I really hope we don't resign Ceci for 5m for 4 yrs

Why would they resign ceci

My feeling is by the end of the year he will have proven that he is a lot better than the analytics crowd would have you believe (Zaitsev too) and that their problems were more situational than structural (Zaitsev being saddled with Gardiner for the last two years and Ceci being thrown off the deep end too early)

I'm sure he'll prove to be better but we have bigger fish to fry: i.e. Barrie and Muzzin. He'll improve but to say he'll be worth resigning over one of those guys is just not right no offence

Barrie will want too much money for Toronto to sign him (8 mil). Remember they have Rielly to sign the year after. Any benchmark Barrie signs for will be exceeded by Rielly. Muzzin is not worth what it will take to sign him at 30 (likely 5.5 over 4). I'd rather give that money to Ceci who is, what, 4 or 5 years younger?

You want to worry about something on D? Worry that Liljegrin is lagging behind in his development. That's a real problem.

Lol what lilegren is not lagging behind his development. He was drafted 2 years ago and as a 20 year old is being looked at to make the nhl as a defenceman this year if not next. Sounds like he's right on pace or better for a mid first round defenseman

And sure muzzin is older and would want a bit more money but Ceci is garbage at least muzzin is a good top 3-4 defence man. if you are going to resign Ceci lower the term and or dollar amount by a lot

When you look at how Sandin is playing now and compare him to how Liljegrin is playing as a 20 year old, Sandin has the edge and it's not close. You can see Sandin starting out the year with the Leafs. A couple of things have to break his way but it is something you can see happening. No matter what happens though, Liljegrin is headed back to the Marlies.

You could easily say that Sandin is ahead of schedule more than Liljegrin is behind it. You could well be right. But how you, me, the Leafs or anyone else sees this doesn't concern me. It's how Liljegrin sees it. If he views it as a challenge, throws down the gauntlet and gets to work, great. But what happens if he goes in the opposite direction and sulks 'Woe is Me"?

That's what worries me.

As I said earlier, I am not convinced the media induced reputations of Ceci and Zaitsev are accurate. My feeling is that by the end of a year with their new teams, both Ottawa and Toronto fans will be crowing about how much they ripped off the other guy. And they will both be wrong.