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Armchair GM Thread 2026/27

I wonder if the market for Rasmus Andersson is somewhat depressed after his stint in Vegas. I'm resigned to the fact the Leafs will have to overpay to attract free agents, maybe this opens the door to him reaching a deal in Toronto? Something south of $9m/season?
 
dappleganger said:
I wonder if the market for Rasmus Andersson is somewhat depressed after his stint in Vegas. I'm resigned to the fact the Leafs will have to overpay to attract free agents, maybe this opens the door to him reaching a deal in Toronto? Something south of $9m/season?
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He'll still get paid a dumb amount of money, and I'd rather give Raddysh that.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
He'll still get paid a dumb amount of money, and I'd rather give Raddysh that.
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I'm a little concerned, just by looking at his basic numbers...was last year just a one-off for Raddysh?

Like, he scored more power play goals than Kucherov last season.

He's an undrafted guy, and a late bloomer...he made $975K last season, and he's 30. I'd think he goes to the team that's willing to give him the most total $$.
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/2066840547101184023
This is an unlocked article that outlines how evaluating the position player that the Leafs are shopping most heavily for are kind of tricky to pin down. More than any other position, I think defensemen skillsets need to really really match the system the team is playing. Like there is no point to having as many Lane Hutsons as possible if your coach plays park the bus and point shots only (see: Rielly literally getting overly exposed under Berube). Obviously there are some fundamentals that are constant (skating), but certain systems rely on, or can really leverage certain elements.

So for the Raddysh question (or Spence or whoever), do they match the Toronto Maple Leaf way?

Speaking of, what is the 'Toronto Maple Leaf way' even going to be on the ice for this coming season and foreseeable future?
If the Leafs want to make the most of the window with Matthews/Nylander and Knies/Tavares/Cowan/2026.1stOA, what system and defense corps is most impactful?
 
In light of todays trade, this is not a terrible roster with about $8.9m in cap space available:

Screenshot-2026-06-16-at-12-21-50-PM.png
 
Bowen Byram's name is in the rumour mill again. Would you explore trading Knies to the Sabres for Byram? Would it be one for one? Would there need to be packages built around each player? Does the fact that it is in division matter?
 
rdowdall said:
Bowen Byram's name is in the rumour mill again. Would you explore trading Knies to the Sabres for Byram? Would it be one for one? Would there need to be packages built around each player? Does the fact that it is in division matter?
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Did you see who his agent is? It explains why his name is in circulation for trade with a year left on the deal
 
herman said:
Did you see who his agent is? It explains why his name is in circulation for trade with a year left on the deal
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Yeah, they brought that up that his agent, Darren Ferris, likes walking his clients into free agency. So that would have to factor into the decision. There were rumours that a Brandon Carlo - Bowen Byram swap was talked about. I would do that in a heartbeat, which means that it is probably not something that is likely to happen.
 
Even with an extension (which seems unlikely for the obvious reason) Byram really just doesn't strike me as someone who'd be worth the trade cost. Nemec's in that same boat for me.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Even with an extension (which seems unlikely for the obvious reason) Byram really just doesn't strike me as someone who'd be worth the trade cost. Nemec's in that same boat for me.
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What if, and I realize that this is future looking and stars would need to align, it was Byram (with extension), plus 20 OA pick, and the rights to Tuch, for Knies? Too much for the Sabres to give up?

I think I have a problem where I start to overvalue the Leafs players, and I get it in my head that they should get more than they do. What is the value of Knies? He's a legitimate power forward in the league, and I am not sure that you should trade him at all, so that means I want a boatload back for him. You aren't trading him for the sake of trading him. He's 6'3", and he has trimmed down to mid 220's in weight, with a goal of being faster this year. He was nearly a ppg player last year.

For example, should they have gotten more at the trade deadline for Bobby McMann? I thought that was really underwhelming, same with Laughton. What I would have liked to seen done is those players flipped for NHL ready prospects, or underutilized players on rosters. Similar to what the Bruins did. But maybe I was overvaluing McMann and Laughton.

Anyways, all that being said, if there is a player that could get you a legitimate upgrade on the D, I think that Knies is it. I do think Byram still has upside as a former 4OA pick, and with 42 points last year behind Dahlin.
 
rdowdall said:
What if, and I realize that this is future looking and stars would need to align, it was Byram (with extension), plus 20 OA pick, and the rights to Tuch, for Knies? Too much for the Sabres to give up?

I think I have a problem where I start to overvalue the Leafs players, and I get it in my head that they should get more than they do. What is the value of Knies? He's a legitimate power forward in the league, and I am not sure that you should trade him at all, so that means I want a boatload back for him. You aren't trading him for the sake of trading him. He's 6'3", and he has trimmed down to mid 220's in weight, with a goal of being faster this year. He was nearly a ppg player last year.

For example, should they have gotten more at the trade deadline for Bobby McMann? I thought that was really underwhelming, same with Laughton. What I would have liked to seen done is those players flipped for NHL ready prospects, or underutilized players on rosters. Similar to what the Bruins did. But maybe I was overvaluing McMann and Laughton.

Anyways, all that being said, if there is a player that could get you a legitimate upgrade on the D, I think that Knies is it. I do think Byram still has upside as a former 4OA pick, and with 42 points last year behind Dahlin.
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I'm not at all totally opposed to moving Knies, but Bryam just doesn't feel like a big enough prize to make me wanna do it. The value of Tuch's rights seems neglible. I mean I'd be all for signing him especially if Knies gets dealt but he doesn't move the needle much in that trade. The biggest value of getting Tuch is you're doing it without moving an asset other than cap space for him.
 
rdowdall said:
This is a safe space. You can tell us what Bowen Byram did to you.
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I mean he'd just be Rielly 2.0. The offence he provides (and let's remind everyone his career high in points is 42) isn't enough to take away from the fact that he can't play defence. Again not a horrible player by any stretch, but not the guy we give up our one and only tradeable unicorn for.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
I mean he'd just be Rielly 2.0. The offence he provides (and let's remind everyone his career high in points is 42) isn't enough to take away from the fact that he can't play defence. Again not a horrible player by any stretch, but not the guy we give up our one and only tradeable unicorn for.
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That's fair. Looking in to it, he does seem a lot like Rielly 2.0. Do you think you could get a Power for Knies, if Buffalo was open to that?
 
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