Marleau for 3 years 6.25M... that is crazy that is something people can female dog about compared to the short term cheap deals of Girardi and Kunitz.
- stammerman

Yeah, that is insanity. Isn't he 38 already? This will carry him through to age 41. Toronto better hope he has some Jagr blood in him.

And how about that max contract Montreal just signed Price to? Wow. They are setting themselves up for cap hell.

Yeah, that is insanity. Isn't he 38 already? This will carry him through to age 41. Toronto better hope he has some Jagr blood in him.

And how about that max contract Montreal just signed Price to? Wow. They are setting themselves up for cap hell.
- GalacticStone

Term is nuts but Babcock sweet talked Marleau. Leafs have lots of cash but now need to either trade JVR or LTIR Robidas and Lupul to get under the cap. So much for the Shanaplan.

A lot of the Leafs fans think they need to win before Matthews is off his ELC since Pittsburgh (Crosby) and Chicago (Toews, Kane) did it.

Marleau has played all his games for the last 8 seasons so maybe he can play through 41.

Term is nuts but Babcock sweet talked Marleau. Leafs have lots of cash but now need to either trade JVR or LTIR Robidas and Lupul to get under the cap. So much for the Shanaplan.

A lot of the Leafs fans think they need to win before Matthews is off his ELC since Pittsburgh (Crosby) and Chicago (Toews, Kane) did it.

Marleau has played all his games for the last 8 seasons so maybe he can play through 41.
- Leafsandbolts

Even if Marleau continues to produce at a decent level, that cap-hit is pretty high. Compare that to we just paid for Kunitz. Granted, Marleau has much more scoring touch, but it remains to be seen whether he can continue to score at the rate he has been. If he suddenly regresses, they are going to regret that contract bigtime. It seems like once a player gets past 35, that drop off can come quick and unexpectedly. But heck, look at Jagr. That guy is like the energizer bunny. I would have rather signed Jagr than Kunitz - but Jagr would probably want more term and come with a higher cap hit, so maybe Kunitz was the best non-Williams option we could afford.

How does Kuznetsov get a max 8 years at 7.8M dollars. That is another crazy one to me, should he be paid absolutely but he has three years of varying offensive output of 37, 77 and 59 points on his resume and thats it. I figured 6M would get Palat signed but now I wonder after what Kuznetsov got. Maybe 6M will still be the number but man these numbers getting throw around are crazy right now.

10.5M for Carey Price who is about to turn 30... awesome goalie best right now but I just think that contract is going to bite them eventually. What does this mean for Vasy in three years - hopefully a deal like Martin Jones just got.

8M for Joe Thornton, granted 1 year but he is coming off of knee issues at the age of 38. Hopefully Johnson a 26 year old 2C comes in around 5.5 or less.

Yzerman needs to get these deals done before more comparables effect their arbitration status should it go that way.

Yeah, that is insanity. Isn't he 38 already? This will carry him through to age 41. Toronto better hope he has some Jagr blood in him.

And how about that max contract Montreal just signed Price to? Wow. They are setting themselves up for cap hell.
- GalacticStone

Not really.

How does Kuznetsov get a max 8 years at 7.8M dollars. That is another crazy one to me, should he be paid absolutely but he has three years of varying offensive output of 37, 77 and 59 points on his resume and thats it. I figured 6M would get Palat signed but now I wonder after what Kuznetsov got. Maybe 6M will still be the number but man these numbers getting throw around are crazy right now.

10.5M for Carey Price who is about to turn 30... awesome goalie best right now but I just think that contract is going to bite them eventually. What does this mean for Vasy in three years - hopefully a deal like Martin Jones just got.

8M for Joe Thornton, granted 1 year but he is coming off of knee issues at the age of 38. Hopefully Johnson a 26 year old 2C comes in around 5.5 or less.

Yzerman needs to get these deals done before more comparables effect their arbitration status should it go that way.
- stammerman

This is insanity. Pure, unbridled insanity.

And the Caps gave away Johansson for chump change to make room to sign Kuz to that monster contract. WTF? That ranks up there with the ludicrous Orpik contract.

I don't think this will effect Palat and Johnson much - or, at least I hope it doesn't.

The Price contract is a cap-hell bomb waiting to explode. He's worth the money now, because without him the Habs are a bubble team at best. But, in a few years....

This is beyond crazy. This is Tom Cruise crazy.

I would have figured that Johnson and Palat would have been resigned before picking up other guys. But I guess theyre both RFA's so they dont have to sweat it really.

Not really.
- Larsson_fan

Smoke a (frank)ing Peace pipe,Jabroni.

Slater Koekkoek got a 1 year prove it deal for 800K. He is such a smooth skater, what I never understood was he played all 7 games in the ECF against Pitt in 2016 and averaged pretty high minutes doing it then the next year he is sent to the AHL after about 25 games where he stayed. He was the No. 1 in Syracuse averaging around 22-24 minutes a night but that is not the NHL. I wonder what will become of him this year.

Slater Koekkoek got a 1 year prove it deal for 800K. He is such a smooth skater, what I never understood was he played all 7 games in the ECF against Pitt in 2016 and averaged pretty high minutes doing it then the next year he is sent to the AHL after about 25 games where he stayed. He was the No. 1 in Syracuse averaging around 22-24 minutes a night but that is not the NHL. I wonder what will become of him this year.
- stammerman

He'll have the opportunity to watch Dan Girardi from the press box.

He'll have the opportunity to watch Dan Girardi from the press box.
- Michael_Stuart

but Slater is a LD not a RD. So I think the 3rd LD is between him and Sergachev. I still don't see Dotchin being with Hedman all season as a good idea so I am not sure how they are going to structure the D.

Hedman-Dotchin
Coburn-Stralman
Koekkoek-Girardi - at least he is with someone that can skate
Sustr

or

Hedman-Girardi - if anyone can make Girardi servicable its Hedman
Koekkoek-Stralman
Coburn-Dotchin
Sustr

Sergachev probably goes back to the minors for 1 more year based on the history of the Lightning and prospects.

but Slater is a LD not a RD. So I think the 3rd LD is between him and Sergachev. I still don't see Dotchin being with Hedman all season as a good idea so I am not sure how they are going to structure the D.

Hedman-Dotchin
Coburn-Stralman
Koekkoek-Girardi - at least he is with someone that can skate
Sustr

or

Hedman-Girardi - if anyone can make Girardi servicable its Hedman
Koekkoek-Stralman
Coburn-Dotchin
Sustr

Sergachev probably goes back to the minors for 1 more year based on the history of the Lightning and prospects.
- stammerman

Sergachev has played quite a bit of right-side D, so I think the spot will be Koekkoek's. Question is whether he gets consistent playing time or not. If they put him with Girardi, he'll be the scapegoat and this'll be his last season in TB. Would love (as much as one can love a defense that includes Girardi...) to see the following:

Hedman-Dotchin
Koekkoek-Stralman
Coburn-Girardi
Sustr

Keep Girardi away from Hedman so that Hedman can keep being a Norris-quality guy. Give Koekkoek consistent minutes with a capable partner. Bury Girardi on the third pair with a guy who is competent and has enough 'veteran currency' that Cooper won't sit him.

My hunch is that they'll put Hedman and Girardi together, though. And that'll be disastrous for the defense as a whole. The "what's wrong with Hedman?" columns will be written by mid November.

Hedman-Dotchin
Koekkoek-Stralman
Coburn-Girardi
Sustr

My hunch is that they'll put Hedman and Girardi together, though. And that'll be disastrous for the defense as a whole. The "what's wrong with Hedman?" columns will be written by mid November.
- Michael_Stuart

I like your pairings as well. It keeps the young guys with our most consistent defenders and gives limited minutes to Coburn and Girardi so they might be useful. I also think they will be starting Girardi with Hedman which hopefully they see is a mistake very fast into the training camp. Its almost like Sustr is the backup to Girardi in case he really does stink it up. How about that I would rather Sustr be playing.