Early manifesting a ROR extension

I want this guy on a third line with Knies come 2023-2024

Interested to see how that 3rd line looks. If you replace Knies with Tavares, Lafferty with Timmins, that MIGHT be Game One fwd lines.

So after 183 days and 5400+ forum posts, here we are. Game 82 already. What a regular season we've had. This year genuinely feels different, and I cannot describe how excited I am for the post season to begin. Go Leafs

Too many scars, I felt this way almost every year except against WSH.


I’m nervous as hell lol

But absolutely, GO LEAFS GO

Gonna be honest, im a lot more worried about this right now



The players are capable and its in their hands. MLSE however I do not trust to not **** things up

Some strong Dubas to CGY/OTT vibes also

I am a huge Dubas fan, but sometimes change is good. I don't want to freak out about his potential departure until we know who the replacement is. Imagine if Spezza becomes GM...

Personally, I would want Shanny gone first. The whole McCann thing was his doing and he has supposedly vetoed a lot of stuff Dubas has wanted to do. That's an issue for another day however

That's why they pay me the big bucks!!! Lol Elliot Friedman better watch out lmao 🤣🤣🤣. In all seriousness, my post wasn't meant to overwhelm more or less just start a convo to catch up, but certainly understand your point of view with all the questions l.

I agree, it was a good idea to rest the trio in a meaningless game. I was flipping between the leafs game n the Jay's home opener. Do you still like baseball/the blue jays? If so are you looking for good content or anyone else here?

In this case, change is almost certainly bad

That part is news to me, not saying your wrong, just nothing I have read before.

I am in the camp it would be a major disappointment if Dubas left. Like I touched on before, from wanting to create 3 levels of development (ECHL, AHL, NHL) all having success, does a great job of drafting (even if I don't always agree MINTEN) and outside of the Rielly contract, I am not convinced the grass will be greener with a new GM in place.

I do find it funny to do a quick search on Twitter for Dubas and the amount of fans who want him as Gm after all the years of bashing him

Thanks for having me! Long time listener, first time caller lol

I totally get it and being opinionated is a good thing (here) as long as the individual is open minded (which you are) to create or join in conversation. I do the same, I try to incorporate the eye test with analytics to make determinations, however, I am more than willing to admit when/if I'm wrong and eat crow.

Honestly, I used to follow, hockey,baseball & basketball prospects & teams/farm teams players as well as the next group of youngsters about to be drafted, but if I'm being honest I don't have the time anymore to go as indepth as I used to so I look to others/other ways to stay up to date on that but always enjoy gaining new knowledge and learning from those who know mote than I.

I like Dubas and think he's earned an extension. The problem I have is he's attached at the hip to Keefe and though I like Keefe and think he's done a decent-good job, I don't think he's the coach to take us to the cup although I could be wrong and he can make me eat crow soon enough. Also agreed on Dubas, moves (the kadri trade is the first to come to mind) I fully understand the rational behind it and he wasn't wrong it just didn't work out. I liked our deadline and feel Dubas did a great job of trying to get this team ready and give the pieces needed despite ppl thinking it was too much movement. I also like the McCabe/Laf trade but I'd be lying if I didn't say I really wanted Ekholm but obviously we couldn't afford him.

Agreed. I thought at first the ROR/Accari trade was a bit of an overpay but needed and I can't see Shanahan letting them walk this off-season. Also, IMO that deal had Shanahan written all over it. Did you have a certain scorer(s) in mind that you wanted Dubas to target?

I'm glad someone else finally mentioned this! So many non leaf fans on here underrate our prospects without giving this FO credit for the quality of prospects they've been able to unearth with such few and late picks. IMHO the work this FO has done to find the talent they have given what they've had is nothing short of astonishing and they deserve recognition/credit.

Do you think Dubas will fire Keefe if we loose again and shanny says fire keefe or your both gone?

IMO ad of right now ROR is top priority then Accari. I get where you're coming from with Sammy but the only thing I'd add is we need to see how he performs in the playoffs first. This isn't to say he hasn't earned an extension already just if he faulters in the playoffs the regular season doesn't mean as much. I personally don't think the wheels will fall off come the post season for Sammy I think he'll be good but if we loose again and he gets shelled the FO might not be so keen to hand out an extension. On the flipside if he's dominant in the playoffs he can price himself outta Toronto. I wouldn't offer more than $3.5 for Buntz personally for all the reasons you mentioned. I disagree on Kamp if we can get him on like a 5 year $10mill =$2mill per, if he wants more let him walk. I like ZAR but think he'll get a better offer from an American team IMO. I'd bring Schenn back too if we can get him for no more than the $1.1 that Timmins got. I like Gustavsson too but wouldn't bring him back as I don't think he's done enough here to justify what he's going to ask for. It was reported after the trade that Wash tried to extend him but he was asking for too much.

I could also see Tree being there new GM.

I can see Ott especially if new ownership allows them to spen to the cap but CGY is more of a tough sell IMO

Im more worried about Calgary snatching him up

As picture this leafs lose MLSE fires Dubas and Keefe both go to CGY

Cause honestly Flames fans want Sutter gone and Treliving might leave

And seeing a fresh GM and coach available bam

Agree with a lot here.

I sooo wanted Ekholm too. Don't get me wrong, McCabe has been excellent and fitting in Ekholm's contract today but especially long term would have been to difficult. But he would have been such a great Muzzin replacement, I think people forget how good Jake was offensively (2018 2nd to Morgan with 30P at 5v5, 2nd to Barrie with 20P at 5v5 while playing 17 less games, 1st in 2020 with 20P at 5v5, and then injuries took over). I do have concerns over the lack of scoring we are getting from the backend, which is why getting Erik Gustafsson into the lineup somehow is important, especially with Rielly struggling hard.

"Did you have a certain scorer(s) in mind that you wanted Dubas to target?"
Vrana would have been perfect here or even taking Marcus Johansson over Gustafsson but they wanted to show Knies there was a way onto the lineup, having one of those guys would have made that difficult. But this organization loves Kerfoot, so what are you going to do.

"Do you think Dubas will fire Keefe if we loose again and shanny says fire keefe or your both gone?"

I don't, they are tied at the hip. Same too with Brandon Pridham, if Dubas leaves both those guys are gone too. There is still apart of me that thinks they already have an extension in place.

I am still sticking with Samsonov 1st (probably looking at somewhere between 4-4.5 on a 4 year deal) we haven't gotten this type of goaltending since Andersen 2018, I don't foresee a some drop off in the playoffs; then O'Reilly (they do a good comparable here) of what his next deal could like. If TOR can get a 3 year 5-5.5 AAV would be about right. Hesitant to give him 4, those final years always seem to bite the Leafs.

I am a hard pass on Kampf. I am in the camp of you don't overpay for 4th line guys. He wants to stay for another 2 year 1.5 fine but he is a black hole offensively and if not paired with the right players looks completely lost. I'd much rather have Acciari or possibly Holmberg as the 4C next year.

And agree on Bunting, I believe the smart play would be to walk away. If some team wants to pay him a long term deal so be it. I don't see losing him as a big loss they can't fill.

Knies is so scoring tonight

I agree, and will concede that the whole Shanny vetoing is more or less here say. I believe we have talked about him before, but I think Tulsky is the only guy I would want over Dubas. I will be EXTREMELY upset if Dubas is let go. As someone who had to endure the early 2010 Leafs, Dubas has been a major breath of fresh air and has been exactly what we needed

Agree with everything you said about Ekholm & McCabe. The only thing I'd add is McCabe has been a good Muzzin replacement minus the offence as you already alluded too. Dubas agree's with you on Gustavsson too otherwise he doesn't make the deal IMO. Not sure how much he'll cost on his next contract but if Washington deemed it too expensive I can't see us fitting him in after this season.

Not bad choices, I just don't think Dubas viewed them as big enough difference makers for this team vs giving Knies his shot. Dubas could have easily traded Knies at the deadline for a “bigger name player" but chose to find creative alternatives, that tells me Dubas truly believes he can turn into a top 6 forward in the near future.... Perhaps a Bunting replacement? I don't know if this organization loves kerf, I just think it's easier to let him walk than admit the trade didn't work out as originally hoped.

Prindham was Shanny's guy no? Thought Shanahan brought him in to manage the cap because he helped write the previous now but at the time current cba and the 2 worked together at the NHL head office.


I'll preface this by saying, I don't think Sammy will fall off in the playoffs either and I think he's already done enough to warrant an extension. However, if he gets shelled in a couple of games it will effect his value to this FO, especially if we get bounced again, as much as it will if he continues to shut the door and stands on his head in the playoffs. There's also the possibility he plays really well in the post season and prices himself out of Toronto. I think we need to wait till the playoffs are over to get a better understanding of what his next contract will look like.

I will check out the link (thank you btw) but before I do my thought is his market will be in the 3 year $5mill range, but hoping he'd take $3.5 to stay, maybe give him more term?

Kamp's value comes from killing penalties and taking tough defensive draws. You're right he is a 4th liner but ROR and him taking the draws with Marner and Accari on their wings while down a man sounds/looks pretty good to me and our pk%. I wouldn't overpay for him but he has proven hus value to this team IMO. I'd rater have all 3.

Honestly if I were Dubas I'd hold firm at $3mill knowing he'll get more on the open market and find an external partial replacement to go along with MK23.

I've talked to others on here about AM34 getting traded if he can't be re-signed in the off-season and we're all on the same page that it's speculation and nothing more... What's your take?

I know you didn't ask for my 2 cents, but I've got nothing better to do during intermission and the whole AM34 trade speculation thing is something I find very interesting. It seems obvious that if Matthews expresses that his intent is to not resign, the Leafs are going to be in a very tough spot. I wouldn't necessarily want to give to too early, and we would have to make a choice at a crucial time in the season. If we are having a really good season come the TDL but Matthews has said he is leaving, do you really give up and just trade him? I don't think so. The tricky thing is that if you wait until the offseason, you'd be stuck trading his UFA rights at best, in which case I cant see a suitable return coming back. I think if Matthews leaves, the immediate priority shouldn't be Nylander, but Marner. Marner is the single most important player on this team. His defensive game, his playmaking ability, his underrated scoring ability. The kid does it all, and losing him would be the nail in the coffin.

We really don't have any great center prospects that have 1st line center upside. As for the basis of the trade, I honestly have no idea. If he gets traded to a team like LA, I would be demanding Quinton Byfield, an unprotected 1st, and potentially another high end prospect like Brandt Clarke. I think LA makes the most sense, as they would have Kopitar's caphit off of the books, it's a Western Conference team, and it's a huge market. They certainly have the assets to make it work, but I would rather not think about a reality where we lose one of the greatest all time Leafs in his prime. There is some hope though, as Matthews seems to like Toronto and the legend himself Kyle Dubas has set us up nicely to have more than enough cap space to make it happen. I'm not losing sleep over the thought of AM34 leaving because I don't think it's happened, but if it does, we have to be extremely smart in how we navigate the trade

Dont know what Nylander and Holl were doing there bad play and turnover by them

How many times have you asked that to yourself as a leafs fan about those two

What I say to both of you in response is that when it comes to Ekholm and similar scenarios, you gotta do some napkin math and ask yourself "Ekholm has X amount of years so what's the likelihood that I'm around for that entire contract vs trying to give my roster the best chance possible to win right now"

If Dubas is worried about 5-6 years from now, there's a problem. There's a saying something along the lines of "we'll cross that bridge when we get there" and it seems apt this TDL and the entire off season and into next season just because Matthew's status and what happens beyond that.

As for Keefe, the more I see him make certain decisions, the more I shake my head. Babcock had his warts and I feel Keefe has his own. Keefe is definitely the easy first guy shown the door if the playoff results are lacking but I guess where my thinking differs from some of you guys is that Dubas has had 5 years to show playoff success.

It's not all on Dubas, the players have to take some blame here but Dubas is also the guy who assembles the roster. In my lifetime watching sports, GM's get a certain amount of time before ownership decides there's been enough time for the current GM and it's time to bring in someone else.

To me it feels like some just want Dubas as the the indefinite GM of the Leafs and honestly, that's not realistic.

Not much really, its just one of those plays that made no sense to even attempt

Its not like its something that happens every game lul

Crisper communication is key but they were a bit sloppy there.

Take a look at Ottawa, next season they are at the cap, and really not having enough cap to sign some players to the contracts they want.

Man Holl is not having himself a good game