The Leafs may not be finished adding to their current roster

[finnmccool]

Are the leafs finished adding to their roster now the trade deadline has passed. Maybe not, acording the Chris Johnston of TSN and the Athletic Brad Treliving is hoping to sign one of the big fish from the US College ranks. The free agent signs began March 15, but a. number of the big fish will not sign intill after the college championship The Frozen Four which runs from March 28 intill April 11 is completed.

There are several NCAA free agents available and I am hoping the leafs can sign at least one of the three I’m listing here.

#1
Jacob Quillan a 6’.0 200 Lbs center playing for Quinnipiac University. Quillan a Dartmouth Nova Scotica native is a complete 200 foot player know for his extraordinary competitiveness who is discribed as a real Rick Tocchet type player who has many pro habits already baked in and consistently contributes in all zones

Interesting note about Quillan It was Quinnipiac University which defeated Matthews Knies and the University of Minnesota in the College championship game last year and it was Jacob Quillan who. scored the winning goal in overtime.


#2
T.J. Hughes a. 5’11” 185 Lbs Center playing for the University of Michigan. Hughes a native of Hamilton Ontario is a highly skilled and. creative center who can make a lot of difficult plays and it dangerous inside the offensive zone. He is also very good on the draw winning 60% of all his faceoffs . His skating though is only average but it sounds like something the leafs developement coaches can correct.

#3
Luke Krys a 6’2” 200 Lbs right shot Defenceman who plays for Providence College and is team mate of leaf prospect Hudson Malinoski. Krys is mobile and skates very well and has a lot of physicality in his game to go along with defending very well. He has shown more playmaking this season than in the past but you shouldn’t expect much offense from him.

[Leafs_Pam]

In one of the videos I watched on TSN Website, there was a mention Treliving was going to Universities to view some of the NCAA players. Let's hope he chooses the right ones to sign.

[TMan]

Is it just a matter of convincing these players to come play for the Leafs or is there other hoops to jump through to sign one of these guys? I guess if it came down to injuries you could put them in the lineup. Knies did it and performed ok but I’d prefer experienced players in the lineup.

[finnmccool]

Mar 19, 2024 17:16:35 GMT -5 TMan said:

Is it just a matter of convincing these players to come play for the Leafs or is there other hoops to jump through to sign one of these guys? I guess if it came down to injuries you could put them in the lineup. Knies did it and performed ok but I’d prefer experienced players in the lineup.

No there more to it than just convincing them to sign, money ( or signing bonus if you like ) is important and the teams reputation for player development are two of the big ones. Fortunately for us the leafs have  more money than they know what to do with, and they do have a excellent reputation for player development 

[finnmccool]

Scratch Luke Krys he's just signed a two year contract with the Dallas Stars.

[finnmccool]

Mar 19, 2024 16:46:48 GMT -5 Leafs_Pam said:

In one of the videos I watched on TSN Website, there was a mention Treliving was going to Universities to view some of the NCAA players. Let's hope he chooses the right ones to sign.

You've got that right Pam, picking the right one is going to be essential to adding prospects to the system when you consider the limited number of draft picks the leafs have for the next two years. Who knows if the leafs will add any picks via trades but as it stands the leafs only have for the 2024 draft a first, three 5th round picks and two 7th round picks. 
The 2025 draft is just as bad if not worse as the leafs only have a 5th, 6th and 7th round picks for that draft

[TMan]

Those are some sad drafts ahead of this organization. Scouring Universities and Euro leagues might be the only way to find useable talent until the Leafs cap space opens up, if ever.

[hobie]

The current lineup cannot be added to for the playoffs , so any player added now would not be eligible to play in the playoffs but could play before the playoffs, I believe. Trades can also be made but any player traded for now would not be eligible to play for the new team in the playoffs but can play for their new team during the regular season, again I believe.

[TMan]

Sounds right. I think the Leafs are pretty good depth wise. Not great depth but depth nonetheless.

[finnmccool]

I'm sure hobie is right about anybody being added would not be eligible for the playoffs. Any NCAA free agent signing is all about next year and beyond.