Just curious why you think leafs would want caggiula? This isn’t the first agm I have seen moving him to the leafs. Leafs can’t afford him and he would have a hard time getting even a pressbox seat.

I just saw him going to the leafs yesterday. Not an original trade idea of mine.

Because the Leafs are a soft. I don't think Drake will cost as much as people think because of the flat cap and he had an injury this past season. He's mentioned that he wants to stay with the Hawks...so I'll 100% admit maybe he's talking about a hometown discount vs being traded, but the Leafs would be a better team if they could add physicality to their game. I don't think the 225lb+ bruiser is what they need in physicality...I'm talking about a faster grittier pesky player like Drake.

@jamiepo
Exactly. Leafs fans all too often think a player needs to put up at least 40 points to be worth it to join the their team, yet the very problem the Leafs have in the playoffs is lack of defenders of course, but also forwards who play defense, physicality and grittiness. The Hawks won cups because beyond being a fast team and solid defenders, gritty players like Shaw could mix it up and get under the skin of the opposing team. Leafs lack defenders but also lack a player being able to get under the skin of the opposition.

Caggiula is important believe it or not. I mean the Blackhawks are undefeated with him and winless without him. What he brings to the table helps this team a lot.

I think Shaw is a better version of Caggulia.

This is such an outdated and blatantly wrong opinion. The very physical Blue Jackets aren't causing problems by being physical. TO's 1 and only issue is their consistency. Look at game 2, that is the Leafs when they are on. They smother teams with possession. They get the puck and keep it and wear you down until they find a crack. They just haven't been able to do it on a consistent basis. That being said they are still very young and will find that consistency with time. No one on this site wants that to be the case, they prefer to make up BS like they are a small team that gets pushed around, they are one of the biggest teams and while they don't hit a tonne they don't need to, because they always have the puck.

The issue is he isn’t pushing marner nylander Hyman Kapanen Mikheyev and Robertson down the lineup.

Leafs have Hyman Kapanen engvall and possibly Clifford or korshkov playing those gritty defensive two way rolls. This is of course assuming that Johnsson is cannon fodder for the flat cap.

If he is signed before his QO or after it expires for cheap (750-900k) I would not have a problem with him playing 4th line and moving up in the lineup as needed.

At 1.5m or above it’s just not plausible. The same applies for Clifford.

I don't have a horse in the race. You do. I'm certain your bias is blinding you.

I can sit here and agree with you that TOR played a much better game 2 than game 1. I can also agree that consistency is an issue for TOR. I again agree that it's a larger issue than physicality. That doesn't mean they're not soft...because they are. I'd also tell you that you're flat out dreaming if you think Game 2 is the "standard" for TOR. You're not as bad as your worst game...You're not as good as your best game. IMO...Game 2 was indeed one of the better games TOR has played all year long. They're not THAT good a team overall. That game could have been 5-0.

I specifically said "NOT the 225+ bruiser". I'm not talking about hits. I'm talking about getting moved off the puck too easily. Not winning enough board battles. I know EXACTLY what you mean because this was EXACTLY what Blackhawks fans (my fan base) said during their cup runs. Their opponents always out hit them because they always had the puck. BUT the Hawks didn't get moved off the puck like TOR does. When CHI was winning it seems like everytime they went to the boards...the Hawks came away with the puck. Matthews is a stud and I can't really say much on him, but Tavares isn't exactly dominating anyone.

If he signs his QO he is 1.5m, if he isn’t qualified he is UFA.

Fair point.

Leafs already have their own, better version of Caggiula.. that's Kapanen. Way faster and has just as much bite to his game. Not to mention that he doesn't cost the Leafs anything to get. Non-Leafs fans (especially Hawks fans I personally find) just love to bash on Toronto when in reality they already have grit... Kapanen, Hyman, Muzzin, Clifford (possibly next year), Mikheyev, Robertson,, Rielly, and even Sandin have some bite to their games. Hell even Matthews has shown show physicality at times. Caggiula isn't needed nor wanted in Toronto. He'd barely crack the 4th line LW spot behind Hyman, Robertson, Nylander.. & for a bottom line type of player it's better to give it to a cheaper ELC contract than someone like Caggiula. Hawks fans can keep him. He's not that good.

Have to agree with this. Toronto has no lack of guys willing to go into dirty places. Matthews and Tavares are both very difficult to move off the puck. Kerfoot also has a lot more grit than I expected and kappy and Clifford aren’t afraid to mix it up.

The toughness the team needs is guys like Matthews fighting through extra checks and elevating his game. Same with Nylander, Marner, Rielly and the rest. Which at times they have in the past wilted a little but not now. That game was a good one for TO but they can still be better. They are still getting back into form. They are way better than you give them credit for.

I don't think I've seen any arguments from NJ about giving a 2021 3rd for Maatta. I'm still on board with that.