Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Oliver Ekman-Larsson: Why Everyone is Overreacting

[@Dt28ftw]

Never really comment on videos. I'll just say this; We know you're busy at TSN. Thank you for taking the time to give us great content! Keep up the great work and remember.. We don't need fancy edits/jump cuts etc. We're here to hear your thoughts/opinions on what's going on with the Leafs! Anyways, enjoy your summer!

[@EthanReynolds03]

Very well said. I think it’s safe to say all your viewers feel this way!

[@Leafgreen1976]

Facts

[@adamb1229]

100%

[@scuffguardian]

its been awesome to get your insight back on here, bud. hope youve been keeping well!

[@tabletophoenix]

It IS good to have you back!

[@RyanAlexander-u9d]

btw your videos are the best by far. So many people just screaming at the screen for views (*cough steve dangle cough*). Very few like you who break things down.

[@markrobinson2570]

Thanks for coming b ack really nice to hear positive leafs talk tiered of hear all the other RUclips negative talk about the leafs

[@bps7267]

He also played top pair for the Panthers in the first months of the season when Montour and Ekblad were recovering from surgeries.

[@richardfewer9348]

As a fan I will wait and watch him play before commenting on OEL. Treliving is a fan’s general manager. It may take time to build up the team. Hockey is hard. Nice to see you back

[@TedMartello-yt6rn]

Good as always. I’d like to see a tutorial video on how to read those charts that you use.

[@derekpaddon9553]

Ill always watch your videos DTSB. Been here since very very early on. might have been under DJP before , but you have the best videos that actuallly make sense.. I watch some videos and i shake my head i was watching one the other day where theyre saying oh no the leafs HAVE to make aa trade now theyre over the cap... Its like do you do ANY research at all.... ANY? once youre not carrying 3 goalies and 9 defencmen theres actually room for the leafs to sign a depth forward. So welcome back@ wish you had more time for this. I realllllly think you coul ake it big.

[@smacrecords]

Another great video! Leafs Nation is happy to have you back!

[@stephane8621]

Great video man ! Love your in-depth analysis 😊

[@mzedz]

I never make comments on videos but I am glad you are back. I think you are my favourite source for leafs videos.

[@DownTownSports98]

Always to awesome to stuff like this. Its been fun to be back

[@VinnyK84]

Subscribed! Love the break down and analysis, great job and thank you! Go Leafs!

[@nawtty8864]

Missed These!! :) Welcome back ❤️❤️❤️

[@johnstockbridge953]

Glad for your insight, hope you come up with more content soon

[@mikekrause937]

Great vid. Like your level headed approach. Not a cheerleader, not a pessimist.

[@djlethal]

You do a great job on these videos and i appreciate you making them!

[@Kyt2024]

Great video, and I agree on OEL by and large. The only one thing I'll say, and you're not the only person who is guilty of this by a long shot, but people have to stop trying to project player decline. Every player is different and there's no reason OEL can't maintain a #4/#5 quality of play for through his 33-36 years. Lots of players have and will continue to do it. And even if his play does slip a bit and he's more of a sole #5 by the last year or two of this deal, the cap is probably going to be nearing $100M by that point in time, so his 3.5M will probably still be more or less fine.

[@mig3598]

OEL is a sneaky good signing for what was the leafs biggest pitfall during this seasons playoffs - special teams, especially power play. 4-5% is among the lowest, if not the lowest, since leafs playoff stats have been recorded in the 70s.. By almost all metrics, OEL has a track record as a more consistently effective power play quarter back than Rielly.
Career Regular Season games:
OEL - 982 games. Rielly - 791 games.
Career Regular Season Power Play goals: OEL - 59 goals. Rielly - 14 goals.
Career Regular Season Power Play Points:
OEL - 186 points. Rielly - 159 Points.
Career Regular Season shooting %:
OEL - 6.8%. Rielly - 4.6%.
Career playoff games:
OEL - 49 games (24 of these games coming this years playoff run playing PP2 behind Montour and 4th/5th D role) Rielly - 57 games.
Career playoff Power Play goals:
OEL - 1 goal. Rielly - 2 goals.
Career playoff Power Play Points:
OEL - 9 points. Rielly - 9 points.
OEL practically outdoing Rielly’s power play performance by all metrics even with Rielly playing essentially ALL his power play minutes behind the leagues best goal scorer since prime Ovi (in other words, his PP stats are inflated). OEL should definitely be pushing for PP1 role over Rielly based on these facts alone.

[@collynbertin3260]

Yeah ive never had a problem with OEL as a player. It was just his contract value vs his actual value that had me.
3.5 million is only about 4 percentnof the cap, and if he is on the second line, or even the third line but getting pp and pk time to up his average minutes, then he isbperfectly fine.

[@bobknight6394]

he's back!!!

[@Katie-hb8iq]

I still want the forward group to be changed. It's weak on the left side, and center depth can be constructed better assuming Domi plays on the wing. I really hope they are still working on trading Marner and they just want to keep it hush-hush because that cap money can do wonders for these problems. We're so strong on the right side that losing Marner and slotting Domi with Matthews would barely be noticeable, and the potential benefits elsewhere in the forward group would be huge.
I love the D-core and goalie tandem, though. This is definitely good enough to go deep in the playoffs.
Right now, without major forward changes, I'm praying Cowan is ready for the NHL because that would help a lot on the left side.

[@johnsummerhill8323]

How much should the Leafs pay to buy Marner's NMC? If you expect him to agree to a trade, then it will cost the team a good amount which will go against the salary cap.

[@Katie-hb8iq]

@@johnsummerhill8323 You can't buy this out. You may as well let him walk to free agency if buying out is the only remaining option.
I would have hoped there were a few teams he actually wanted to go to willingly. I also would have thought this city was just too stressful for him by this point.

[@johnsummerhill8323]

@@Katie-hb8iq You don't expect any player that is being asked to waive a NMC to just hand it over for free.
They are going to extend his contract anyways. They will never let him walk at the end of next season.

[@Katie-hb8iq]

@@johnsummerhill8323 Why not? Many players waive their NMC. It's happened over and over. What makes Marner any different? Why would a player actually want to stay in a city if management and the fans didn't want him them? The fans already don't want him there.

[@johnsummerhill8323]

@@Katie-hb8iq Actually, more fans want him to stay than don't. Players that waive their C without compensation are those that ask for a trade, or are lower level players. A player that is a star player like Marner , will need the team to buy his NMC, assuming he would even then agree. It could cost $2 or 3 million just to buy it which goes against the cap.

[@richardfewer9348]

Excellent journalism sir

[@JoltingZ]

If there's something about OEL that I question it's this. Which version of OEL are we getting. The one that ended his tenure with the Vancouver Canucks when he regressed pretty badly or the bounce back season that he just had with the Florida Panthers. That's pretty much it. I'm happy he's a Maple Leaf but with any player. There's bound to be risk involved. Hope it pans out.

[@brandongerofsky4817]

He didn't really change his game in Florida though, he just played less.

[@leafman4000]

It really depends on how he’s used. If he’s getting first pair minutes and first pair matchups? We’ll probably get the Vancouver version. If he plays a more sheltered role on the second/third pairing it’s more likely we’ll get the FLA version.

[@markirek8956]

He's only 32, great signing!

[@noodkiller123]

The amount of people still complaining is hilarious😂😂 it seems it doesn’t matter what the leafs do, leaf fans will still piss and moan. This is the best back end we’ve had in a long time. If anybody thinks getting rid of marner for Pennie’s on the dollar or just let him walk is a fucking idiot. I’d rather pay him an extra mil over losing him. It’s just unfortunate the leafs have so many casual fans who don’t know there ass from there elbow when it comes to hockey

[@matt18385]

McCabe was a left shooting dman, best right shot dman in the last 20-25 years from an offensive standpoint I can remember is Kubina or Svehla, best shutdown guy was definitely Yushkevich.

[@marconion]

These 4 adds are not going to move the needle. Yes.... they did get bigger and nastier but are they better to the point that they can get passed the 2nd round or the ultimate goal to win the cup? They are technically running this back for the 8th time. This is what happens when the core 5 take up 61.6% of your cap. They did what they could with the cap space they had. The problem here is that it's probably not enough.

[@GospelTestimony]

I disagree for 2 reasons. #1 - I don't believe that they're finished yet. They are technically over the cap, so they still have work to do, and it may involve a Marner trade still. #2 - Their defence has always been small, soft, inexperienced, not good defensively, and vulnerable to that one goal that killed their chances of winning important games. I believe these Dmen and the goalie will help in all of those areas.

[@jlove8445]

Well,
I agree with both of you.

[@marconion]

@@GospelTestimony i agree! A Marner trade would definitely change things. My original comment is based on Marner staying and playing out the year. There definitely will be more moves made but i think it will be just depth stuff. I also think their goaltending is suspect at best.

[@GospelTestimony]

I do agree with you on the "running it back" problem, but I believe something is coming. Vegas was strangely quiet on July 1st, which makes me wonder if something is brewing between them and Marner. He would be dumb to not consider going there now, when they have so many perks for him, and have been competing for the Stanley Cup.

[@marconion]

@@GospelTestimony i agree the Marner & Leaf camp have been quiet lately as well. You maybe right. This would definitely change how this team goes forward. It needs to happen!

[@larceny3092]

Steve great video

[@Terry3Gs]

weird I just finally got a notification/ view you did something.

[@gordyhowehatrik4331]

Hi Steven, perhaps a topic for future could be your analysis of the tax advantages for US/FLA teams vs CDN markets. Cheers

[@ronmatthews2164]

I am 63 and have watched most of the Leafs games all my life and i think the Leafs d now is one of the best d core i can remember.
If all the d are healthy why not try Liligram and or Riley on forward ?

[@ThatsBadTV]

OEL has been fairly underrated for a long time in my opinion

[@josephreichelt14]

Back like Domi - nice!! 😊

[@ronmatthews2164]

The problem with this Leafs team is most of the cap is spent on a core 4 who all every year way underperform in the very physical playoffs.

[@richardfewer9348]

Top Quality job!

[@RyanAlexander-u9d]

@7:38 - That's actually the problem. He's a decent #4/#5 the exact same way that Liljegren is. But what the Leafs desperately needed was an elite #3 to push everyone down a notch. It should be 1. Rielly 2. Tanev 3. _____ 4. McCabe 5. Liljegren 6. Benoit/Jani. This is just my opinion. Should have signed a center or a top 4 D. We need Roy or Mountour. But all good. Cap world.

[@zascorpusa]

Leaf FA was a bust. They don’t really add what they needed to do. Moving Marner is key

[@RyanAlexander-u9d]

7:38 - that's actually the problem. OEL is a #4/#5 and we needed a #3 and now we're out of cap space.

[@gabesfilmsfortheworld]

Rielly, Tanev, and McCabe are the leafs top 3. OEL, Benoit, Liljegren, Hakanpaa and Timmins comprise our depth beyond that.

[@BurtTurbo]

you needed and still need a number 1!

[@RyanAlexander-u9d]

@@gabesfilmsfortheworld
#1 Rielly
#2 Tanev
#3/4 McCabe
#5 OEL
#5 Liljegren
#6 Benoit/Hakanpaa #6

[@gabesfilmsfortheworld]

@@RyanAlexander-u9d It's more that we need a #4 to play with McCabe than a #3. McCabe is #3. But i dont view defensemen in this manner anyway. It's about pairings and how effective they can be.

[@samk3166]

Would you consider a subscriber meet up in the toronto area?

[@montekristo5048]

It's better than the Klingburg signing last year!

[@StreetEmpireTV]

Nice!

[@montekristo5048]

Leafs need another mean dude on the point that plays like Schenn did when we picked him up at trade deadline, since Hawk n pua might not be able to with his knee injury.

[@jaystyx5134]

Looking at this, Rielly is overpaid for what he produces. Most will say Tanev is a much better defenseman for the position and he's at 4.5mill. Rielly is basically an offenseman in a defenseman position and we don't need that.

[@britishbulldogca7648]

I thought Bryan McCabe was a LHD. RHD were Komisarek, Franson, Holzer, Carrick, Corrado, Jeff Finger, Schenn, Kubina,. For me it's probably Svehla in 2002 or Yushkevich in 2001 but even they weren't allstars, they were warriors

[@DownTownSports98]

You’re right. I don’t know why I thought he was a right shot? Maybe because he played with Kaberle for a few years? Weird

[@britishbulldogca7648]

@@DownTownSports98 It kind of reinforces your point of "when is the last time the Leafs had a top pairing RHD"

[@peterlue9274]

If you actually watch defensemen on the Leafs during games, you will see that players like Benoit and McCabe are all over the ice losing their man while Connor Timmins understands who is dangerous and LITERALLY ALWAYS picks up the right man and eliminates the threat. Anyone who does not like Connor Timmins either has never had to play defense or they were awful at it. We need MORE Connor Timmins. Yeah, he occasionally turns over the puck but I will live with that if he can recover like he usually does, contributes offensively like he does, and will pick up the guys setting up for the backdoor one-timer instead of being a moron like most of the NHL by leaving the backdoor wide open.

[@Rain.34.89]

Timmins isn’t that good…

[@peterlue9274]

@@Rain.34.89 He was also on pace for 40 points and is a 6'2" RHD who excelled when Morgan Rielly and other starters were out. He deserves a shot. He may not be great but there is NOTHING that says he isn't since he won every game except one that I saw when he was in. he deserves a chance to prove himself and only an idiot would think otherwise given all that he has done.

[@Rain.34.89]

@@peterlue9274 He kinda sucks. I question your ability to judge hockey players.

[@peterlue9274]

@@Rain.34.89 You should have followed my prospect rankings when I used to do them

[@bigdave8437]

I realize Treliving face-planted on his 1st two UFA signings last July in Klingberg & Reaves. I still don't get why he thought they were worthwhile 'gambles'. In the cases of Tanev & OEL I am confident the pro-souting dept. was on this & despite some age related risk, I think they will be valuable adds to a team that's made the post-season 8 yrs in a row. Good signings.

[@jesseburke3990]

Free balling I'm righting that song would be a good man scape intro song

[@garylawrence1226]

I agree that it's time to let Timmons go that cap space is just too important to leave tied up in a 8th dman

[@richardfewer9348]

Agree. First arrange for an upgrade. He is too young also. Is he teachable or not?

[@carminelombardi9575]

At this point any defensive improvement is good.

[@dizk8488]

I'm more concerned with them giving Liljegren 2 x 3M who was a healthy scratch in the playoffs. With the money they gave OEL and Liljegren they could have got Zadorov or Pesce.

[@rolandrothchild8889]

Leafs had no choice but to spend a whole lot of bad back-end bucks to woo some "older" but still capable defensemen because Kyle Dubas was a complete duface.

[@Haroldballard89]

We got 1 D man under 30 yrs old, the combined age of our D is over 180 yrs , that is an issue .

[@zascorpusa]

Trade Lily and Kampf and get something better

[@davidhouse6760]

Comments for the algo.

[@derekpaddon9553]

I want the leafs to go out and aquire Brandon Tanev at 50% retained. If they have to give up robertson to do it so be it he wants out anyways....

[@seangaudet4742]

Reilly best partner thus far was Hainsey

[@jlove8445]

The bad news is that it could be Bobby Orr, (or Tanev) still wouldn’t be able to help Reilly with his own personal defensive inadaquacies ….or on the PP for that matter

[@torrey88]

Why is it that every offseason, we forget how overmatched we were in the playoffs and then decide to just run it back again…? This is the definition of insanity.

[@Gypsyalchemy333]

Explain how signing THREE. New d and a new goalie and it only being July second is running it back. Typical commie Canadian

[@gonzaloderomana775]

I thought they lost round 1 in game 7 in overtime- I get the narrative but the difference between these teams are not a large as some make it seem. I think we would have lost to Florida in 5 if we did get past Boston but in close games

[@disinformationworld9378]

Why is it that fans can’t figure out that the Leafs are playing in an elite division with teams that are among the most elite defensive teams in the entire NHL. In every series the leafs are competitive and close to winning the series. Meaning that small adjustments are all that are needed to push the team further not blowing up the roster. The other problem was BAD goaltending letting in soft goals every single playoff series for example. Re watch the Florida series highlights and see for yourself that the series was a lot closer than it looked and the Leafs lost because of soft goals. And this was with bad goaltending. Compare EDM. They were outscored 11-4 in the first 3 games of the SC final. Not even remotely close.

[@disinformationworld9378]

Compare the pathetic Oilers who got swept 3 times in the McDavid era and nearly got swept in the final against an elite team in the Leafs division. In games that mattered the best offensive player in the game of hockey was nearly invisible. Only when Florida stopped playing hard he could put up points.

[@torrey88]

@@disinformationworld9378non-linear comparision…

[@_1COR15.1-4]

Steeeeeeeeeeve

[@rickbold9337]

OEL is not going to make the Leafs better! Another bad signing by the Leafs to regret. He used to be a good offensive defence a but always a horrible defensive defenceman. Lazy and out of position

[@jaystyx5134]

Vote this comment if you want to see Steve shave his head again! :)

[@timvyfvinkel4542]

OEL is here for one reason. Reilly doesn't have a point shot on the PP. OEL does. PP gets stuffed in the playoffs b/c Reilly doesn't have a good shot. In the playoffs, you need a good hard shot from the point.

[@Mellowyellow8888]

expecting a little too much there.. he was given the point on the pp in Vancouver.. even if he did have the point shot.. is marner, matthews,nylander going in there to deflect it?.. probalby not..