By Alex Hobson
Leaf of the Day is a new series on PHU where I will discuss each member of the Leafs' main roster and state what I believe their future is on the team and what their potential role will be coming into the 2015-16 NHL season. To commence this series, we begin with a newly-acquired Mark Arcobello.
On July 1st, 2015, the day that the typical hockey fan knows as Free Agent Frenzy, the day where NHL teams are allowed to sign free agents who's contracts had expired, the Leafs were not expected to make a big splash. That, of course, began to seem very untrue, as the Leafs traded Phil Kessel to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a multi-player deal that saw valuable assets such as highly touted prospects Kasperi Kapanen and Scott Harrington, as well as a 2016 1st rounder and others head back to the Leafs. But that's a different story. The Leafs also made several signings, which was expected, given the Leafs new style of developing players, in which they don't rush them and let them develop in the AHL before being called up, so the Leafs were bound to sign a few players to one year contracts to potentially flip them at the trade deadline for draft picks. One of these signings was Mark Arcobello.
The 26 year old was all around the league in 2014-15, serving time with Edmonton, Nashville, Pittsburgh, and Arizona, before becoming a UFA where the Leafs signed him to a one year contract worth $1.1 million. The 5'8, 172lb forward had a pretty good year in his split time between the 4 teams he featured on, recording 17 goals and 36 points over a total of 77 games, his best run being with the Coyotes where he tallied 16 points in 27 games.
STATUS: RENTAL
It's safe to say that the Leafs will follow the same path that they did with former players Mike Santorelli and Cody Franson. Trade them at the deadline for draft picks. It's unlikely that Arcobello will remain a Leaf for the entire season, considering he's on a one year deal and if he has a good season, it would make more sense for the rebuilding Leafs to trade him and get a return at the deadline, than keep him and have to give him a raise, which will only cause more problems financially.
2015-16 ROLE: BOTTOM SIX FORWARD
Arcobello has the offensive capability to play anywhere in the middle six, but given the other players the Leafs brought in to fill roles, such as Shawn Matthias, P.A Parenteau, Daniel Winnik, etc, it's more reasonable that Arcobello will play in a third or fourth line role, whether it be centre or on the wing.
What do you think about the acquisition of Arcobello, Leafs fans? Weigh in below.
Leaf of the Day is a new series on PHU where I will discuss each member of the Leafs' main roster and state what I believe their future is on the team and what their potential role will be coming into the 2015-16 NHL season. To commence this series, we begin with a newly-acquired Mark Arcobello.
On July 1st, 2015, the day that the typical hockey fan knows as Free Agent Frenzy, the day where NHL teams are allowed to sign free agents who's contracts had expired, the Leafs were not expected to make a big splash. That, of course, began to seem very untrue, as the Leafs traded Phil Kessel to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a multi-player deal that saw valuable assets such as highly touted prospects Kasperi Kapanen and Scott Harrington, as well as a 2016 1st rounder and others head back to the Leafs. But that's a different story. The Leafs also made several signings, which was expected, given the Leafs new style of developing players, in which they don't rush them and let them develop in the AHL before being called up, so the Leafs were bound to sign a few players to one year contracts to potentially flip them at the trade deadline for draft picks. One of these signings was Mark Arcobello.
The 26 year old was all around the league in 2014-15, serving time with Edmonton, Nashville, Pittsburgh, and Arizona, before becoming a UFA where the Leafs signed him to a one year contract worth $1.1 million. The 5'8, 172lb forward had a pretty good year in his split time between the 4 teams he featured on, recording 17 goals and 36 points over a total of 77 games, his best run being with the Coyotes where he tallied 16 points in 27 games.
STATUS: RENTAL
It's safe to say that the Leafs will follow the same path that they did with former players Mike Santorelli and Cody Franson. Trade them at the deadline for draft picks. It's unlikely that Arcobello will remain a Leaf for the entire season, considering he's on a one year deal and if he has a good season, it would make more sense for the rebuilding Leafs to trade him and get a return at the deadline, than keep him and have to give him a raise, which will only cause more problems financially.
2015-16 ROLE: BOTTOM SIX FORWARD
Arcobello has the offensive capability to play anywhere in the middle six, but given the other players the Leafs brought in to fill roles, such as Shawn Matthias, P.A Parenteau, Daniel Winnik, etc, it's more reasonable that Arcobello will play in a third or fourth line role, whether it be centre or on the wing.
What do you think about the acquisition of Arcobello, Leafs fans? Weigh in below.
No comments:
Post a Comment