>Our situation is complex, there’s a lot that goes into it. If there’s no roster restrictions/limitations or salary cap, I think there’s no question he’d remain here. You give him an opportunity to play some regular season time and grow through that. But it’s not that easy of a decision, there’s a lot at play. Some that I understand and some that I dont \**smirks.* Brad, Brandon and the management team will sort through all those kinds of things. Fraser Minten and Easton Cowen should be extrmely proud of the camp they had and how they’ve made us have these discussions right to the very end. If the situation is different it’s a no brainer, but it’s complex so it will be worth a lot of tough decisions and discussion
[Source Video](https://youtu.be/HJzFGhkwfQo?si=Cs2668eduo0aZZOS&t=457)
by ObviousAtlas
10 Comments
He made the team. If they don’t bring him onboard after the camp he had where he was visibly better than all the other options and has the skill to turn a small weakness into a team strength (centre depth), then what was the point?
Leafs pull this shit all the time.
I’m gonna say he starts with the team, they loan him out later on.
He’s good, would benefit from NHL experience, but also don’t need to stunt his growth.
Give Gregor a max AHL deal to keep him around until we have cap space, then give him an NHL deal when we have the space for him. Minten’s earned his spot
Injuries will happen and these kids will have an opportunity to potentially make the world junior rosters and be seen on the world stage with the best in their age group.
Let these kids dominate their leagues and reevaluate early 2024.
He looked good, but he looked great with Knies. Those two understand eachother real well, it’s pretty natural chemistry it seems.
I also REALLY liked how our lineup looked with Knies – Minten – X on the 3rd line, the forwards looked really deep.
Leaving us with Matthews – Marner, JT – Nylander, Knies – Minten and then “fillers” like Bertuzzi, Domi, Jarnkrok, Lafferty was just silly depth.
Imagine you are minten or Nicky Bobby or even Cowan and you are losing a spot because Ryan Reaves is on the team ..lol like didn’t Tre learn from dubas’ mistakes of signing absolute duds in simmer and jumbo ??
What’s the point in keeping him this long and dangling the carrot if they ultimately knew it wasn’t a possibility due to cap?
What kind of message does that send? Do your best…earn a spot but get blocked at the door anyway?
I think the question is – assuming we keep Minten and release Gregor, is the team better or worse if Minten falters at some point and gets sent back to WHL and a replacement is called up from the Marlies.
Say we lose Gregor, Minten plays 25 games and stats to struggle and gets sent down and we call up one Abruzzese / Steeves / Hirvonen / etc. Is the team worse? Is it worth the risk?
(I’d say it’s totally worth the risk, based on the Knies / Minten pairing, but I’m not the GM)
He’ll be the first injury call up. It’s a valuable spot to be in for him.