July 1st Letdown
More and more, it seems very possible the Maple Leafs won't be making the big splash on Friday many of their fans are hoping for.
There just may not be the players there to sign, after all, as demonstrated by the announcement today that centre Brooks Laich has re-signed with the Washington Capitals for $27 million over six years. This is a player the Leafs were very, very interested in, particularly since they seem to understand their chances of landing centre Brad Richards via free agency are small.
If Richards wants to win, there are other teams closer. If he just wants the dough, there are other teams that will probably offer more or offer one of those front-loaded, 10-year, back-sliding deals that Brian Burke says he won't do. If Richards fondly remembers the climate in Florida, well, Toronto is Toronto. Most seem to think Tampa Bay is where he'll end up.
For Laich, that's amazing dough for a 16 goal scorer. The deal is front-loaded with $6.5 million next season then $4 million for each of two years, followed by $4.5 M in 2014-15, then $4 million for each of last 2 seasons.
The Caps also added winger Troy Brouwer from Chicago at the draft, so they're obviously determined to keep the grit they have and add more.
Kevin Bieksa has re-signed with Vancouver, so that's out. His teammate, Christian Erhoff, is probably the best UFA defenceman left.
So no Laich, and probably no Richards. Who's left in terms of centres? Well, Michal Handzus of the Kings is a big, experienced body, but he's 34 years old. There's Max Talbot of Pittsburgh, an eight-goal scorer last season, but he would give the Leafs an upgrade on the likes of Darryl Boyce and Tim Brent.
But more and more, it appears that if the Leafs are going to really add a player or players who will make a major impact for next year, it will have to be via the trade route.
The paucity of front end forwards, in particular, is obviously why Jaromir Jagr is making noises about coming back to the NHL. He smells a big dollar, and by waiting, he'll only get more.
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What can you do? Damien is right, make your 3-4th lines as strong as possible!
Posted by: TDotSportsBolgr | June 28, 2011 at 11:33 AM
Dammit! I really wanted Laich in a Leafs uniform next year
Posted by: Matt B | June 28, 2011 at 12:03 PM
Damien is not right,steve stamkos will be coming to toronto,you heard it hear 1st .
Posted by: Mark | June 28, 2011 at 12:10 PM
Some names I'd like the Leafs to kick tires on:
Leino
J. Jokinen
Upshall
Bergenheim
Talbot
Rupp
Posted by: Peter Morrow | June 28, 2011 at 12:18 PM
Sign Mike Rupp and Max Talbot. Obviously not the answer to the Leafs problems but just because we can't land any star FAs doesn't mean we need to stop upgrading the bottom 6. These guys will make the Leafs harder to play against and grind down the other team in order to make our younger, softer, skilled forwards more effective.
Posted by: Jeff Prince | June 28, 2011 at 12:29 PM
Instead of going for the grand slam, what about scooping up some lower-tier, cheaper, but capable players. I'm thinking of Steve Sullivan, who I saw yesterday was being let go by Nashville. If he is injury-free, wouldn't he be a good pickup for the third line centre spot?
Posted by: 80s Leafs | June 28, 2011 at 12:37 PM
Burke can only keep his job with playoff success next season. The Leafs current roster won't save him. Expect reason to go out the window in favour of trades of personal necessity. It always does.
Posted by: redsignal | June 28, 2011 at 12:38 PM
Leaf fans, No one from Burke to Richards himself would indicate to anyone that he wouldn't consider Toronto and that Burke wouldn't consider Richards. This is the media making a rush to judgement, the same "all-knowing" media who couldn't predict the Phanuef deal, or even give credence that someone in the NHL would take on Blake and Toskola's contracts.
So let's just wait and see how things pan out before running the GM over the coals. If Richards doesn't want to sign in Toronto than who cares, let's get players that want to play here and want to win here.
I don't see the reason for the hysteria over what is probably a mute topic to those people who are truly in the know.
Posted by: Nik Culoman | June 28, 2011 at 12:43 PM
The best thing the Leafs can do, is simply get out of town! They're a pathetic organization, management, and unfortunately as much as I'm pro-player, the team is pathetic too (not the players fault). So, please do us a favour, and go away. For example, Kaberle had a tepid start with the Bruins, and was profoundly critisized. But, we need to acknowledge that he didn't go from one system (Leafs) to another (Bruins) and so needed time to adjust, HE WENT FROM A TEAM WITH NO SYSTEM, TO A TEAM WITH A FIRST RATE SYSTEM! The Leafs once again at the end of the day, just shuffle the chairs around.
Posted by: ldv | June 28, 2011 at 12:52 PM
Christian Ehrhoff better than Tomáš Kaberle?
Posted by: John Carss | June 28, 2011 at 12:52 PM
So, your saying it will be another painful year and in all probability # 6 with no playoffs. All I can say is what else is new. When Burke came in I touted him as the man to get the Leafs back into the top of the conference. Now 3 yrs in, I really don’t see much with the exception of he can’t seem to be able to manufacture a true NHL first line in his tenure here. I guess that is why he succeeded where there was already the nucleus of players?? Disappointing!
Posted by: Musclehead17 | June 28, 2011 at 12:56 PM
If the Leafs cant get Richards, I say make a play for a winger and let Kadri centre Kessel.
Posted by: The Fonze | June 28, 2011 at 01:03 PM
Don't touch these UFAs, we have enough in the cupboard to compete. Mr. Burke, you will pay too much for too little, stay the course!
Posted by: Jeff | June 28, 2011 at 01:07 PM
Burke is an IDOT and Leafs are the WORST franchise in any sport.There is no player that could help these bunch of bums!!
Posted by: Braco | June 28, 2011 at 01:30 PM
@ Musclehead, Idv...
How quickly people forget how bad this team was before Burke arrived here, there were no assets anywhere in the organization and the 41 years of failure before he arrived isn't his problem.
How long did you think rebuilding an entire organization from the ground up would take???? No team has turned it around quickly, heck even the Penguins took 3 to 4 years to fix itself. Tampa Bay can't be included because they already had Stamkos, Vinny, St Louis and others that Burke didn't have the luxury to have at his disposal when he arrived.
So if you don't think this team is better than the one we had before Burke arrived than your assessment of talent needs to be called into question.
Because who would you rather have Phanuef/ Aulie or White?? Or Blake/Toskola for cap space and picks?? Or how about Kessel or Hagman??? What about Antropov to Grabovski?? How about going from one of the oldest teams in the league to one of the youngest and fastest?? Or how about a 12 point improvement from the year before?? How about a farm system will prospects that will have an impact at the NHL level??
Burke has done a lot in the 3 years he has been here, but there is more work to do. Let's see where this team is at in October, and stop letting the media think for you...Why not try a novel idea which is use objectivity and your own brain. Stop with the short sightedness.
Posted by: Nik Culoman | June 28, 2011 at 01:44 PM
Burke hasn't even been here for three years yet. What did anybody expect given what he inherited. Interesting how every single player he traded has floundered elsewhere isn't it? Burke inherited a few good assets and besides Grabovski and Luke Schenn, none of them were NHL ready: Kulemin, Reimer, Stalberg, and Gunnarson were all in the minors.
TOP SIX in November 2008: Nik Antropov, Alex Ponikarovsky, Jason Blake, Mikhail Grabovski, Nik Hagman and Matt Stajan.
TOP SIX in April 2011: Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, Tyler Bozak, Clarke MacArthur, Mikhail Grabovski, Nik Kulemin.
TOP FOUR D in November 2008: Pavel Kubina, Thomas Kaberle, Ian White, Jeff Finger.
TOP FOUR D in April 2011: Dion Phaneuf, Keith Aulie, Luke Schenn, Carl Gunnarson (with Liles on the way)
GOALTENDERS in Nov 2008: Vesa Toskala, Curtis Joseph
GOALTENDERS In April 2011: James Reimer, JS Giguere
Top prospects in the Leafs organization in Nov 2008: Luke Schenn, Jiri Tlusty, Nik Kulemin, Viktor Stalberg, Justin Pogge, James Reimer, Carl Gunnarson: Only 2 of those guys were first round draft picks (Tlusty/Schenn)
Top prospects in June 2011: Jake Gardiner, Joe Colborne (2008 1st rounders), Nazem Kadri (2009 top ten pick), Tyler Biggs, Stuart Percy (2011 top ten picks).
Notice any trends? The current team has less holes than the 2008 team had. Of course they still have holes and of course Burke has made some less than stellar moves.
The reality is that the team is younger, faster and more skilled with a cupboard containing some legitimate prospects. That's a pretty decent accomplishment thus far and I only expect the team to get better.
Posted by: Chris | June 28, 2011 at 02:43 PM
I'd rather the Leafs not sign anyone than grossly overpay like Washington did with Laich. The cap won't always be going up, one day it's going to come down and these teams that spend wildly will be getting killed. If they can sign a player to a reasonable deal then go for it, if not then I have no problems going into next year with the current group. If they play like they did the second half of the year, then we're in the playoffs and it's great. If they don't, then we have our draft pick to hopefully pick someone up. I look at this long term. In the end, what is the best way to win the Stanley Cup? It's not with overpaying for a bunch of free agents.
I should also add that usually there's one top free agent every summer, and usually they end up as a bust (Campbell, Kovalchuk, Bouwmeester, etc.)
Posted by: Pete | June 28, 2011 at 03:23 PM
The cupboard was bare? 41 yrs of failure? Do you remember 92-93 loss in the semi’s to LA? The next year loss in the semi’s to Vancouver? Then after that during the Quinn era again had some great success. I to this day feel that one of the strongest lines ever was Roberts, Sundin and Mogilny. What did the Leafs in was the push in 2004 to try to go deep in the playoffs, followed by the strike and salary caps. The way to building changed overnight. From acquiring talents through trades and UFA, to having to draft smartly. How bare was the cupboard? It always seems that hindsight is a 20/20 thing. At the time everything looks great. Tlutsy was supposed to be a great pick. There were guys in the minors who were supposed to be the future. Kind of sounds the same as today. Then 3 yrs down the road when they don’t work out everyone says the cupboard is bare. I didn’t like JFJ, didn’t think he was the right guy, but a lot of people felt very positive when brought in Toskala, remember hearing that Telquist, Harrison, Williams, Pohl, Steen were all great, had lots on the farm, things were looking positive. Is that not the same as today?? Again time will tell. I will say that Kadri for Mike Richards was a no brainer. If that was at all possible, a potential for a proven leader, and Burke couldn’t pull it off????
Posted by: Musclehead17 | June 28, 2011 at 03:26 PM
@Mark
I really hope we can nab Stamkos and there are some interesting theories floating around as to how we could pull it off. Interesting to say the least!!
(I am totally against spending big money or making a splashy trade that helps us short-term as I think slow and steady will allow us to contend regularly instead of just for a couple of years, BUT I would be ALL OVER giving up four 1st round picks for Stamkos!! Kid's a 21 year old stud....we likely would never be able to draft such a player with our 1st's over the next four drafts, so Burke, offer Stamkos a 1-yr, $12mm+ deal and let's bring Stamkos home!!)
Posted by: Bill | June 28, 2011 at 04:08 PM
@ Musclehead
I am not sure where you reading that guys like Pohl, Williams, Harrison, Steen were great....But I never read that before. As for the cupboard being bare, the guys you mentioned were at the end of their careers, Gilmour, Mogilny, Roberts, were all about done in the league. But the Leafs for years had one of the worst farm systems in the league, why not do some reading up online now...Look at Hockey Futures for example and see where this team is today that is after only 2 and half years with Burke in town.
Look at the average age of the players from 2004, and look at the average age of the players on the current roster. Look at the roster from 2008 and compare it to the roster of today....What do you see??? Did you forget the players that were here in 2008?? Who in their right mind would have wanted them?? Burke turned them into Phanuef, Aulie, Colburn, Gardiner, more salary cap room, less no trade clauses, younger roster, and 11 picks in this past draft.
As for Richards, it takes two teams to complete a deal. Just because Burke was offering Kadri and Kulemin doesn't mean Philly wanted those two. That's why the deal with L.A. completed.
Failure, yes this team hasn't won anything of consequence in 44 years........But out of those 44 years..Only less than 3 have been with Burke at the helm.
Posted by: Nik Culoman | June 28, 2011 at 05:15 PM
Whoever takes Jagr is an idiot.
How can Tampa afford Richards when they have Vinny's ridiculous salary, St. Louis makes a bundle and Stamkos is going to enter restricted free agency soon, and then Hedman soon after.
Why tie valuable money into a goal scorer when offense is not something they are lacking?
Posted by: Arthur | June 28, 2011 at 05:37 PM
Ask the Canucks what they think of the Burke years, Sedin twins......how many other players currently on their roster were either drafted by or traded for before he moved on to the Ducks.
But let's not to get to in depth...The Canucks fans will riot....... (oops...Was that too early)
Posted by: Nik Culoman | June 28, 2011 at 05:38 PM