Komarov looked kind of off to start last season too. Maybe he's a slow starter?
- daeth

Maybe it's that simple.

Kadri for Ellis solves issues for both teams.
- canada_dry

UMm (frank) that noise.

Komarov looks less engaged than he has in previous years. Hopefully he starts to regain some of the bite he had. Bozak is benefitting from playing with Mariner, and if he puts up good numbers at the end of the season he may be the one on the move. Probably will be.
- BetterCallSaul

i thought the same about komarov earlier in the season until i started watching more closely... as much as i wish that his offense would be similar to last year he is still doing a good job as a checking winger... he his in the top 5 league wide for hits... so i dont think this is a lack of production so much as its more of a different set of marching orders from babcock

i thought the same about komarov earlier in the season until i started watching more closely... as much as i wish that his offense would be similar to last year he is still doing a good job as a checking winger... he his in the top 5 league wide for hits... so i dont think this is a lack of production so much as its more of a different set of marching orders from babcock
- Dozzer

Could be.

UMm (frank) that noise.
- burn

yeah... kadri is becoming an excellent checking center with a good contract... not many guys can shadow like he can while still putting up good numbers

a checking C on pace for 60P on a 4.5million dollar contract? yeah... you dont let a guy like that go.

dallas should be a target for a goalie... they have both lehtonen and niemi... and they can only protect one
- Dozzer

I don't think vegas would touch either of those guys with a 10 foot pole.....they are both expensive, and awful....there are so many better options available

khudobin, lack, howard, reimer, probably halak, raanta, fleury, maybe varlamov

I'd take any of those guys before I even considered touching one of the 2 dallas goalies

Could be.
- BetterCallSaul

watch him in the offensive zone... last year he was trying to get open for the shot the majority of the time... this year he is digging along the boards and hitting the defense opening up room for kadri and brown.

yeah... kadri is becoming an excellent checking center with a good contract... not many guys can shadow like he can while still putting up good numbers

a checking C on pace for 60P on a 4.5million dollar contract? yeah... you dont let a guy like that go.
- Dozzer

I like Kadri

Not so much his diving (which has slowed down now that he's not getting calls) or cheapshots but everything else

i am honestly curious on who gets taken from the leafs... i have a feeling it will be bozak
- Dozzer

Leafs will make a trade in order to be able to get at least 1 additional FW exposed (with contract to 2018 or later).

If Leivo plays 40 games, he qualifies.
(not to mention Lupul and his 24 games).
Quite sure that's the reason why Rychel is still on Marlies as well (he'll probably get 30 games at end of season).

At the end of the day, Leafs will be able to make the trades to expose 2 'mediocre' forwards and Marincin on D. Marincin's a proper 6-7 D-man at that price + RFA at end of his contract.

However if Leafs leave those players exposed, Vegas will probably go to one of Leafs 2017 UFAs / RFAs - they have 48hrs before the expansion draft to discuss with those players.

I expect Vegas to have closed at least 7-10 contracts with 2017 FAs before the expansion draft - for the Leafs, Polak is actually the most likely candidate to end up in LV in my opinion..

other players that are likely to end up in LV:
- Luke Schenn
- Silfverberg
- Kruger
- Joe Colborne
- Calvert
- Eakin / Roussel
- Glendening
- Pouliot
- Demers
- Zucker
- Emelin
- Kulemin
- Grabner

- Malcolm Subban
- Matt Murray
- Grubauer

(Ben Bishop) but I think they would take Killorn or Namestnikov with all the other goalies available.

I don't think vegas would touch either of those guys with a 10 foot pole.....they are both expensive, and awful....there are so many better options available

khudobin, lack, howard, reimer, probably halak, raanta, fleury, maybe varlamov

I'd take any of those guys before I even considered touching one of the 2 dallas goalies
- sensarmy_11

i would put fleury and howard in there for sure, i think a veteran presence in the net is something they will be looking for

that being said...fleury's injury history might make them nervous... also... i wonder what the pens do forward protection wise... a lot of money tied up in kessel, crosby and malkin...makes you wonder if kessel is left unprotected... as they have kunitz, dupuis, bonino, cullen, and daley all hitting UFA... leaving kessel unprotected and hoping he gets picked would open up some much needed cap space to sign some if not all of those guys

Leafs will make a trade in order to be able to get at least 1 additional FW exposed (with contract to 2018 or later).

If Leivo plays 40 games, he qualifies.
(not to mention Lupul and his 24 games).
Quite sure that's the reason why Rychel is still on Marlies as well (he'll probably get 30 games at end of season).

At the end of the day, Leafs will be able to make the trades to expose 2 'mediocre' forwards and Marincin on D. Marincin's a proper 6-7 D-man at that price + RFA at end of his contract.

However if Leafs leave those players exposed, Vegas will probably go to one of Leafs 2017 UFAs / RFAs - they have 48hrs before the expansion draft to discuss with those players.

I expect Vegas to have closed at least 7-10 contracts with 2017 FAs before the expansion draft - for the Leafs, Polak is actually the most likely candidate to end up in LV in my opinion..

other players that are likely to end up in LV:
- Luke Schenn
- Silfverberg
- Kruger
- Joe Colborne
- Calvert
- Eakin / Roussel
- Glendening
- Pouliot
- Demers
- Zucker
- Emelin
- Kulemin
- Grabner

- Malcolm Subban
- Matt Murray
- Grubauer

(Ben Bishop) but I think they would take Killorn or Namestnikov with all the other goalies available.
- MaximusAurelius

just to touch on your polak idea... he is UFA at the end of this season so the leafs would have to resign him to leave him unprotected... that and i assume he is deadline fodder for a playoff team looking for depth on D

Leafs will make a trade in order to be able to get at least 1 additional FW exposed (with contract to 2018 or later).

If Leivo plays 40 games, he qualifies.
(not to mention Lupul and his 24 games).
Quite sure that's the reason why Rychel is still on Marlies as well (he'll probably get 30 games at end of season).

At the end of the day, Leafs will be able to make the trades to expose 2 'mediocre' forwards and Marincin on D. Marincin's a proper 6-7 D-man at that price + RFA at end of his contract.

However if Leafs leave those players exposed, Vegas will probably go to one of Leafs 2017 UFAs / RFAs - they have 48hrs before the expansion draft to discuss with those players.

I expect Vegas to have closed at least 7-10 contracts with 2017 FAs before the expansion draft - for the Leafs, Polak is actually the most likely candidate to end up in LV in my opinion..

other players that are likely to end up in LV:
- Luke Schenn
- Silfverberg
- Kruger
- Joe Colborne
- Calvert
- Eakin / Roussel
- Glendening
- Pouliot
- Demers
- Zucker
- Emelin
- Kulemin
- Grabner

- Malcolm Subban
- Matt Murray
- Grubauer

(Ben Bishop) but I think they would take Killorn or Namestnikov with all the other goalies available.
- MaximusAurelius

I would think Pittsburgh would buy out Fleury if they were forced to before they lost Murray for free.

I like Kadri

Not so much his diving (which has slowed down now that he's not getting calls) or cheapshots but everything else
- daeth

every successful team has their guy who deliberately gets under the other teams skin... move kadri and then you have to find a guy to replace him... so why move him?

teams moving a youngish d man will be looking for picks and/or good prospects... someone like kapanen fits that bill

just to touch on your polak idea... he is UFA at the end of this season so the leafs would have to resign him to leave him unprotected... that and i assume he is deadline fodder for a playoff team looking for depth on D
- Dozzer

I don't believe Vegas would waste a pick on signing Polak before the draft.

just to touch on your polak idea... he is UFA at the end of this season so the leafs would have to resign him to leave him unprotected... that and i assume he is deadline fodder for a playoff team looking for depth on D
- Dozzer

no - what i mean is that leafs will have their 2fw's (not bozak/komarov/martin) exposed after a trade or two, and marincin on d.

vegas can then opt to negotiate a deal with a pending UFA 48hrs before expansion draft; in this case polak.
if they sign polak, they can't take another player from leafs during expansion draft.
(teams have to protect the 2017 FAs if they don't want Vegas to talk with them on a contract before the expansion draft)

I don't believe Vegas would waste a pick on signing Polak before the draft.
- BetterCallSaul

he's an UFA so no picks involved

I expect Ryan Ellis to be traded.
Anyone here like him in a Leafs Jersey?
If yes who would u trade? Forward is most likely.
- Nighthawk

(frank) that ginger midget.

I don't believe Vegas would waste a pick on signing Polak before the draft.
- BetterCallSaul

as i mentioned in an earlier post... if the pens leave kessel unprotected to make room to sign their slew of UFAs then LV would probably take bozak from the leafs and Kessel from the pens (this is all very much assumption on my part) because they would have two thirds of a potential top line who have played together and know each other very well.

he's an UFA so no picks involved
- MaximusAurelius

If Vegas signs a team's UFA prior to the expansion draft then that team is no longer subject to the draft. So if Vegas signs Polak, the Leafs wouldn't have to offer up any other player.

I would think Pittsburgh would buy out Fleury if they were forced to before they lost Murray for free.
- BetterCallSaul

I don't see Murray going anywhere that's for sure

i would put fleury and howard in there for sure, i think a veteran presence in the net is something they will be looking for

that being said...fleury's injury history might make them nervous... also... i wonder what the pens do forward protection wise... a lot of money tied up in kessel, crosby and malkin...makes you wonder if kessel is left unprotected... as they have kunitz, dupuis, bonino, cullen, and daley all hitting UFA... leaving kessel unprotected and hoping he gets picked would open up some much needed cap space to sign some if not all of those guys
- Dozzer

doesn't kessel have an NTC....if so they have to protect him. either way, there is no way they'd leave him unprotected to lose him for nothing.....I imagine they'd trade him, get a couple of crap assets thrown in to any deal, and leave those guys unprotected.

no - what i mean is that leafs will have their 2fw's (not bozak/komarov/martin) exposed after a trade or two, and marincin on d.

vegas can then opt to negotiate a deal with a pending UFA 48hrs before expansion draft; in this case polak.
if they sign polak, they can't take another player from leafs during expansion draft.
(teams have to protect the 2017 FAs if they don't want Vegas to talk with them on a contract before the expansion draft)
- MaximusAurelius

ask yourself this... bozak and komarov... why would the leafs move them if they need guys to be left unprotected? their perfect guys for that.

and LV isnt going to waste an expansion draft pick on polak... why would they? they could simply make a pitch to him that would be based on playing time come july 1?

doesn't kessel have an NTC....if so they have to protect him. either way, there is no way they'd leave him unprotected to lose him for nothing.....I imagine they'd trade him, get a couple of crap assets thrown in to any deal, and leave those guys unprotected.
- sensarmy_11

He has a limited NTC.

as i mentioned in an earlier post... if the pens leave kessel unprotected to make room to sign their slew of UFAs then LV would probably take bozak from the leafs and Kessel from the pens (this is all very much assumption on my part) because they would have two thirds of a potential top line who have played together and know each other very well.
- Dozzer

Unfortunately Pens can't leave Kessel unprotected since he woudl have to waive his NMC, and Leafs will likely not leave Bozak exposed either.

What players does Pitts have to resign anyways that make them want to give up Kessel for that??

He has a limited NTC.
- BetterCallSaul

how do those work in terms of the expansion draft? do they have to waive it in order to be exposed?