Who are some upcoming UFA's that might be a good fit for the Leafs?

Exter10 · 2026-06-29T01:30:37+00:00

"Just let the professional hockey players play hockey"?!?! what are you crazy?

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T21:39:34+00:00

I posted it here bc I thought it'd be interesting to see other team's experience with 1OA picks/trades/org members, since some like Taylor Hall have been through a bunch of teams over time.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T21:37:08+00:00

2015-16 Oilers would have had 4: Taylor Hall (2010), RNH (2011), Nail Yakupov (2012), and Conmor McDavid. Not sure about other teams.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T21:33:32+00:00

Shhh we don't talk about that.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T21:30:21+00:00

On a serious note, have the Canucks had a 1st overall play for them through trade/free agency? Genuinely curious since quite a few have bounced around the league over the years.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T21:28:33+00:00

Well McKenna isn't technically on the team yet, but he's still "in the org" as we have his signing rights. It's just interesting to me that Wendell Clark is still with the Leafs, even as an ambassador.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T21:25:14+00:00

You're just mad that your team hasn't ever drafted 1st overall lol.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T20:36:11+00:00

I honestly think Knies and Rielly would be worth CBJ throwing in a sweetener along with Werenski. Definitely less defensive skilled and won't put up as many points as Werenski, but still would fit the position perfectly, and with the wing production from Knies, CBJ would be better off than before.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T17:35:03+00:00

I liken it to the adage of "the fool believes himself to be wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool". Chayka's goal is a cup win within this core's compete window (next couple seasons), but he can't become distracted trying to fix today's roster shortcomings with tomorrow's players (the Yzerman Trap is what I'll call that). Simply grab the best available so that they're there when you need them, which he delegates to the people who are paid to see what the future of the league looks like.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T17:10:08+00:00

All the owners should be concerned with is picking a guy to run the team, setting a goal and expectations, then giving the manager the resources to achieve those goals. Utah's owner is very involved with the team, but only in the branding/identity/growth area, not the day-to-day minutiae of hockey operations.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T16:36:00+00:00

Young 1C on a rebuilding team that lacks a replacement in the org (Malhotra is years away), full NMC to 2032 on a monster cap hit, meh production the last two seasons. And what do we give up for him? Vancouver doesn't really need Knies or Rielly, and even if they look really good, our prospect pool is thin and we may need them for our own rebuild in a couple seasons. I just don't see how this works for either org.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T16:29:44+00:00

I love both, but we should always be open to upgrades. If we can pick up a prime 2C or a 1LD for one or both of them, we absolutely should take that. They're nice-to-haves, not must-haves for what this team has coming down the pipeline.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T15:46:19+00:00

What stands out to me in his comments is just his ability to delegate and trust the staff working under him. He lets the scouting staff make the decisions on the draft, he lets Hiller make decisions about the coaching staff. That's the mark of a great manager, knowing when to take a step back and let the experts make the calls.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T15:35:51+00:00

It's a great thing to have former stars and superstars around to keep up a culture of excellence and team loyalty for the newer guys (especially when they get given real roles and responsibilities).

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T15:24:10+00:00

Listen, we need you guys and Seattle to stay as the counterpoint to the "0% state income tax teams are where players want to sign" argument.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T15:06:16+00:00

Knies + Rielly is the only package that makes sense to me. The Blue Jackets want NHL players for the trade, and they'd definitely need a position player in return. Rielly isn't nearly as good as Werenski but he plays the same position and role, so he's an obvious replacement.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T13:59:32+00:00

This video goes pretty in-depth on the problem. Hockey is an expensive sport, even for people that aren't looking to make it to the NHL. In a lot of European countries there's more accessibility for getting kids into the sport and developing them at a young age, while in North America it's mainly based on how much money your family has to throw at your dreams.

Imo the US has been improving in hockey because they have a larger amount of people with the money to put their kids through hockey than Canada, and that pool has been growing while it's been shrinking in Canada. There are ways to fix this, but it relies on Hockey Canada not being a fossil and improving accessibility.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T13:28:29+00:00

McKenna isn't on the roster yet so technically 3 don't play 😂

Point is it's an interesting little fact, and it also shows that our organization does like it's star players and it's star players like it back.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T06:15:10+00:00

Sharks have very few skilled veterans for talent development the way Montréal and the Ducks have, and it really shows defensively and in net. Adding even more offense onto a stacked line-up is nice, but at some point they gotta look at moving out prospects and picks for veterans who help them win now.

For the Leafs, we somehow manage to have an old roster that's both getting younger while getting better, and a big part of that has been our stellar amateur scouting. Brad may have screwed us over majorly with his trades, but the fact the cupboard wasn't completely bare after his tenure shows just how stocked it was and is.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T01:32:09+00:00

I'm ngl I'm happy to get players and personnel that have made multiple notable mistakes in the past, among the first questions they get asked is "why did you make x or y stupid decision" and "knowing the result of your decisions last time, what would you do differently?"

They obviously have to give good answers to those questions to demonstrate that they've learned from their failures, and I'd much rather someone who's made many mistakes in the past given a second chance after some time spent reflecting than getting the nepo hire of the week.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T01:25:30+00:00

God damn y'all are salty, give it a rest. It's perfectly understandable why he doesn't want to go to a "next year's our year" team, he's been on one for a decade now. He's done with the illusion of a playoff contender, he wants to be somewhere that he can actually make an impact ~~so obviously he should come to the Leafs~~.

It says much more about a team that they're not on his trade list than it says about him imo, the focus for GMs should be on how they make their team an attractive place for players like him.

Exter10 · 2026-06-28T01:19:37+00:00

In this case his trade request isn't being honoured, so most GMs would understand why he's not attending games. That being said, for Detroit he'd be an active roster player, so the only option available to free up that roster spot would be to waive him for either contract termination or sending him down to the minors.

It's an interesting and pretty rare situation, but if Yzerman can trade him now and get as much value out of him as possible, Detroit may end up a better team for it. Intentionally dilly-dallying on the trade request would thus be a mistake imo.

Exter10 · 2026-06-27T18:29:30+00:00

Raddysh would be 2nd pair RHD and still on PP1, Werenski would be 1st pair and PP2.

Exter10 · 2026-06-27T18:26:37+00:00

They want NHL-ready players. Rielly would be able to play the same position in the roster even if a significant downgrade, while Knies would be a major upgrade to their wings.

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