Pierre Lebrun talks about the market for defencemen and the potential for an explosion of player movement in the NHL surrounding the expansion draft in today’s links.
Leafs/NHL Links
OverDrive – May 26, 2017 – Hour 3 (TSN1050)
Pierre Lebrun on the potential for unprecedented player movement before and after the expansion draft:
This is a special summer. Between the flat cap and Vegas, there is a really interesting environment. The week before the expansion draft and the week after could be the two busiest weeks in ages in the NHL. There are so many moves dependant on different things and teams forced to make a move. I think you’ll see more activity than usual. You also might see guys available that you didn’t think would be available.
Doug Armstrong said something interesting today: “We’re so focused on trades before the expansion draft. There are trades that are going to be held up by the expansion draft that are going to happen after. He said he’s got seven forwards, for example, that he likes and knows he’s protecting. Why would he trade for a forward now? Now you’ve got eight and you can only protect seven. There may be things in the drawer where it’s like, “wait until the expansion draft is over and I can get that guy so we don’t have protection issues.”
The week after leading into draft in Chicago could be even crazier than pre-expansion draft.
Lebrun on the market for defencemen and the expansion situation in Anaheim:
Tampa Bay is intriguing. I think the Lightning are willing to move a high-end top-six forward in exchange for a top-four defenceman. To me, the guys you look at are Tyler Johnson and Jonathan Drouin. I think they want to keep those guys, but in order to get a top defenceman, they’ve got to be willing to give up some high-end offensive talent.
Tampa, Toronto, Buffalo, Calgary [all want D], and we can go on.
In Minnesota, I think they’d rather keep Brodin and see what they can get for Dumba. I think there is higher ceiling there. Really good skater with offensive flair. Rough around the edges right now and you’d have to work with him, but that’s a guy I’d take a chance on for sure.
[In Anaheim] I don’t think they want to move the kids, but Montour and Theodore are expansion draft exempt, so that’s powerful as it is. I can’t believe that Montour, especially Montour, would go anywhere at this point. You can tell where his growth is.
The more I look at it I think it’s maybe Vatanen, if they have to trade someone. I don’t think [the injury] factors in. If you’re a team that was looking at him, why would missing the first two months of the year… if you’re Buffalo or Toronto, and you like Sami Vatanen, he is 25 years old. Do you really care about October and November when you’re acquiring him for the next five-six-seven years? I don’t think it changes anything if he is indeed the guy they make available.
They like all of these guys, so I’ve got to be careful, but Manson really grew in these playoffs in the eyes of the Ducks. They’ve got all of those puck movers there in Anaheim and Manson gives you that different element. I think [they’ll hold onto him], if I had to bet.
Weighing up the Leafs’ trade options: Vatanen, Bozak, JVR (MLHS)
Bob McKenzie joined Leafs Lunch on Friday afternoon to discuss the Leafs’ options on defence, the expansion draft situation in Anaheim, and James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak’s situations entering the final year of their contracts. Thoughts below the quotes.
[Paywall] Mirtle: What’s really going on with Dubas & Leafs? (The Athletic)
I have seen it reported elsewhere that the Leafs wouldn’t stand in Dubas’ way if he wanted to move on, but it certainly looks like that’s what happened here. It looks like Shanahan wants to keep him. It looks like the broader front office plan that was outlined a couple years ago, with Dubas eventually taking over, remains the same.
Shopping for defencemen just got more complicated (PPP)
The righties Anaheim has are Vatanen and Manson. They’re about the same age, and Manson is on the last year of a very cheap deal, while Vatanen is under contract at just under five million for three years. Vatanen puts up points, shoots a lot and takes a few penalties. Manson shoots a lot less, gets fewer points and takes a lot more penalties. Manson is considered to be a genuine shutdown defender with good shot differential stats to back that up, even on a team that is very mediocre in the Corsi lists these days.
Canucks sign defenceman Philip Holm to 1 year ELC (Canucks Army)
Earlier this morning, it was reported that the Chicago Blackhawks and the Canucks were the finalists to sign Holm, and obviously the Canucks won the sweepstakes. The Toronto Maple Leafs had been rumoured to have interest earlier this month, to the point where reports had come out that the Holm was signing with the Leafs. But they signed Andrea Borgman and Calle Rosen, thus leaving Holm unsigned.
Will Holm stand in the way of Canucks’ D prospects? (Vancouver Courier)
Now add in Holm. Will the Swedish blueliner get prime playing time in Utica ahead of the Canucks’ younger defencemen? Will he be the guy that gets called up instead of Pedan, Subban, or McEneny when there’s an injury? Are we destined to see a Holm-Biega third pairing at some point this season?
Predators vs. Penguins: Who has the advantage by position? (Sportsnet)
Once again we’re at a bit of an impasse here in terms of who has the advantage. The series in a nutshell is offence vs. defence, so your personal preference may factor in to whom you give the advantage. The Predators’ advantage at controlling play at even strength should give them a bit of a leg up in the series, but let’s remember most of the games where they produced these numbers were with their top centre in the lineup.
Likable Predators vs. Exhausted Penguins Makes for Intriguing SCF (Vice)
There’s no denying that this year’s final presents an intriguing matchup. In one corner, you’ve got the defending champs, bruised and exhausted but still fighting to become the first repeat winners in nearly two decades. In the other, a team that went into the postseason with the worst record among playoff teams and had never even been out of the second round in franchise history.
Ryan jokes Vegas won’t take his $7 million cap hit in expansion draft (TSN)
Bobby Ryan jokes with reporters that he hasn’t given the expansion draft much thought because he doesn’t think the Vegas Golden Knights would want anything to do with his $7 million cap hit. He also reflects on the Senators’ run to Game 7 of the Conference Finals.
Two OHL teams in Memorial Cup final (Toronto Sun)
Sea Dogs coach Danny Flynn, summing up the Otters: “They play a different game than we see. They play a different game than any team in the National Hockey League. They fly the zone when they anticipate a turnover and make good, calculated risks. They were able to get a lot of guys behind your D, with the new icing rule that if they miss the guy with the long bomb, the play stays live.”
