#1 and #2 on my want list are Parayko and Pesce but I'm not convinced those deals are available. Dumba would be great, depending on the cost. I'd maybe see if Buffalo would sell low on Risto or deal for Miller/Montour from them.

UFA's....as much as i love Pietrangelo, the more I look at it, the number of pieces we would need to move out and the fact that we'd have to pay him until he's 37 might outweigh the benefits of adding a bonafide top pairing D-man. I won't be sad if they land him tho. I like Shatty and Bogosian if they can be had for reasonable numbers. Haven't seen enough of DeMelo to form a strong opinion of him either way. I wouldn't rule out the leafs trying to bring Hainsey back and pairing him with Rielly again.

Rielly really only needs a competent, positionally sound partner and it'll be a solid pairing. Pesce/Parayko would be a dream pairing with him. If you could give Muzzin a two-way partner like a Dumba...or a bash brother like Bogosian it would be a tough pairing to match up against.

Lots of options out there. The best fit is anyone's guess

Yes it is

Pretty realistic here now and would be okay with this roster.

Make good ACGMs can difficult, hard to please everyone.
Best you can hope for at times is decent overall.

Still in the trade Andersen boat, room for more too.

I've said this a few times in that Sandin and Lilejgren need to develop some upper body strength so they can handle the physical play at the NHL level. That is why I want them to be injury callups only until they have shown that they bump and grind with some consistency.

Agree on your Andersen comments because the truth is if Dubas moves Andersen and whoever the replacement is can't at least deliver what Andersen has, it's going to be worse than we think.

Your sandpaper comment is bang on. That 3rd line has bring that tough to play against mentality.

Dumba is an offensive D, not really what the Leafs need. Bogosian and Shattenkirk are only good additions if you already have a solid D core IMO.

For sure. Shatty confirmed he can't be the main guy on the back end with his play in NY. Bogosian I think can be effective if he keeps it simple. He likely suffered from never living up to his contract and always being injured.

Dumba is a 2-way defender, IMO and can grind it out when situations call for it. Not a guy I'd put with Rielly but I think him and Muzz would be great. His cap hit and acquisition cost might not make him th ebest fit

My wishlist for a partner for Rielly is Seth Jones, but that ain't happening. I've been on record since he was drafted and since I've been on here stating that would be the best pairing in the league. Parayko and Pesce would be great adds too, but Parayko will need a new contract when Rielly does and I don't think we'll be able to afford to keep both. Pesce will cost us Nylander but I can't see Carolina moving him while Hamilton only has one year left but if they extend him I could see them and that offer was on the table I think they'd have a hard time turning it down.

I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to Dumba. Most only see him as an OFD but I think he's a two-way D who has mastered the offensive side of the game more than the defensive side. That being said, I don't think Keefe is the coach to get the most out of him in terms of defence. I wouldn't pair him with Mo because I don't think they would work well together but him n Muzz would be great. The problem is his cap hit and the fact that Muzzin can make alot of players look better than they are.

I wouldn't offer Goat for Risto or Miller because I don't want them any closer to the team than they already are. But that's just personal preference. I would trade for Montour tho if the price was right.

100% agreed about Pietrangelo but my main concern is that we need to sign Rielly in 2 years who's younger and if we're bringing in Pietrangelo to be Rielly's d partner then whats the point if he's gone in 2 years?

I don't think Shatty is what we need and will cost too much but Bogo could be good in a sheltered role.

DeMelo is a solid defensive defenceman and would be a great fit beside Rielly but if we could get someone else to play with Mo and put DeMelo with Muzzin I think it would be one of the best shut down d pairings in the league.

You're right the best fit is anyone's guess (except for Rielly and Jones lol) but I think DeMelo should be Dubas's top priority this offseason.

The problem with this ACGM IMO is we're rolling out the same team essentially. Fast for Johnsson and adding DeMelo. I don't see how we can roll out the same team as last year and expect different results. That's why I liked my last one more because we would be gaining assets for the players traded away but also getting to reallocate the savings however Dubas sees fit. I realize I went overboard on the D but it was an exercise to see how our d-core could look without adding Pietrangelo but bulking it up. I know we aren't going to sign 3 dmen in the same offseason but I addressed our weaknesses without sacrificing our future, actually adding to it. We are in cap hell and need cheap young players/contracts like Robertson over the next 3-5 years while we try to compete. That was my goal in that ACGM that and signing short term contracts so we can keep the players we need when their current contracts expire while trying to remain competitive and again we could have easily reallocated a little more money to the bottom six or just kept Kerfoot.

I wasn't trying to rant just explaining my rationale for what I think we should do. I also told everyone they could essentially reallocate the savings however they saw fit the point was gain assets for the players you have now and use that money to try and make the team better while having young future cheap players to replace players with when the need arises.

I'm fine with moving Freddie out even if it makes us worse in net now because either way it's gonna happen at some point. Do you still dislike Muzzin or has your stance changed?

Seth Jones is the dream.
Do you want setup to target him as UFA????

Dumba, I'm not sure he can defensively good enough to my liking.
I am open to getting him but the coat has to be right.
Nylander would not be on the table if it was me as GM.

I have less than zero interest in Ristolainen, Montour, or Miller from Sabres.
They are just not the kind of D man we need.

Pietrangelo seems too unrealistic.

Shattenkirk, I remember when he was a UFA... I wanted him so badly and was not happy that he signed Rangers instead. Looking back now, man did we dodge a bullet by NOT adding him.
Simply put, he is not the kind of guy beed need.

Bogosian is 3rd pair guy, we have currently 3 3rd pair guys already... dont need more.

DeMelo would be solid fit.

I am really hoping for Matt Roy due his low cap hit and solid play, makes so much sense. The issue will be what will it take to get him.

Hamonic would be my 3rd or 4th option.

Severson interests me, but like Dumba... seems like offensive D man.

I like Gudas but I worry he is 3rd pair guy that can play 2nd pair in a pinch.

I think hes a 2nd pair guy.
But so is Rielly IMO.

I really dislike how slow he is and am worried he will get even slower real soon.


Check out that ACGM I tagged you in from a bit back.

I agree on your first point and would just like to add that if Sandin and Liljegren are on the Marlies that will give us more depth especially if next years season is condensed.

On your second point Andersen is gone after tbis upcoming season anyway why not address the situation now when there is more/better options in FA then next year? That being said, I wouldn't be upset if they keep him because they can't find the value they are looking for. No need to trade him just to trade him.

Our bottom six needs to bring more sandpaper and personally (I know I'll get absolutely blasted for this but) my top choice for 3C is Carter. I don't care if he doesn't produce as much as people want that's what the big 4 are for and they need to be logging more minutes and leading this team more IMO. I like Carter because he would make a huge impact on this team in terms of veteran leadership, he would take tough defensive zone draws, kill penalties, balance out the left to right ratio down the middle although that's just a bonus, he plays with a physical edge and knows what it takes to win. Also, he wouldn't cost much assets to acquire but I would only want him at half price. Feel free to rip in to me about it like most would but I think he's just what this team needs. That's just my opinion tho.

Okay so some people think DeMelo is a 3rd pair guy and alot of people think Gudas as high as a 2nd pair D. That leaves Harmonic as the other affordable D and I definitely think he's 2nd pair at best.

So the takeaway from this ACGM and the other one is, you definitely add a 1st pair D in Pietrangelo, no questions there.

My tough question to you and anyone else is, are you trying to win playoff rounds now? Or are you worried about future pending UFAs?

Maybe the choice is better to let Rielly walk to UFA status and possibly have had some playoff success by then? Hopefully the players have grown and matured as well.

Food for thought for sure.
Its tough.

How about you ACGM

Umm..... Hellz yeah, I do!!! But I know it ain't gonna happen.

He's better defensively than most give him credit for but not good enough for the way our D is set up IMO. I wouldn't give up Nylandef either but that would be the cost. I like the guy but I'd pass.

Me too, but out of the three Montour is the only one I'd consider.

Yep, I think it's all just a media-driven ploy to get more $ outta St. Louis personally.

I was in the same boat at the time and I'm still with you now lol.

Yeah, but he could be good in a sheltered role for league min otherwise I'd pass and I think he gets more and a better opportunity elsewhere.

DeMelo should be Dubas' top priority IMO

We probably won't be able to afford Roy's next contract if he kills it here.

You know where I stand on Hamonic

Hard pass for me on Severson. I think he's greatly overrated on here.

Agree on Gudas, just want him for his physicality but I wouldn't pay him a penny more than 2.75 even that's a stretch for me. This is a perfect example of what I was talking about if we could move Holl and pay Gudas 2 mill then IMO we'd be ahead. Not saying he signs it but I don't think he'll get alot more on the open market. Asset Management 101, but most can't remove their emotions from players and realize that sports are a business and sometimes business decisions/tough decisions need to be made.

Rielly is a top pair guy just not a number one, but yes, DeMelo is a second pair guy but we can't afford a too pair guy and he gives us what we need.

Who will get slower, DeMelo? If so maybe but sometimes we need to take gambles and his contract wouldn't hinder us like Pietrangelo's would.

I'm going to, just got back on here and am going through the notifications.

The sharks are my second favourite team and have been since I was a kid, it even say zo in my bio but I do like other teams. My point is, I've followed DeMelo since he was drafted and in my heart of hearts I think he's a 3rd pairing guy but he is exactly what we need and he wouldn't be out of place in 2nd pairing minutes. More importantly, he is exactly what Rielly needs and me being a San Jose fan has nothing to do with me wanting him on the leafs.

Gudas is a 3rd paring guy but he plays physical which we desperately need and he does it well.

Hammer is a 2nd pairing guy who wouldn't be out of place playing 1st paring minutes.

Again, I wouldn't expect us to get all 3 but any one of the three and I'd be happy because they all help our team out.

I didn't add Pietrangelo I've advocated against it.

I want both. It's important to try and win now while being mindful of the future. IMO, our team hasn't shown enough yet to go all in like I believe you're getting at and we absolutely can not let Rielly walk for nothing he's just to valuable also, our D is our weakness and if we let him walk with nothing in return we are getting much much worse on the back end. I'm fine with moving him now although I do think it would have huge implications on our dressing room but we would get a haul for him.

Sustainable winners are built by building a core and supplementing around them when necessary while trying to keep a deep farm and finding talent elsewhere to help aid that. There is nothing wrong with wanting to win now and tho it may not seem like it I truly do or I wouldn't waste my time following and talking about the leafs. That being said, they haven't shown yet that they are ready to win i.e. what it takes to win, can you argue against that? If they have then I would have a completely different approach but they are still young and learning and now is not the time to expect a cup IMO. The hate on them is because though they are young they are getting paid and it is extremely hard to improve this team because of that, that being said, I think they'll figure it out just not sure when.

Check out my response, I'm curious if you're in the same boat as I am because I think you are.