amato

I'm expecting the center situation to be extremely fluid.
 

Fixed it 

A trade or two, acquiring futures (which I fully expect) could have a major impact on our overall standing this season though... But yeah, finishing 22nd and moving up the max number of spots to get Shane Wright is the dream scenario.

I imagine Veleno coming up as third line center at first, with a veteran who knows the center position on one of his wings to help his development. Could be part of why we re-signed Gagner. Or Namestnikov could be that guy. Plenty of mentor options for him. Loving our mixture of young guys and not too old vets right now. Rosters in a very solid spot for the upswing of a rebuild imo. 

Wouldn't mind another top ten pick, obviously. But I think the defense upgrades alone move us up into the 10-15 pick range. I hope we finish 10 and win the draft lottery  finally cash in on all that bad lotto luck 
 

Wouldn't mind another top ten pick, obviously. But I think the defense upgrades alone move us up into the 10-15 pick range. I hope we finish 10 and win the draft lottery  finally cash in on all that bad lotto luck 
 

I imagine Veleno coming up as third line center at first, with a veteran who knows the center position on one of his wings to help his development. Could be part of why we re-signed Gagner. Or Namestnikov could be that guy. Plenty of mentor options for him. Loving our mixture of young guys and not too old vets right now. Rosters in a very solid spot for the upswing of a rebuild imo. 

I completely agree. I want Veleno up with the Wings, and I think there's a strong chance he will be. However, if there's no room in the top 9, he absolutely should be playing top line minutes in Grand Rapids. Which might not be the worst thing, especially if he plays on a line with Raymond and / or Berggren.
He played center in his short 5 game stint at the end of last season. I don't see any reason to believe he wouldn't do the same going forward. 

He doesnt belong on the 4th line. Very little playing time there. Poor development strategy for a guy who is supposed to be a middle 6 forward. If he isnt going to play in the top 9, then its better to keep him in GR in the top 6 until there's a spot on the roster for him where he belongs.
He will likely play left wing when he is brought up anyway.

So in the past week Yzerman has acquired two guys (Nedeljkovic and Suter) that received Calder votes this past season for a 3rd round pick. Granted, both are older rookies (25 years old), but still quality adds giving up next to nothing...

So, anecdotally... ~60% of the Chicago fan takes I've seen = "WTF. No. Dude can play. Good center. We should've kept him."
His shooting percentage (12.5) may (not) be sustainable. He wasn't great on faceoffs this past season (42.6%). His possession stats aren't particularly good.
But, all things considered, this is a low-risk, high-reward signing. I like it.

Love it!! He's who I was hoping for most, I think. 

Love it!! He's who I was hoping for most, I think. 

Jersey loves overpaying defensemen 

Love it!! He's who I was hoping for most, I think. 

likely an AHL vet / injury call up

Oh I've been following that train wreck all day with a smile thanking God steve is here and not ken. There is no direction with his signings. He just signs whoever. With Steve you can see a clear direction the team is being built. With Holland he just overpay whoever will sign the sheet

Speaking of kicking tires... holland doing holland things this off season:

Mike Smith extended 2 years, 4.4m
Zach Hyman signed to a 7 year contract, 38.5m
Tyson Barrie extended 3 years, 13m
Cody Cici signed 4 years, 13m
 

Speaking of kicking tires... holland doing holland things this off season:

Mike Smith extended 2 years, 4.4m
Zach Hyman signed to a 7 year contract, 38.5m
Tyson Barrie extended 3 years, 13m
Cody Cici signed 4 years, 13m
 

tsn panel on whether Leafs better or not now....
 
https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/are-the-leafs-better-in-net-with-mrazek-and-campbell~2213973
 
 

cap space, roster spot, all of the above haha.. 
 
yeah same. good bye, glendog millionaire. go win dallas a bunch of faceoffs.

Happy UFA Day!
I'm really hoping for Pius Suter and some cap acquisition. 
 
 

Was hoping we'd get the pick to take him on. But I guess the LTIR contract is worth a lot more to them than most. 
If we got a pick or two with the last year of his deal for future considerations, and have the cap space, sure. If we're giving up anything at all, no. 

Was hoping we'd get the pick to take him on. But I guess the LTIR contract is worth a lot more to them than most. 
If we got a pick or two with the last year of his deal for future considerations, and have the cap space, sure. If we're giving up anything at all, no. 

Or Miami