Too bad it was never reported as such.
Aside from that, why didn't the Leafs extend an invite to him?
2025 Offseason Thread: Spring Cleaning
- Thread starter herman
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Aside from that, why didn't the Leafs extend an invite to him?
bustaheims
Well-known member
Because it wasn’t part of a prearranged team when signing his contract.
bustaheims
Well-known member
Because they have enough of their own goalies to spend time on?
I get that but it still felt shady.
GhostofPotvin29
Well-known member
Yeah I mean he’s a 21 year old who’s been passed over in the draft (twice?) and plays on a powerhouse team. I don’t think it’s anything worth worrying about.
bustaheims
Well-known member
Sure. Would have felt much more shady if he got a job with the Flyers (or any team, really) than with the league, though. At least they didn't try to void his contract because of it. Cap hit still had to be LTIR'd somewhere.
bustaheims
Well-known member
Yup. Like, goalies are voodoo and all, but, lots of players in his situation have turned out to be nothing special. The odds against him becoming more than organizational depth are long and not worth fretting about the fact he didn't get an invite to a development camp.
bustaheims
Well-known member
Suter isn't actually all that slow. He's an average skater with a quick mind and a quick stick. He may not have great speed bursts, but his hockey IQ is strong and he doesn't find himself out of position defensively all that much. Pair him with a couple quick wingers who forecheck hard and you have the makings of a strong 3rd line that can shut down the other team and chip in offensively.
Marchment, on the other hand, I have no interest in. Unless the Leafs' skills team can work more magic on him, his speed can be a real issue in the team's top 6.
bustaheims
Well-known member
He's not talking about Marchand. Marchand is a good skater. It's Marchment, who is supposedly on the trade block, that he's talking about there.
I feel like the time to sign Suter would have been two years ago. The team desperately needed a 3C then too and he hung around unsigned until August 11 and signed for a fraction of what he'll get now. I suspect he'll be one of the more overpaid players this July now, especially with the lack of centres. Good player though.
Pretty mediocre playoff history too, especially for a guy you would think would thrive in playoff hockey.
bustaheims
Well-known member
He's also not particularly inclined to play a heavy-type physical game, despite his size and his lineage. When he tries that in the playoffs, it clearly takes away from his production.
This isn't about the Leafs but one thing I wish the NHL Edge page did was list the average top skating speed (like with the top-5 or 10 marks) as opposed to just the highest mark they achieved that season. Like Pacioretty hit a top skating speed of 22.45 mph which is super good especially for a guy his age, but I mean that's not representative of his skating ability at all. He must have been getting some serious down wind on that rush or something.
Really cool and interesting data, but unsurprisingly the NHL isn't really the best place to present analysis from it. Would be great if they opened it up so others could do more things with it. Also their "speed bursts over 20" thing should really be presented on a per game or minute basis.