12 Feb 2019 18:03:57
Too Toronto Kyle Clifford


Too LA Nikita Zaitsev
Toronto 2021 2nd

LA under cap puts them at cap with zaitsev Toronto gets fourth line winger who can score and will be a force in playoffs....

Let's talk about this one boys

1.) 12 Feb 2019
12 Feb 2019 20:14:34
LA is wanting to get younger and faster and save cap space. This trade doesn’t really address any of those concerns. As a Leaf fan, I like it. Clifford is a solid depth guy we could use to shore up LW. But I don’t think LA notes on this one.

2.) 12 Feb 2019
12 Feb 2019 21:27:54
The Laefs shouldn't be trading a 20+ ATOI defenseman for a fourth liner. The Leafs already have a tough decision to make with Ennis, no need to add another 4th line body. Losing Zaitsev hurts the Leafs depth and leaves them very thin on D next year. And throwing in a 2nd round pick serves no purpose, if anything the Kings should be throwing more in.

I don't see any positives in the short or long term in regards to this trade suggestion.

3.) 13 Feb 2019
13 Feb 2019 00:57:19
It’s obviously meant as a cap dump. The pick is because Kordic feels Zaitsev has negative value. Sure, Zaitsev plays 20 minutes a night. He also only has 7 points and a Corsi of 48%. It’s virtually unanimous among analysts that he is unproductive and overpaid. Zaitsev’s stats are very similar to Alzner’s, who is now playing in the AHL. All Kordic is suggesting is a cap dump to free up a roster spot and some salary we can then use to pursue other options. Now that we have Muzzin, we can easily dump Zaitsev and still field an above average defense corps.

Rielly/ Muzzin
Gardiner/ Hainsey
Dermott/ Ozhiganov
(Sandin/ Liljegren)
(Rosen/ Hollowell)

4.) 14 Feb 2019
14 Feb 2019 00:22:02
Zaitsev just doesn’t really have any value left: Zaitsev and Alzner are very comparable players. I used this year’s stats, which is why the comparison is incomplete, as Alzner has a short sample size. But you can look at last year’s stats, and again, eerily similar. Both play over 20 minutes a night, average over 100 hits and 100 blocks.

Zaitsev

27, 6’2”, 193lbs, 0.12ppg, +1, 48.4%cf

Alzner

30, 6’3”, 219lbs, 0.11ppg, +1, 51.8%cf.