Not that I think Bozak's bad, because he's not, I just view Bolland as a better player. Thus I think he's a $4.5 million dollar player on the Leafs.
- LeftCoaster

He's either a 4.5 million dollar player, or he's not. Doesn't really matter what team he plays for unless it's a hockey wasteland like Florida, Columbus, Islanders etc that have to over pay to attract players. Bolland won't be making 4.5 million here, but he and the club are talking extenstion. I see him making 3.5-4 million on about a 4 year deal. Coming off a career year and deep playoff run, I can see him making a case for 4.5, but coming off a long term injury....not so much.

So as of today the best save in the league walks? That would be so dumb. Reimer is the real deal one of the best in the league. Bernier has let in a weak goal each of his last 5 games. If they choose Bernier over Reimer they are nuts. But it is TO so...
- aminnes

Do some research...he's an RFA when his current deal expires.

I watch most Leafs game and have for a good 10+ years. I feel Phaneuf is expendable at this point based on his financial demands and the cast of players waiting to chomp on more ice time. I think they need to replace Phaneuf with someone who can be better defensively responsible/less of a gambler and let Reiley, Franson, Gardiner take care of your offense from the blueline. I do believe hes having his best season in a long time though. I would also consider the trade I heard yesterday involving Reimer, Gardiner and Kadri plus a pick for John Tavares. While shedding salary by parting with Phaneuf in another deal for a more responsible d-man. This would be 50+ Kessel goals without a doubt.
JVR-JT-Kessel
Lupul-Bozak-Clarkson
Raymond-Bolland-Holland
Orr-McClement-Mcclaren

That's funny...they were talking about it on sportsnet and said 66-67 million....

But I guess you know more than everyone else....
- Iggysbff

no.. i just dont pretend to know at all

thats nothing more than a guess. even if they do work for the lamest sports station out there.

Not that I think Bozak's bad, because he's not, I just view Bolland as a better player. Thus I think he's a $4.5 million dollar player on the Leafs.
- LeftCoaster

Bolland is great, and bozak gets chirped alot on here. I think they are comparable contract wise. However, every year salaries go up so Bolland getting $5 mil isn't a stretch I guess...

no.. i just dont pretend to know at all
thats nothing more than a guess. even if they do work for the lamest sports station out there.
- Dozzer

You have a MacGyver avatar...you seem pretty smart to me!

I think you have to lock him up long term if you're Toronto. He is by far the best defender on that team, and brings a veteran presence. Leafs are better off moving one of Franson/Gardnier to make the necessary room.

Bolland will get 5 million on the open market. he's young by UFA standards, he plays centre, and he's making close to 4 now. this is his one chance to cash in.
- DoubleDown

He'll get 5m after playing in 30 games? Um...no, he won't.

I, actually pay attention, to practically every game they play. Phaneuf's return could be HUGE from a contending team in need. If we trade him at the deadline and/or sign a stop gap veteran defender, and spread out Dions minutes amongst our D, there's a good chance we make the playoffs with a new roster player and a high end prospect, AND cap space. He might be our best defender, but he's not our only quality guy on the back end that can eat minutes. Why are most Leaf fans afraid to take chances? Every move a GM makes, or doesn't make, is a crap shoot. Myself, I'd rather sign Bolland long term, for MUCH less than what Dion is going to command. Get a high return for him now ! JMHO.
- LakesideBlues

Ya spread out Dion's minutes between the other guys and see what happens. Franson has played protected minutes since he got here, Gunnarsson is so-so-so average, and the rest wouldn't be able to keep up with a good top line, let alone defend them.

Trading Phanuef at the deadline is season/cup suicide. Leafs are not afraid to take chances, but if the options are certain death or life... I'll choose the staying alive one, and so will Nonis.

no.. i just dont pretend to know at all

thats nothing more than a guess. even if they do work for the lamest sports station out there.
- Dozzer

Gotcha. All just guesses at this point but some are more informed than others...

And yes there are some articles (Friedman and others) that say it Could be 80 mill in 4 yrs. But also Could not be....

Bolland is great, and bozak gets chirped alot on here. I think they are comparable contract wise. However, every year salaries go up so Bolland getting $5 mil isn't a stretch I guess...
- clark_griswold

Didn't the NHL just have a lockout and a lower salary cap to prevent this sort of thing. . .

It's different for each team, to a degree anyways. If Leaf management felt Bozak, who's an "ok" player, was worth $4.2 million to them. Then surely Bollands camp will say hey, I'm worth every bit as much as he is to this team.
- LeftCoaster

That's like saying that every player the Canucks wish to sign, who is better than Booth, will all demand 5million a season. Which, clearly, is not true and far from accurate.

we're in 3rd place in a very weak eastern conference. Also, i'd say we have our best shot to make noise THIS year (with our pending UFAs). Trading him makes zero sense, if anything, ride him through the playoffs. Any team can come out of the east IMO.

Bolland and Dion have nothing to do with each other.
- clark_griswold

Um, Isn't cap space, or lack thereof, the whole reason for this discussion about trading Dion, or not re-signing him ? I was merely stating where those cap dollars could go, but apparently last years loss against the Bruins, and/or Toronto's success at even making it into the playoffs, was all due to Dion's play, and had nothing to do with our faceoff % or depth at center.
Pardon my sarcasm.

Gotcha. All just guesses at this point but some are more informed than others...

And yes there are some articles (Friedman and others) that say it Could be 80 mill in 4 yrs. But also Could not be....
- Iggysbff

Cap going up aside, he's still only going to cost 0-1 million more than he gets. This is such a no brainer decision, can't believe it's so heavily contested.

I watch most Leafs game and have for a good 10+ years. I feel Phaneuf is expendable at this point based on his financial demands and the cast of players waiting to chomp on more ice time. I think they need to replace Phaneuf with someone who can be better defensively responsible/less of a gambler and let Reiley, Franson, Gardiner take care of your offense from the blueline. I do believe hes having his best season in a long time though. I would also consider the trade I heard yesterday involving Reimer, Gardiner and Kadri plus a pick for John Tavares. While shedding salary by parting with Phaneuf in another deal for a more responsible d-man. This would be 50+ Kessel goals without a doubt.
JVR-JT-Kessel
Lupul-Bozak-Clarkson
Raymond-Bolland-Holland
Orr-McClement-Mcclaren
- Seitch2

who had the Tavares gem?

Eklund: Does Toronto’s Future Plans Include Phaneuf??
- Eklund

As with all negotiations, the opening positions are going to be inflated. So, really, at this point, 7-ish million sounds about right. In the end, he'll re-sign for something in the neighborhood of 6.5.

The real question is, do we really want Phaneuf for 8 more years? The next 3-4, sure. The 4 after? I'm not sold on that...

Gotcha. All just guesses at this point but some are more informed than others...

And yes there are some articles (Friedman and others) that say it Could be 80 mill in 4 yrs. But also Could not be....
- Iggysbff

If the cap continues to rise I wonder if we could see an NBA type situation where big market teams are creating super teams full of stars. Highly unlikely but I've thought about it lately.

Gotcha. All just guesses at this point but some are more informed than others...

And yes there are some articles (Friedman and others) that say it Could be 80 mill in 4 yrs. But also Could not be....
- Iggysbff

LOL yup, now you see where i am coming from.

this is completely based on revenue.. do they sell a lot of jerseys at xmas or no? ticket sales are a reasonable projection but not much else.

there are just too many factors to even bother guessing at it.

and you bring up the best point.. it seems like everyone who tries will say something like.. well.. it could be 66 or it could be 72.. everyone bask in the glory of my intellect.

He's either a 4.5 million dollar player, or he's not. Doesn't really matter what team he plays for unless it's a hockey wasteland like Florida, Columbus, Islanders etc that have to over pay to attract players. Bolland won't be making 4.5 million here, but he and the club are talking extenstion. I see him making 3.5-4 million on about a 4 year deal. Coming off a career year and deep playoff run, I can see him making a case for 4.5, but coming off a long term injury....not so much.
- systemtool

Not true, I don't see it that way. There's not a snowballs chance in hell Bozak makes 4.2 million dollars on most other teams, unless it's a bad team. Bolland will be offered that kind of money by someone wanting an excellent second or third line center.

Ya spread out Dion's minutes between the other guys and see what happens. Franson has played protected minutes since he got here, Gunnarsson is so-so-so average, and the rest wouldn't be able to keep up with a good top line, let alone defend them.

Trading Phanuef at the deadline is season/cup suicide. Leafs are not afraid to take chances, but if the options are certain death or life... I'll choose the staying alive one, and so will Nonis.
- PotvinFan

I can't see the Leafs trading him either. I don't think Franson can move into his spot so they really have no one to replace his minutes. The problem with most fans is that they only seem to notice the handful of his obvious errors - missed checks which result in a goal, but he has been consistently good this year. He plays top minutes against the top lines. Unless a really good stay at home defensive d-man is coming back, I think trading him weakens the d as a whole.

I watch most Leafs game and have for a good 10+ years. I feel Phaneuf is expendable at this point based on his financial demands and the cast of players waiting to chomp on more ice time. I think they need to replace Phaneuf with someone who can be better defensively responsible/less of a gambler and let Reiley, Franson, Gardiner take care of your offense from the blueline. I do believe hes having his best season in a long time though. I would also consider the trade I heard yesterday involving Reimer, Gardiner and Kadri plus a pick for John Tavares. While shedding salary by parting with Phaneuf in another deal for a more responsible d-man. This would be 50+ Kessel goals without a doubt.
JVR-JT-Kessel
Lupul-Bozak-Clarkson
Raymond-Bolland-Holland
Orr-McClement-Mcclaren
- Seitch2

That's be an awesome trade for the Leafs, although I don't see it ever happening.

This is where the NHL has a problem. What has Bolland done to justify a $5MM a year contract?
- ImThatGuy

what percentage of UFA contracts can be justified? UFA is not about a player's overall perceived value. it's about his value to ONE team.

Not true, I don't see it that way. There's not a snowballs chance in hell Bozak makes 4.2 million dollars on most other teams, unless it's a bad team. Bolland will be offered that kind of money by someone wanting an excellent second or third line center.
- LeftCoaster

I disagree with this opinion so much, that my response would be a chore of corrections that could consume far too much of my time. You're right. Bozak sucks and would only make 1 million on every other team. Bolland is awesome and would make 6 million on every other team.

Gotcha. Sometimes, the smile and nod works better than trying to fix ignorance.

I think if Phaneuf wasn't the Captain then people wouldn't hate on him as much. I say sign him to around what he's making now, he does the job he needs to do.

Bolland is great, and bozak gets chirped alot on here. I think they are comparable contract wise. However, every year salaries go up so Bolland getting $5 mil isn't a stretch I guess...
- clark_griswold

He's very good at what he does, played a big part in the two Cups they won. Great shutdown guy with offense to boot.