- Damien Cox: On the Leafs:
“So they like Horachek better. But are they responding with better play? Different play, in some instances, but not better. Last night, tough back-to-backer, surrendered 42 shots and didn’t score. This represents more of the same, not a major change. Sample size under Horachek is small. But you really have to be married to certain philosophies to believe this is going somewhere good. Leafs 5 pts behind NYR, Rangers four games in hand. It’s not officially over, but pretty much over, yes? If season ended now, Leafs would be 12th in lottery. Need to get to top 5 at least or season will be pointless. Question is how to get there? At 5th overall Leafs might get a player like Rantanen, or Crouse, or Zacha, or Strome. This is where the turnaround can start. Leafs are 7 pts out of first WC berth, 7 pts ahead of 25th overall. Given their roster, one destination makes more sense than the other. All this said, the way the Leafs are playing, they made get where they need to get to without a single roster change. Again, put the notion of trading Kessel and Phaneuf aside for now. It’s complicated. Plenty of other pieces can move to get process rolling. To do what I’m advocating, you don’t have to move every single asset. Some you keep. Short-term draft positioning is the objective. Notion the Leafs should keep most of what they have is interesting. But that means they’ll never get the franchise-type player they require. Now is the time, and this is the draft, to try and get something special. Almost no other way to get special, franchise-type players. BTW, the chances of Leafs embracing a burn-it-to-the-ground strategy? I’d say less than 20%. Lack of financial imperative dictates much. More likely the Leafs will tweek, hire a new coach, put more lipstick on the pig. After 26 yrs covering team, this is usual approach.”
- Damien Cox: Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf are difficult trades and would take time. Tyler Bozak, Cody Franson, Roman Polak and Joffrey Lupul would fit the needs of many teams right now.
- Mike Johnston of Sportnet: Renaud Lavoie on Sportsnet 590 on the Maple Leafs:
“Because of the salary cap it’s always a difficult situation. The Maple Leafs will have to take a salary they don’t want,” Lavoie told The Jeff Blair Show Thursday on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “I feel like those major deals need to be done close to the draft because the teams have more time to think about what they want. They have a better idea of where the salary cap will be next season.
“With the Canadian dollar — I’m going to use the word collapsing because that’s exactly what it’s doing — it’s not going to help. I don’t think the cap is going to be at $73 million next year…. It’s going to be tough to make major trades in the next few months.”
On Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf.
“Obviously, if you want to trade Phil Kessel, there’s a market for him,” Lavoie said. “I’m convinced there’s a market for Dion Phaneuf. There’s a market for a lot of the Maple Leafs players, but if you trade those guys for draft picks or whatever, is it going to be better?”
“Those players, they’re making so much money, cap-wise it’s so tough to put them in your system. Being a GM in the NHL right now it’s crazy,” Lavoie said. “You’re not going to be able to call the Chicago Blackhawks and say, ‘Hey, why don’t you take Kessel?’ ”
Lavoie also said that James van Riemsdyk would get interest from every team, but it’s unlikely the Leafs would make him available.