Lyubushkin is a Leaf LIVE Reaction – Leafs Talk

Lyubushkin is a Leaf LIVE Reaction – Leafs Talk

All right we’re back oh my God yeah we left still up I thought you’d be Twilight Z ohy you caught me you caught me I was heading towards the old sack oh I know I know where you were at it you got in my head you were like you got Donald grer

Tomorrow you better do good I was like oh my God I better prep re and I fired up the old Twitter machine and what do I see the Leafs are starting to make progress here she’s starting to rock and roll all of a sudden boom it’s done

Within the matter of minutes after the show of course the way she always goes couldn’t break while we were live breaks right after the Leafs acquire Ducks defenseman and former trapa the Russian Bear IL leushin uh for a third round pick and the Carolina Hurricanes receive

A six round pick from the Leafs because they broker this deal in order to make it so that it’s double retention where Toronto is getting ilushin for under $700,000 again he’s a right shot defenseman he’s a guy that Toronto fans should be familiar with he’s a butcher

In the corners he’ll lay a heavy hit he can actually snap a pass he’s goingon to get dusted in transition it’s not a perfect fit but it’s a pretty cheap fit and I gotta say I’m giving this one a solid a minus for o Brad I love this

Trade how you feeling about it ay minus hey like I don’t know I think it’s fine I think it’s fine I’m not like gonna do Summers salt about it I think he I love it what you you love that I don’t love it or you love the trade no I just love

This trade because it’s exactly what I wanted like don’t get tanv for a first go out and get obviously not tanv but to me the the the drop off far from TANF far from far from TANF yeah okay very far like a different different League like a different League what are you

Crazy like CHR T the the the slander towards Chris tanv over the past like it’s insane they didn’t get a first- round pick for him like that is truly awful Asset Management by Craig Conroy like he is a top four legit excellent defenseman he is

Is we turned it right into tanif no I know I it’s I guess it’s fine I think he’s been pretty Dreadful since he’s played for the Ducks but like you said when we were talking before it’s really hard to evaluate guys that play for really crappy teams and he was playing

For a really crappy team when he came over from uh Arizona right that’s where they traded for him with the Nick Richie thing is that correct yeah right Arizona part of Nick Richie it was Nick Richie a second round pick for leushin and I I remember having the convers ation about

Him like them wanting to resign him when he was with the sa when they went to the sabes and like generally liking him but I I I do remember him having some struggles in the playoffs or whatever but this is a new year I don’t know what

He’s looking like maybe not so good in transition like you said but definitely a need on the team a right-hand shot guy who hits guys hard but like if he’s your guy playing with Morgan Riley you’re in big trouble and they they didn’t really address that like is he going to start

With Morgan riy right away is that what they’re going to do with him because I think that was a big conversation when he came in from Arizona they’re like well you know I don’t he’s just going to be a depth guy and then he all of a

Sudden was on the top pairing with Morgan Riley and I’m not sure if they’re thinking he’s Luke Shen 2.0 or whatever it is but yeah like I hope his role isn’t like a huge one I think he’s a good depth guy and I hope there’s more

To come and they’re spending 600k on him but you know third round picks not nothing bud can I can I go on a rant sure I like how you want to give up the first now you’re like a third round pick’s not nothing here’s here’s here’s

My here’s my strong case for and why I’m giving this an A minus okay uh first of all the Leafs needed this type of player badly they needed a guy who not only can play physically but who can also kill penalties and shoots on the right side

Just for the flexibility you saw what happens with this team right now is Conor Timmons has mono and I actually think that he was okay this year he’s not someone that you really wanted to see in the playoffs I think you and I have called him Blue Line Galchenyuk

Before and I think that that’s kind of like a fairish description of who he’s been um they lost Timothy lilligren and immediately the pairings go into a position where you just don’t have any bodies Mark jodano just went down hurt and now you’re looking at it and going

Man who the who the hell is going to play for the maple you have something in Ben Juan McCabe you have something potentially in lilligren and Brody go and take us a flyer and see if you can do exactly what you did last year in trading a third round pick for a new

Luke Shen does he have the same track record as Luke Shen in terms of Stanley Cup success playoff success teammate success no but if you look at where Luke Shen was in his career last season it was he was not viewed upon as a guy that

Was going to step in and be an impact player for the lease I agree with you I’m not looking at IL leushin as a savior type player I don’t think that he’s as good as Chris tanv but what I do think is the same thing remains true you

Have completely kept your powder dry and added something that you needed you needed depth you needed a right shot you needed a little snarl it’s a guy who’s comfortable with the market and who understands what the pressure is going to be here like you already know that he

Can fit in with Toronto and again now with this cap space retention like Chris tanv makes four and a half million doll you bring him in and you’re not going to be able to make other moves especially since you used your first round pick because that was again the price to

Acquire now with ilushin you’ve essentially given up kind of nothing in the grand scheme of things like the leaf giving up a depth pick in a draft yeah you’re right a third round pick isn’t quote unquote nothing sure fine I’ll hear that argument but if we’re going to

Be saying a first round pick for tanv and then that’s your only move that you can make versus going out and grabbing a need for a cheap pick and and a sixth again which you you have those depth picks in abundance those lottery tickets

In abundance I I love it for this team I I just think that there’s so many elements of it the no salary he’s got another year of control by the way so it’s like he’s going to add to your depth not just this year but next year

As well I think that’s right I think he just signed a two-year deal with the Ducks I might have that one wrong I thought he signed the two-year deal with the Sabres didn’t he and then he got traded there am I mistaken I thinka think he’s U UFA okay either way you’re

Paying Pennies on the dollar for this guy this season it totally leaves the the the move to go out and get somebody else and you added something that you desperately needed so I I’m I’m thrilled with the the move for tree living I think it’s a huge win for him okay I uh

Yeah it was a two oh two-year deal with the Ducks okay that’s what I thought so um I was just pulling up his cap friendly page here so yeah I mean they’re paying below League uh average you or the the like the league minimum

To get him so that’s no but he is a no he’s a UFA this is last year so this is so he signed with the Ducks last year yep he is a uh he is a UFA after this season all right no Joe is butchered this badly it’s you’re right was you

Were right all along he signed it with the Sabers and the Ducks took it it was the two-year deal with the Sabers thank you yeah all right we got I just you know ultimately like how much better is the lease blue line right now I think better because of the like I

Said you I don’t think that this one of the biggest things that I think they learned over that stretch without Morgan Riley is that they didn’t the one thing they could not have is playing Brody on his left side anymore this is a preventative measure from making Sheldon

Keefe go back to Old Faithful of those two guys playing together which has not worked continues to not work and has resulted in dash whatever over the last two games that they’ve gone out and tried it it’s a penalty killer that is proven that he can do that for a penalty

Kill that has been Dreadful and it allows you to have balance to your lineup no he’s not Chris Pronger like I don’t think leushin is going to be coming in here and taking the Leafs on a Stanley Cup run and we’re going to be building statues for the guy that’s the

Thing I I don’t I never looked at this trade class as something awesome to me I’ve told you my position is if you’re the Leafs and you’re using the top of your tier Assets in which you have a limited supply of yeah you’ve got to use those assets for things that are going

To be of consequence and that you know we’re going to be a part of your organization moving forward short of that if you’re going to be playing the rental game then I’d rather try to nickel and dime a couple of teams and get the leushin types rather than pay

Premium prices for assets that I do not think are actually good players I think TV’s really good I’m not as really I’m not as big of a tanv guy as you and I gotta tell you buddy I I I probably watched more Calgary Flames games than anything else over the last

Month and a half they’re on TV all the time Hanahan nonstop and it’s just like he’s a good player I I don’t think that he was I don’t think he or Ilia lbushkin were guys that were going to materially change the leaf Stanley Cup run for like

A huge between the two of them one guy’s clearly better but I I don’t for the price I love the price for the Leafs I think it’s a really quality move it’s a good depth move yeah yeah I think I when you go into a depth move you think more

Of like a fourth or a fifth round pick or whatever three seems high to me but it’s a need they need a they need a a right shot guy but I just to me it’s like he’s obviously gonna be playing on the top pair right which to me is

Something that’s a bit of a problem like they they added a right-hand shot guy like you said to get Brody away from Riley which we want I clearly understand that part of it that’s not something that you want to do but just to me having him there as your top pair I

Don’t think that’s necessarily a great thing like they’re gonna play together right like I know I brought that up with you before but I just want to confirm it like they’re gonna play it again well first we we’ll see what they end up doing but I would imagine that the

Pairings as of you know Saturday night if they were fully healthy would be Riley leushin they would be Brody and lilligren and uh Benny The Butcher with mcabe okay and to me it’s like that just the way of looking at it through the lens of the Leafs we’re going to have this top

Pairing and it’s the Morgan Riley top pairing top pairing it’s just to in my opinion that’s the wrong way of looking at this I think the way the Leafs are assessing their group is we’re going to have three pairings that are all going to be able to eat up

Some minutes and they’re all going to have different roles and we’re not going to try to stretch it too thin with any of them like we’ll try to find the odd extra shift for Morgan Riley if we’re down a goal we’ll probably go with a more defensive unit if you know we feel

Like we’re protecting one but this is just to me about depth and then if things change if you know something does come up where there is another defenseman that actually does fit that bill you don’t care about kicking Ilia leushin down the lineup or having him be

A depth guy he he assumes the same role that Luke Shen did last year at the deadline which is if you’re sitting in the Press Box no big deal to me yeah and then remember he said that was like our favorite take and then he was like the

Best defenseman they had yeah but I I I don’t Envision that necessarily with him it’s just to me that like I really hope yeah I assume that there’s more to come right I think if there’s more to come it might come up front like if this is your only if this

Is your only move on the back end I mean you just basically just might as well set a third round pick on fire because you’re not winning anything with this you’re not you’re not this does not make you way better there’s just no there’s like this isn’t a this isn’t doesn’t

Move the needle for me so I would like this if they add something else on the back end where they can mix him in and out I don’t know what other right-hand shot guys are out there we’ve talked about this at nauseum the different guys if they add another one of these guys

Maybe but to me like you know it’s just I’m a little I’m a little Soo on this but I sorry finish your thought no no no go ahead if this was the land of there were a bunch of right-hand shot defensemen out there that made sense yeah I would be

Looking at it and going hey this isn’t enough and they really need to be more aggressive to me anyways I’ve just been of the mind that this Leaf’s team it’s it’s on the group is currently constituted I don’t really believe in building teams at deadlines I think that

The Leafs had one of their best deadlines ever like not since 200 what was it three when they no five when they added Gilmore and and Howley and like they just went all in they grabbed everybody right they grabbed Owen noan Ron Francis no Ron Francis they got at

The deadline that one year no that’s that’s yeah that’s 03 though is when they got all those guys I’m pretty sure but I don’t think that that’s an awesome team building thing do I think that trade deadline Acquisitions can help you win a Stanley Cup yes um is there a long

List though of hey this team went out and got this impact player that really just changed the course of their season and we all looked at it and said wow this is the deadline it’s like no no but that’s it you got to think about it because for the most part

Guys guys at the deadline get way too much for rental prices in terms of the actual asset price sometimes I even as a leaf fan someone who roots for a team that’s competitive get a little envious of some of these teams that just completely get to stockpile draft picks

And pick apart the Bones from teams that are desperate to win like yeah you know this is a perfect example Monahan has been amazing for Winnipeg so far they’re not regretting trading that pick at all but it’s got to be pretty nice getting a first round pick for Shawn Monahan

Considering what you thought he was gonna be as a player and considering that they also gave up like they they gave up the first uh the the general manager that made this very trade uh gave up the first to get rid of the contract to Montreal so they got a first

Round pick for that one and then they got a first so they got two first round picks out of Shawn Monahan for the Habs so that was uh a really good piece of business for the for the Montreal Canadians there but yeah like I don’t want to totally paint myself into the

Corner of hating ILO leushin I got a pretty good idea of what he has no I’m just saying like I just I have a pretty good idea of his game like I I feel like I know who he is like it’s a it’s not like a a great unknown coming in here

But I just don’t think that El leushin should be playing with Morgan Riley on the top pair and it feels like that’s what’s gonna be Happ it’s one of those weird things where it’s like you keep calling it the top pair but yeah there’s no but there’s no reality Sammy that

This is going to be like you know Scott neem and Chris Pronger and they’re eating half the the hockey game like that’s not what they’re looking for here but they’re going to go back to Riley they’re going to go back to Riley and Brody when push comes to shove and

That’s going to be a disaster in the playoffs that’s what definitely it’s gonna happen I don’t think that either I think that what they’re looking for is just a little bit more balance on the blue line they believe in some of the talent that’s there I think that one of

The things they learned again is that Brody is still a very good player so long as he can play his left side they’re a flawed Blue Line find me the team that’s in the salary cap era right now that doesn’t have flaws go through it everybody in the NHL has flaws the

The team you and I like the most the Florida Panthers and then like like I think you and I both agree that they’re like the scariest team to Leafs right like you just we you just said it when you watched the ABS you didn’t like their forward group right you just watch

Vegas they might not get Mark Stone back they look really thin up front the Edmonton Oilers have not ever since they faced their cupcake schedule they haven’t looked very good they’re scrapping and clawing to beat bad teams they can’t get a save like um the Boston Bruins their middle six looks pretty

Crap they don’t look like an they don’t look like a juggernaut in any given night the Leafs have flaws but outside of those groups that you named outside of the Oilers the the common threat amongst all those teams is really good Decor right like the the Vegas golden

Kns have maybe the best Decor in the league you talk about you talk about uh who else did you mention there Florida has an excellent Decor full of guys that are you know studs mean guys uh you know think about Dallas who just adds tanv their Decor is stacked like you know

Boston has a great Decor that’s the strength of their team like that’s we always see it every year in the playoffs it’s like you have a good decor and that’s the biggest difference that’s what’s happened with the Leafs they’ve gotten shut down by good Decor multiple times in multiple playoffs I just you’re

Right there wasn’t a guy out there other than you know my my beloved Chris tanav that was gonna help them out you want to write sonets for this guy I will I will I’ll I’ll I’ll you know I’ll I’ll uh what was I going to say I’ll brush his

Hair I’ll brush his beautiful long hair if he wants um I just I I guess you’re right that there’s no one out there that’s going to make this I just don’t think this Decor is good enough and maybe there was maybe that’s a flaw in the offseason and it’s

Not the trade deadline so maybe I’m projecting that a little bit but I just look at these other teams with the D with the with their decor and I’m like God you know you know a Stanley Cup winning team’s not gonna have this guy playing top four minutes or top six

Minutes I I just have a hard time believing it but they needed a right-hand shot defenseman I hope he can come in here and regain a little bit of what he had when he was because he was a fan favorite hammering guys killing penalties and he’s getting paid you know

He’s getting paid what uh under under 750 but I just you know it’s a little Rich third round pick for a guy who’s really struggling is a it’s it’s a little Rich he again it’s a third round pick because it’s double retention and he’s gonna be making 600k like a little

Paid and they paid the sixth to Carolina to do it right that’s the second part of the retention that’s the classic dork team Carolina being like well take it on we’ll take a six round pick to help our competitor win um to me this is a guy

Who when when they’re making this trade when they’re doing this deal again you’re bringing them in so cheap that it allows you to maintain the flexibility should something else come along like it doesn’t change that whatsoever if it’s there if there were other guys I’d be

Looking at it and I’d be saying it differently but for a team with limited resources and a very limited trade market and not a lot of impact players I just don’t mind them saying you know what can we get out of our group if there’s just a little bit more balance

There’s a guy who can step in here and who can kill some penalties and now you’ve got a little bit more depth on your blue line where one injury doesn’t remove you from being completely left shot um like I I just I think that this

Is a good move for the Leafs I really believe Improvement and I like there was no way for them to make their blue line into what you’re hoping it to be but I would contend that in and I believe this in my heart of hearts that the Leafs

Blue line is going to be better and look better on balance with just having three pairings that make more sense than a bunch of mismatch left-handed shot guys that uh don’t have any chemistry together or not able to break a puck out like leushin can do that he can actually

Break a puck out he just sucks in transition and he scores nothing like he gives you zero gives you no offense he’s not gonna ever put a puck in the net it’s not gonna happen who cares people know him they know the drill here’s what I’ll say about sort of reclamation

Project defensive defenseman were talking about how one of the more fan favorites in the last you know two months has been Simone benoa who was a guy that was unplayable on the Ducks and got non-tendered by the Ducks and he comes to a good situation playing with

The right guy and it kind of takes off so that’s part of it where it’s like if you want a positive spin from me that maybe they they figure it out on that end so I could see that and like you know one he Nails one guy and I’m gonna

Be like oh my God I love the I love the Russian Bear the Russian bear is back like I get all that I just a little hesitant that’s that’s my final sort of thought on it it’s just a little hesitant about it I and I don’t want to be like Oh Mr

Negative they made a trade they they they they addressed what they did I just I’m not I’m not I’m pardon is it too late maybe I don’t love it I don’t love it I don’t love it I don’t love it I don’t think it’s a trade that’s Meant To

Be Loved I like love you gave it an A minus you loved it no but because it it fits my eye in terms of where they were at more like I again I completely understand your position and the position of those people that I’m sure in the chat and listening this on posted

On Twitter and going your nuts why are you so gassed up about this guy it’s not necessarily about the player it’s about the philosophy of to me they just needed a little bit more balance on the blue line as a baseline I love the idea that they brought someone in and made sure

That they didn’t just go out and trade for a guy that made a little bit too much money that would complicate things moving forward or that they gave up an asset that was a little bit pricier and like I just I don’t like the

Market I I I don’t like them at all I’ve in years past I’ve said yeah go out and get this guy go out and do that rental that wasn’t me this year like I like the Felino trade I was on record of saying I liked it it backfired you know what I’m

Gonna mention that too as my kind of final point to this thing because I think that you know we’ve probably gone as far as we can go on this you know a lot of leaf fans look at these deadlines and they always go okay but you’re

Trading the asset but then maybe the guy resigns so far the Leafs traded seconds for Mark Giordano and he came back on the cheap but they traded a first for Felino they thought that he was going to come back on the cheap guess what Felino

Came on my show told me flat out the Leafs low balled me I was insulted it motivated me to go to Boston like it doesn’t work that way always guess who else Luke Shen oh he’ll be back he’s going to be a leaf they’ll give him a

Contract all of a sudden a team like Nashville says actually we’ll give you 275 look they probably thought they were gonna keep lbushkin and you know if leushin would have been a $1.25 million player he’s probably still on this blue line but the Sabers came over the top

And gave him 27 and he left and same thing with like the Chris tanov of the worlds of the other guys it’s like if Chris tanov comes on Leafs and goes on a good uh good cup run you’re going to want to have to pay the guy who’s going

To be 35 years old you know potentially $5 million I it seems a little steep for me it seems a little risky for me I don’t think he was taking a HomeTown discount from what I’ve been told I don’t think that was the case yeah I’m

Just saying that to me this is like as low risk like has some upside keeps the powder dry doesn’t make you committed to anything long-term or even short term because of the assets it’s a really good move philosophically for me for the Leafs so this is the fun part about this

Is is that you know the people I I haven’t really looked at the Twitter reaction to this but if you’re a dubis site if you’re a dubis site it’s like he traded for him too bud so you know it’s like it’s like TR living and do both traded for this guy

JD Bunkis & Sam McKee will react to the Leafs acquiring defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin!

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