The Second Day of Leafsmas

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Richards is all over the map on where he wants to play.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

4 points in 15 games (the rest he was injured).

37 years old. Another year at $2.5M. Can’t bury him in the minors.

Burke please say no to Brian Rolston.

If he wasn’t an over-35 contract I’d definitely be on board. The problem is that he is and he’s no longer elite talent. I also don’t think it’s a great idea to parachute in problems from one of the few teams worse than us.

No. He’s close to the end. What if he retires? Would rather not pay 2.5 million for a guy that isn’t playing.

Unless they couldn’t do a deal, the Kaberle-for-Semin deal I harped on all summer makes too much sense. Both guys are UFA’s after the season and WSH would have gained cap space out of it. I know Semin isn’t a “Burke-esque” player and he’s a milk carton after April but I thought it was worth a roll of the dice.

Kessel Trade won.

/Turns and shouts expletives through TSN message boards

The reply button, it’s a wonderful thing -——^

we bring Bozak back at his current cost. He’s making like $1.5 mill next year max.

MacArthur gets a raise if we keep him, but that won’t be far north of $3 mill… that exchange of Bozak money to MacArthur means the salaries are a wash.

Rosehill or Kadri goes back in the minors, so really that’s an increase of $2 mill over the current salaries on the team – at most… if Kadri goes back it’s more like a $1.4 mill increase? This isn’t a huge increase in salary.

Schenn and Gunnarsson can have their raise, and if we want Kaberle to stay we just have to move Beauchemin … it’s not that complicated, and I don’t see a huge issue with it… particularly if we’ve got Aulie, Gunnarsson, and Holzer developing.

I’d be more for it if he were actually, you know, a center

We don’t have an issue with bottom six centers. Mitchell, Bozak, Brent – hell, Zigo and Hanson are options as well. Our top six centers…aren’t. Literally; one of them is a winger playing as a center.

So is Rolston a top six center? He’s averaged about 16 minutes ATOI a night over the last three years. Despite 80 games last year, he put up 37 points. 32 in 64 the year before. His faceoff percentage, as birky mentioned above, has been abysmal. At best these are the markings of a 3rd line center (especially when combined with his one strength you mentioned above – his defensive stats). He may not have the endurance to play a 1st line role. He’s not a strong puck mover. He’s not a great faceoff guy.

All this, and he’s over 35, so if a better option presents itself, we’re sending down one of the kids. Just so that he can teach players about the “good ol’ days?”

Veteran presence is supposed to teach younger players by playing well, making good decisions under pressure, and prepping players mentally. You know what you call a “mentor” player that doesn’t produce on ice? Coach.

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Burke may be looking at getting James Neal or Jamie Benn but certainly not Ott but Dallas doesn’t want to move those guys. They are cornerstone pieces.