help us much when boston came roaring back in game 7 did it? maybe some more defensively efficient d-men in the lineup would of sent the leafs to round 2?

well.. honestly.. no real maybe about it. it would have.

Franson is just as important to this team as Gunnar. That's all anyone is saying. Most of us agree that eventually Franson will prove to be the better player, especially after watching the playoffs ( a true test IMO), but for now there is no reason to hand over good money to Gunnar and leave Franson to take a discount, yet again. He did that last year already.
- systemtool

Franson knows his upside though, that's why he skipped arbitration and was bargaining for a 4+ year deal at over 4 million dollars per.

Gunnarsson signed his 3 year deal at 3.15 the day before arbitration. I'd take Franson on that deal all day but he wants more. Now he's out of time and has to take the 1 year deal at mid 2 then we'll give him the extension next year when the cap is more managable

When it comes to Franson, he just needs to suck it up and take the 1 year deal at 2.5 mill for now.

We can re-sign him during the year. We could re-sign him next week after that if we wanted to, we just need to keep the caphit down for this one year. Come out and dominate on the 2nd pairing with Gardiner and we'll give him a nice 4-5 year extension
- t_leafs21

The problem with this is that Franson did that last year already. Can't blame the guy for wanting a better contract and treatment this time around. Especially after being of the teams best Dmen last season.

Yup.

Not everyone is a Hal Gill and learns to be effective as (frank) at 32 years old after being a useless pylon for years.
- Scabeh

"oh! thats how you play hockey!"

The problem with this is that Franson did that last year already. Can't blame the guy for wanting a better contract and treatment this time around. Especially after being of the teams best Dmen last season.
- systemtool

Last year was different though. He didn't sign before the lockout kicked in so he had to get some quick deal in before training camp.

It's totally unfair for sure, but there's no other way to go about it now. I don't think he wants to be traded just to make an extra million or two. He can get that here he just has to be patient for one more year. It sucks but what can you do at this point

How nice would it have been if Nonis got a 2 year deal done last year? lol

the ones after the leafs had to piece meal a defense together?

i dont give that a whole lot of weight honestly
- Dozzer

Who's minutes do you believe Franson was taking on? Kostka's?

Franson is just as important to this team as Gunnar. That's all anyone is saying. Most of us agree that eventually Franson will prove to be the better player, especially after watching the playoffs ( a true test IMO), but for now there is no reason to hand over good money to Gunnar and leave Franson to take a discount, yet again. He did that last year already.
- systemtool

see i dont really think the leafs D passed any test this past playoffs... i mean.. biggest collapse in history?

not a good thing to source when making a "pro player" argument

not sure why when he turned 26 makes much of a difference.. fact is.. he isnt a prospect anymore.

and we dont need offense from gunnar.. if anything.. we need more stability like gunnar back there.

all that offense from the back end didnt help us much when boston came roaring back in game 7 did it? maybe some more defensively efficient d-men in the lineup would of sent the leafs to round 2?

well.. honestly.. no real maybe about it. it would have.
- Dozzer

No, but all that offense from our D is what even got us to game 7 in the first place.

see i dont really think the leafs D passed any test this past playoffs... i mean.. biggest collapse in history?

not a good thing to source when making a "pro player" argument
- Dozzer

It was a bad 5 minutes or so, but over all, to take Boston to the brink of elimination like that spoke volumes. Especially for a team with very little playoff experience.

not sure why when he turned 26 makes much of a difference.. fact is.. he isnt a prospect anymore.

and we dont need offense from gunnar.. if anything.. we need more stability like gunnar back there.

all that offense from the back end didnt help us much when boston came roaring back in game 7 did it? maybe some more defensively efficient d-men in the lineup would of sent the leafs to round 2?

well.. honestly.. no real maybe about it. it would have.
- Dozzer

Oh I hear you....Im just saying, its easier to take a guy like Franson and teach him proper defensive systems to round out his game, than it is to try and get more offense out of a guy like Gunnar.

With Carlyle as head coach I have seen improvement in Franson's game because I like you, didnt care all that much for his one dimensional play which he originally offered to the club.

And I just meant to say that he's still young. Its not like his style of play is set in stone and he's peaked at his level of play. He can still improve his defensive game and if he does, he will be worth more closer to $3M.

Just the ways I sees it.

Who's minutes do you believe Franson was taking on? Kostka's?
- mykokes

i thought he had bumped liles down .. i cant remember the game one lineup without checking

not sure why when he turned 26 makes much of a difference.. fact is.. he isnt a prospect anymore.

and we dont need offense from gunnar.. if anything.. we need more stability like gunnar back there.

all that offense from the back end didnt help us much when boston came roaring back in game 7 did it? maybe some more defensively efficient d-men in the lineup would of sent the leafs to round 2?

well.. honestly.. no real maybe about it. it would have.
- Dozzer

on this note, LOVED what I saw from Andrew MacWilliam in the rookie tourney. Year on the Marlies and working with underhill to get his skating going, and this guy will be a beast of a 5/6. Nice replacement for Fraser when he asks for too much money next contract.

Last year was different though. He didn't sign before the lockout kicked in so he had to get some quick deal in before training camp.

It's totally unfair for sure, but there's no other way to go about it now. I don't think he wants to be traded just to make an extra million or two. He can get that here he just has to be patient for one more year. It sucks but what can you do at this point

How nice would it have been if Nonis got a 2 year deal done last year? lol
- t_leafs21

Thats what I was saying last year too. Lock this guy down. Just like I wish they would suck it up and lock Kadri down long term before he has another good year and starts demanding 6-7 million.

not sure why when he turned 26 makes much of a difference.. fact is.. he isnt a prospect anymore.

and we dont need offense from gunnar.. if anything.. we need more stability like gunnar back there.

all that offense from the back end didnt help us much when boston came roaring back in game 7 did it? maybe some more defensively efficient d-men in the lineup would of sent the leafs to round 2?

well.. honestly.. no real maybe about it. it would have.
- Dozzer

You're right, he's not a prospect. He's a guy who finished tied for 6th in the entire league among d-men in points, one more than Shea Weber and Phaneuf. And the only guy with over 100 hits in the league to not get a poopload of penalties. Only 4 d-men in the entire league had 20 points and 100 hits this past season: Franson, Phaneuf, Weber and Seabrook. Of the four he's the youngest.