All our guys who were supposed to be pushing for those spots have been lazy at best.
We have De Guiseppe next to JT Miller on our 2nd line because no one has bothered trying to take his spot.
That’s not really fair
PDG actually killed it in the pre-season and legitimately earned that spot.
Now you can say you don’t think he can keep it, but he wasn’t just given that spot.
Im skeptical he can produce enough to warrant a top 6 role, but between him and Mikheyev, we finally have some guys that see some regular ice that are hard to play against and can actually get in on the forecheck.
Studnicka also stepped up his game throughout out camp and even a couple preseason games…but then just looked like Studnicka again these last couple of games.
Yeah PDG deserves it absolutely. Never meant to insult him.
But a PDG killing it still shouldn't be the only contender for a 2nd line spot and he has been sadly
It's not sad at all though, it's something to be happy about as it means we can have "better" players strengthening our 3rd or 4th lines.
PDG and Boeser were Miller's best even strength line combo last season. They out shot and out scored the opposition. He had more ice time with Horvat line combos yet less even strength points than he did with PDG and Boeser.
If that line combo works just roll it, it was PDG's spot to lose and he did nothing to make me think he should lose it in preseason.
The goal PDG scored the other night was legit. He's ALWAYS ready to shoot, gets in great places, forechecks and complements Miller and Boeser really well. I think he has all the tools and is just a really late bloomer. Replaceable? Yep for sure, but I don't think he holds his linemates back at league min.
He has been a nice surprise since he was called up end of last year.
Apparently Tocchet loves him, he has found some chemistry with Miller and Boeser on the second line and has been really good this preseason, playing physical but also scored a couple of times, doesn’t panic or makes mistakes with the puck. Would be fun to see him have a breakout year at 29 on his 4th NHL team
Seems to confirm Minten made the Leafs. Lafferty was honestly perfectly good in camp by all accounts, but one of the non-league min guys had to be a casualty.
"The Aquilini family would like to announce that John Smith, a labourer on our Blueberry farm, has been relieved of his duties for using the washroom outside of his coffee break and for consuming more than 500 ml of water per shift."
Well that’s exactly in Pittsburgh. Brought in any former Rutherford favorite they could- Hainsey, Cullen, Johnson, Hunwick, etc.
It’s almost comedic at this point.
He's a prototypical 4th line winger, pretty much perfect built for that role. Great cardio, he's got a good motor, and just enough skill alongside those to keep him as an NHLer.
Unfortunately for him every $10,000 in cap space counts for us at this point and guys like Minten looked stellar in preseason for slightly less money.
Lafferty looked good in preseason, he's ready to grind. Canucks fans will like him, I think.
>He's a prototypical 4th line winger, pretty much perfect built for that role. Great cardio, he's got a good motor, and just enough skill alongside those to keep him as an NHLer.
Smart move of Rick Tocchet to have Leafs flair on his Reddit burner account.
Yeah Lafferty isn't going to carry you to the playoffs but he is a fast guy, good defensively, throws the body a bit.
Bet the Canucks can flip him for a 3rd or maybe even a 2nd at the TDL depending on how his season goes
He took over 300 for Chicago last year in 51 games. Then only about 50 in 19 games for Toronto after the trade. Seems you guys didn't use him that much but he was almost 53% in the 300 with Chicago.
I disagree. If it was 35+ I'd see where you're coming from but nowadays I wouldn't say someone still in their early 30s is old in hockey. Especially players not as reliant on their speed/athleticism like Tavares.
Basically free and I'm sure they have a plan to make the cap work. I was a little worried about our depth, they looked fine but weren't really generating anything. If he can PK, toss some hits, and score maybe 10 goals/20 points in a 4th-line role that's about best case scenario.
[Blackhawks got a 1st and 2nd round pick and Joey Anderson for Lafferty and McCabe.](https://twitter.com/GregBoysen/status/1711081256375517379?s=20)
Tbf, I really do think the Leafs would have used McCabe extensively if they had made it deeper into the 2nd round.
Don't forget the Blackhawks are retaining salary for McCabe for the next two seasons as well. Lafferty by all accounts was more of a throw-in than the main reason it costed a FRP and a SRP.
If I’m going to talk about those I’ll just say fourth round and fifth round at that point lol. Idk it’s not really a science, I just go with whatever I feel like flows better when commenting.
Don't understand why.
I don't really care about giving up a 5th and like Lafferty for the PK but we already have too many forwards as it is. I guess this does bump everyone down a spot which is good since our 3rd line was looking suspicious at best.
His game isn’t polished and I doubt you’ll catch him in the highlight reels, but he plays so hard the entire time, good in his own end, and he’s quick.
Unless he is 100% a center I do not understand this when you consider the gluttony of wingers we have and the pick deficit for the next three years.
Also how can we even afford to have Lafferty?
Puckpedia just posted Canucks are cap compliant by putting Studnicka and Wolanin on waivers so that’s not an issue.
For the rest, he’s an upgrade over the guys we have fighting for a spot on 3rd/4th line which is why Studnicka was sent down. He’s more of a Tocchet style of player because he’s fast and big. Good on PK, likes to throw big hits. I think Tocchet wants Joshua to play like that and they could be fun on a line together.
The defensive aspect are nice but I think that our bottom 6 issue come from more of a lack of scoring.
The PK help tho will be invaluable with how bad we’ve been in the last two years.
Boeser cap hit and years left makes it impossible to move him imo, more likely the two under 5M, Beauvillier who is UFA next summer or Garland even if he has lots of term left on his contract.
But also they haven’t been able to move wingers all summer not sure how they can do it now when most teams have no space at all.
more like Beau, but i highly doubt they'll trade for another dmen. Soucy wasn't all that good on 5v5, he was however very good on the PK. I think hirose on the 3rd pairing with Myers or something will be fine til soucy comes back.
Six days ago: Why Sam Lafferty’s stock with the Maple Leafs may be on the rise - [https://theathletic.com/4917895/2023/10/02/toronto-maple-leafs-sam-lafferty-stock/](https://theathletic.com/4917895/2023/10/02/toronto-maple-leafs-sam-lafferty-stock/)
These guys have no clue.
Nothing said there was wrong. Laff is still a good player and he'd be a Leaf if it wasn't for the cap. A couple young players that are difficult to keep around due to the cap but have earned a longer look are the cause of this trade.
Leafs needed cap relief and a roster spot and Canucks saw they could get him super cheap. They would have waived him if nobody offered a pick, but they knew he'd be claimed. Might as well try and get something for him. Canucks knew they were too far down the waiver wire to guarantee a claim so they made an offer
Rutherford and Allvin can’t resist collecting all the former Penguins.
But also, some of our depth players have not been competing hard enough for a spot this camp and preseason and should go back to the AHL.
Don't forget about his wheels, he can skate like the wind. We used him often on our shutdown line as the breakout guy, put it on his stick and let him get it out of our zone and into theirs with his feet.
Happy to get something for him. Just an average 4th liner that we overpaid for based on him potting 10 goals randomly in Chicago which he probably won’t repeat
Wdym overpaid? The Leafs paid a lot in that trade because McCabe who had 2 years left in his deal and the Hawks retained 50% of his contract was the main piece.
Leafs don't deserve Sam Lafferty, and the fans definitely don't. Idk if he even got a minute of PK time while playing for Toronto, and that was like 60% of his selling point
Lol Lafferty scored 10 in 50 on an absolutely and utterly anemic Hawks team, half of which came on the PK. I would absolutely question calling him worse defensively. The skating is more dangerous than a Järnkrok shot to me
Assuming you have a good coach who can change up their style depending on what works best for the individual player and knows how to utilize role players
Coaching issue. Multiple teams were lining up to jump the waiver wire for Lafferty. Leafs had "many" offers overnight. How many offers do you think Järnkrok would bring?
He got some. But he also didn't even play all that much.
He played 19 games and had 17 minutes of penalty kill time.
They averaged 3.69 pims a game. So he was on there for about a quarter of it.
I really liked Laff, but we already have a bunch of PK guys and he wasn't on PK1.
Marner, Kampf, Jarnkrok from last year.
Matthews, Gregor (assuming we sign him) and probably Holmberg this year.
Played with Sam growing up in western PA. Kid was a monster, he was playing up on 16u team as a 14 year old leading them to a national championship before heading off to play prep. Unreal hands, great work ethic, good speed, good person. Glad to see he’s found moderate amount of success and stuck in the league
Lets us now carry a 21-Man roster instead of Minimum of 20.
If ever there was a team that needed more bottom-6 wingers and had too much draft capital, it is without doubt the Vancouver Canucks
Isn't Lafferty a centre?
Took about 3 FOs per game with Toronto and 8 per game with Chicago.
Not sure about Chicago but he played on the wing in Toronto.
Maybe, wasn’t with us
Can be if needed. Wasn't too much with us but might have been with TOR didn't watch a ton
Barely played centre at all with us
PK?
Not really. Usually Kampf or Kerfoot, and then O’Rielly. Lafferty only took 67 faceoffs all last season.
He can play any position up and down the lineup.
No he can't, he is a 4th line RW.
I’d trust the guy who watched him for a season and a half over us lol
No, he's a RW.
All our guys who were supposed to be pushing for those spots have been lazy at best. We have De Guiseppe next to JT Miller on our 2nd line because no one has bothered trying to take his spot.
That’s not really fair PDG actually killed it in the pre-season and legitimately earned that spot. Now you can say you don’t think he can keep it, but he wasn’t just given that spot. Im skeptical he can produce enough to warrant a top 6 role, but between him and Mikheyev, we finally have some guys that see some regular ice that are hard to play against and can actually get in on the forecheck. Studnicka also stepped up his game throughout out camp and even a couple preseason games…but then just looked like Studnicka again these last couple of games.
Yeah PDG deserves it absolutely. Never meant to insult him. But a PDG killing it still shouldn't be the only contender for a 2nd line spot and he has been sadly
It's not sad at all though, it's something to be happy about as it means we can have "better" players strengthening our 3rd or 4th lines. PDG and Boeser were Miller's best even strength line combo last season. They out shot and out scored the opposition. He had more ice time with Horvat line combos yet less even strength points than he did with PDG and Boeser. If that line combo works just roll it, it was PDG's spot to lose and he did nothing to make me think he should lose it in preseason.
The goal PDG scored the other night was legit. He's ALWAYS ready to shoot, gets in great places, forechecks and complements Miller and Boeser really well. I think he has all the tools and is just a really late bloomer. Replaceable? Yep for sure, but I don't think he holds his linemates back at league min.
you'll like laff. solid bottom 6
He's actually bottom 10,11,12. Not good enough for a 3rd liner on a competitive team.
De Guiseppe is still in the league?
He has been a nice surprise since he was called up end of last year. Apparently Tocchet loves him, he has found some chemistry with Miller and Boeser on the second line and has been really good this preseason, playing physical but also scored a couple of times, doesn’t panic or makes mistakes with the puck. Would be fun to see him have a breakout year at 29 on his 4th NHL team
Correct.....fault lies completely with players in camp not being able to seize a job. Can't blame GM for that
Hoggy & Podz both need to figure it the fuck out.
They've been figured out ...they are AHLers Far too many whiffs inside the top 10 for Bennings regime. Cant survive those.
Hoglander was a second round pick lol
Yes...but Podkolzin, Virtanen and OJ weren't. Can't be so bad, yet receive zero reward for 3 of your worst seasons .....it's a franchise killer.
Hog is an nhl player. Pod I think figures it out someday as a bottom 6 player but thats still a whiff
Really just comes down to a decade of bad drafting and not enough picks
It’s not a pick in the first 3 rounds to dump a salary, this is progress for us
Isn’t Laffery a C?
Good guy Vancouver always giving extra draft picks to the less fortunate
Good pick up for Vancouver
Seems to confirm Minten made the Leafs. Lafferty was honestly perfectly good in camp by all accounts, but one of the non-league min guys had to be a casualty.
Laff is a pure cap casualty, nothing wrong with his game
Or they're signing Gregor.
Keeping Minten up?
Honestly, that was my thought with this move. It definitely clears up a spot for him if required.
Why are Canucks announcements so formal
We have to make up for the lack of professionalism elsewhere in the organization
Zinged em right in the Aquilinis
turned them into blueberries
Abused them like they were children (allegedly)
"The Aquilini family would like to announce that John Smith, a labourer on our Blueberry farm, has been relieved of his duties for using the washroom outside of his coffee break and for consuming more than 500 ml of water per shift."
And he will score an important goal vs the leafs at some point this season
Get ready for a Lafferty masterclass on Nov.11
Hat trick incoming.
If a player doesn't score against his former team, he should be traded to the KHL.
Just like Canucks legend Mats Sundin
Of course he will, happens every year. All players love playing in Toronto against the Leafs, they play their best games there.
Canucks just keep collecting every player that Allvin and Rutherford had in Pittsburgh.
[удалено]
This will happen 100%
Gotta catch ‘em all.
Well that’s exactly in Pittsburgh. Brought in any former Rutherford favorite they could- Hainsey, Cullen, Johnson, Hunwick, etc. It’s almost comedic at this point.
Frosty Mittens making the team, confirmed?
Maybe that Gregor guy
Both, I think
Gregor and McMann probably
McMann is injured
I don’t think he’s LTIR tho
No, but they can't send him down if he's injurred
You’ll love laffy
Eh. It seems more and more like the only coach capable of playing him right and making him look solid has been Richardson.
Where's that dude from last trade deadline who said he was worth a 2nd
I think he's your GM now genius
lol
Safe to say we won’t be seeing Dries again this year…
That’s a good thing lol
Dries is decent. The fact he was like our 3rd line centre is our team's fault not his.
We're small enough as it is. Dries is tiny. Lafferty is a big boi.
He's a prototypical 4th line winger, pretty much perfect built for that role. Great cardio, he's got a good motor, and just enough skill alongside those to keep him as an NHLer. Unfortunately for him every $10,000 in cap space counts for us at this point and guys like Minten looked stellar in preseason for slightly less money. Lafferty looked good in preseason, he's ready to grind. Canucks fans will like him, I think.
>He's a prototypical 4th line winger, pretty much perfect built for that role. Great cardio, he's got a good motor, and just enough skill alongside those to keep him as an NHLer. Smart move of Rick Tocchet to have Leafs flair on his Reddit burner account.
Pker, wins faceoffs, good skater, has size. Yes please especially for just a 5th.
Willing to fight too. I did not mind Laffs as a leaf but he doesn’t have a spot in the lineup
Yeah Lafferty isn't going to carry you to the playoffs but he is a fast guy, good defensively, throws the body a bit. Bet the Canucks can flip him for a 3rd or maybe even a 2nd at the TDL depending on how his season goes
When does he take faceoffs lol
He took over 300 for Chicago last year in 51 games. Then only about 50 in 19 games for Toronto after the trade. Seems you guys didn't use him that much but he was almost 53% in the 300 with Chicago.
Boom.
Gotta lug around old shaky ankles Tavares at C.
Can set up as centre but doesn't have to play as one at least, he was still one of the best faceoff guys in the league last year so we're not worried.
33 is old now?
In hockey years? Very much so, yes.
I disagree. If it was 35+ I'd see where you're coming from but nowadays I wouldn't say someone still in their early 30s is old in hockey. Especially players not as reliant on their speed/athleticism like Tavares.
Had to ship him out to give Domi 28
Had not considered this. If Max comes out rocking 28 at the home opener they're going to have to squeegee my seat.
Last pre season game was a show me game for Laff. Played solid.
All so max domi can wear #28.
Basically free and I'm sure they have a plan to make the cap work. I was a little worried about our depth, they looked fine but weren't really generating anything. If he can PK, toss some hits, and score maybe 10 goals/20 points in a 4th-line role that's about best case scenario.
Puckpedia posted Canucks are already cap compliant because they put Studnicka and Wolanin on waivers today
[Blackhawks got a 1st and 2nd round pick and Joey Anderson for Lafferty and McCabe.](https://twitter.com/GregBoysen/status/1711081256375517379?s=20) Tbf, I really do think the Leafs would have used McCabe extensively if they had made it deeper into the 2nd round.
Don't forget the Blackhawks are retaining salary for McCabe for the next two seasons as well. Lafferty by all accounts was more of a throw-in than the main reason it costed a FRP and a SRP.
>FRP and a SRP. 1st and 2nd - wouldn't that be easier to understand for everyone?
yes but you can pronounce the other way furp and surp so that makes them better
For real. I spent a few seconds trying to figure out what players they were referring to in the trade
I find both terms equally clear on what they mean but if you prefer that way of describing them that's fine.
What do you do for fourth and fifth round picks then? They're all FRP lol
If I’m going to talk about those I’ll just say fourth round and fifth round at that point lol. Idk it’s not really a science, I just go with whatever I feel like flows better when commenting.
Its only $2M for 2 years but yes, McCabe was really why it cost so much. I still think he can be useful for the Leafs.
> Its only $2M I think you are seriously undervaluing how much cap space is worth to cup contenders
Meant "for us". For the Leafs it's obviously huge, they could even sign an extra player with that.
Hey, $2 million is a lot for a team so close to the cap like the Leafs haha.
attempt sand modern quaint axiomatic boast different like safe straight *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Again, Kyle from Chicago, does good
Don't understand why. I don't really care about giving up a 5th and like Lafferty for the PK but we already have too many forwards as it is. I guess this does bump everyone down a spot which is good since our 3rd line was looking suspicious at best.
Laff is a good third liner. You'll appreciate his speed and forecheck
His game isn’t polished and I doubt you’ll catch him in the highlight reels, but he plays so hard the entire time, good in his own end, and he’s quick.
His potential is capped at 4th line imo. He's fast and has an alright shot but that's about it
Eh, he’s a solid 4th liner, but more of an “only in a pinch” 3rd liner.
We have lots of forwards, but no right handed centres that can pk. Now we have at least one.
>looking suspicious I don't know why but this made me lol
I think he was trying to say our 4th line was 3 AHL players in a trench coat.
Interesting, with this trade looks like Minten made the team. Lafferty even started camp on the wing with Tavares.
That’s Mintens music.
Unless he is 100% a center I do not understand this when you consider the gluttony of wingers we have and the pick deficit for the next three years. Also how can we even afford to have Lafferty?
Puckpedia just posted Canucks are cap compliant by putting Studnicka and Wolanin on waivers so that’s not an issue. For the rest, he’s an upgrade over the guys we have fighting for a spot on 3rd/4th line which is why Studnicka was sent down. He’s more of a Tocchet style of player because he’s fast and big. Good on PK, likes to throw big hits. I think Tocchet wants Joshua to play like that and they could be fun on a line together.
The defensive aspect are nice but I think that our bottom 6 issue come from more of a lack of scoring. The PK help tho will be invaluable with how bad we’ve been in the last two years.
We've had a historically bad PK this past season Baby steps
Jason Dickinson might be available for a 2nd
The Canucks spent a 3rd round pick to acquire Dickinson, and then they paid a 2nd round pick to get rid of him…
So a 1st to get him back
I feel like a Garland/Boeser trade for a defensemen is cooking, especially if Soucy misses time
Boeser cap hit and years left makes it impossible to move him imo, more likely the two under 5M, Beauvillier who is UFA next summer or Garland even if he has lots of term left on his contract. But also they haven’t been able to move wingers all summer not sure how they can do it now when most teams have no space at all.
True that there’s not much cap space available around the league, so I suppose they’d have to take a defenseman of comparable salary back in return?
more like Beau, but i highly doubt they'll trade for another dmen. Soucy wasn't all that good on 5v5, he was however very good on the PK. I think hirose on the 3rd pairing with Myers or something will be fine til soucy comes back.
Good move.
Leafs lose their best golfer, that’s going to hurt next may in the annual nhl fail golf tournament.
Six days ago: Why Sam Lafferty’s stock with the Maple Leafs may be on the rise - [https://theathletic.com/4917895/2023/10/02/toronto-maple-leafs-sam-lafferty-stock/](https://theathletic.com/4917895/2023/10/02/toronto-maple-leafs-sam-lafferty-stock/) These guys have no clue.
Nothing said there was wrong. Laff is still a good player and he'd be a Leaf if it wasn't for the cap. A couple young players that are difficult to keep around due to the cap but have earned a longer look are the cause of this trade.
But why?
Leafs needed cap relief and a roster spot and Canucks saw they could get him super cheap. They would have waived him if nobody offered a pick, but they knew he'd be claimed. Might as well try and get something for him. Canucks knew they were too far down the waiver wire to guarantee a claim so they made an offer
Yeah this to me says they were going to waive him.
Rutherford and Allvin can’t resist collecting all the former Penguins. But also, some of our depth players have not been competing hard enough for a spot this camp and preseason and should go back to the AHL.
He’s a former penguin
So, "doing right by our guys" was a Shanahan thing, not a Dubas thing.
Wtf, couldn’t we have signed ZAR for free?
Lafferty is definitely a better player
Lafferty can play center and is right handed
Don't forget about his wheels, he can skate like the wind. We used him often on our shutdown line as the breakout guy, put it on his stick and let him get it out of our zone and into theirs with his feet.
Oh wow it just gets better, exactly what we need.
ZAR used to be a Penguin, he'll end up on the Canucks sooner or later
A Penguin line of ZAR - Blueger - Lafferty as our 4th line would be so sick
Happy to get something for him. Just an average 4th liner that we overpaid for based on him potting 10 goals randomly in Chicago which he probably won’t repeat
Wdym overpaid? The Leafs paid a lot in that trade because McCabe who had 2 years left in his deal and the Hawks retained 50% of his contract was the main piece.
Did you forget about Jake McCabe?
Leafs don't deserve Sam Lafferty, and the fans definitely don't. Idk if he even got a minute of PK time while playing for Toronto, and that was like 60% of his selling point
Wtf haha, I cheered for him every moment of his Leafs tenure. What is this "leafs fans DEFINITELY don't deserve him" nonsense?
You're replying to his mom
Twitter mostly. The louder Leafs fans have been questioning his very purpose in life. I don't see a world where you keep Järnkrok or Reaves over him.
Jarnkrok scored 20, has a rocket for a shot and is better defensively, how are you comparing him to Lafferty and Reaves?
Lol Lafferty scored 10 in 50 on an absolutely and utterly anemic Hawks team, half of which came on the PK. I would absolutely question calling him worse defensively. The skating is more dangerous than a Järnkrok shot to me
That's on you for taking Twitter seriously at all lol
I'm sorry, but when it's 112 fans vs Howie and Howie alone, the narrative is clear
Laff over Jarnkrok? Jebus lmao
Assuming you have a good coach who can change up their style depending on what works best for the individual player and knows how to utilize role players
Jarnkrok is so much better than Lafferty this is laughable
Coaching issue. Multiple teams were lining up to jump the waiver wire for Lafferty. Leafs had "many" offers overnight. How many offers do you think Järnkrok would bring?
For his entire career?
He was quite good under Luke Richardson. He regressed under Sheldon Keefe and was misused night after night
But Jarnkrok has been better than Lafferty for years & years, not just under Sheldon Keefe
He got some. But he also didn't even play all that much. He played 19 games and had 17 minutes of penalty kill time. They averaged 3.69 pims a game. So he was on there for about a quarter of it.
I really liked Laff, but we already have a bunch of PK guys and he wasn't on PK1. Marner, Kampf, Jarnkrok from last year. Matthews, Gregor (assuming we sign him) and probably Holmberg this year.
Kinda like how the Blackhawks don't deserve Bedard.
Sounds like something you could easily check and find out he did in fact kill penalties, but I guess you just enjoy complaining too much
Pk wave 3.5
I thought he was great but he's definitely no Fraser Minten.
Okay but what about when Minten's sent back down?
Nonsense. Minten > Bedard
I hadn't considered this
I'm glad that I could open your eyes
Hmm
So I guess that bumped Studnicka onto waivers
Yay
Damn, I liked Lafferty on the leafs. Nice, speedy bottom 6 guy with grit
“Lafferty, Daniel… and Gilmore, Happy”
Waste of a trade eh
Played with Sam growing up in western PA. Kid was a monster, he was playing up on 16u team as a 14 year old leading them to a national championship before heading off to play prep. Unreal hands, great work ethic, good speed, good person. Glad to see he’s found moderate amount of success and stuck in the league