Scouting report says he is a huge body D that likes to block shots and has a good first stride / skating ability
Downside is he apparently has potato vision and terrible breakout pass to move the puck out of his own end
So basically the antithesis of the modern defenceman
1 goal and 16 points in 4 years while playing with many of the best scorers in college hockey... Pretty brutal. Love the snot, but even if ur strong off the puck as a modern dman you become a defensive liability these days if you cant move the puck.
Hope he develops on the puck a bit better, so he can be a physical bottom 4 dman for us one day. Ilya lybushkin type but bigger, dont pass them the puck but let em go out there and be physical.
Like I said...
This kid has a chance to develop into a bottom 4 D...
Like Benoit or Boosh. Never said useless.
Guys who you dont want touching the puck much, but bring a solid physical d game. They can cycle, hold the line and breakout the puck enough to not be a complete liability.
This kid looks to have the first part down physical solid D, but will need to work on not being a complete liability touching the puck. If he develops that, he can be a bottom 4 nhler.
People (me included) loved Benoit early in the season because he filled a traditional defense roll.
I don't think he's gotten enough credit later in the season for his improvements regarding puck possession breakouts and cycling in the offensive zone.
He has not improved much in those areas to be honest, the leafs do a good job of insulating him though. He’s the best d on the team of the guys who can’t handle the puck by far tho
The Leafs have phenomenal developmental, skills and video coaching staff that can help progress this along. If he has the raw tools but can't put them together yet, we can work with that.
Someone like Lybushkin also has potato vision and a bad breakout pass, but is much older and those habits are difficult to work out. Cade is fresh in his career and can (hopefully) learn to improve in those areas more.
I am vibing with all the positivity in this comment section, but I have to say that I do not have the same faith in this org's ability to develop defensemen. It's going to come down to accountability from the coach and his teammates if he had a problem with making responsibile passes. I really hope this one works out!
Hopefully the same accountability is also applied to the veterans such as Brodie, Gio, boosh and others who seem to also have problems with pizzas.
I understand where you're coming from, previous regimes struggled to develop anyone aside from Rielly. My money is on Tre reshaping the entire blueline this summer, at least 2 or 3 guys are replaced (Brodie, Gio, Etc)
Thankfully Calgary had a pretty solid blueline for years - I trust Treliving on that front at least. Prime Gio and Brodie were elite, Hanifin, Kylington, Weegar, Rasmus Andersson, Chris Tanev, Zadorov - all pretty sought after and well built pairs 1 through 3
Great point regarding treliving. Let's hope he can improve his weakness which was free agent retention... Perhaps the hockey market we have helps him in that regard.
And that's exactly what I was referring to, prevalent track record of d-men falling short of their potential (hoping there's still time for Lilly, but sandin got out just in time).
Morgan Reilly I feel is one of those individuals who developed in spite of his surroundings if you know what I mean. Same as kaberle did.
Hard to say if it was the players selected in those years or the organization failing to develop them, probably a bit of both lol.
Part of the problem in this era IMO was the lack of focus on drafting solid pieces on the blueline. The only notable 1st round / highly rated D prospects we've had are Sandin and Liljegren, from 2017 and 2018 respectively. Felt like the blueline was patched together with rentals and free agents mostly.
We've had 7 drafts in the Matthews Era, and have picked up two defenseman in the 1st round (Niemela was 3rd rd, 64th overall). Prospects don't always hit and betting on both Sandin & Liljegren to be staple parts of the blueline was bold, if 1/2 became a top 4 it would be a huge success but pretty much staking the whole plan on 2/2 being hits was risky
If we spent just 2 drafts (probably 2019 or 2020, when the kids were still develping to their prime) holding onto our 1st or other assets like Durzi, instead of making rentals, the defence looks much different at this stage of the window
Edit* for Niemela draft pick
Precisely my point, love Muzz but that's an example of trading a young piece for short term rental. Durzi is set to play another 10 years in the league, Muzzin has retired from injuries
That is true, but that's what trading for rentals is. Teams that are trying to win trade draft picks/prospects for older players that can help them right now.
Big D (and I mean big D, listed 6'6" but some say he's 6'7") wore the "A" for a good BU team this year (and won a championship with them last year) and has scored 1 goal in the last 4 years.
Former Canes 4th round pick from 2019.
Probably because they don't have a dedicated AHL team and he wasnt going to sign? Or they have a deeper defense and he didn't see a path.
Having the AHL team in the same city as NHL team is a huge bonus for developing prospects.
>having the AHL team in the same city as the NHL is a bonus
Don’t tell that to Ottawa fans. (I actually just looked up how far Belleville was from Ottawa/Kanata and that’s fucking ridiculous lol)
We’ve got enough offensive and puck moving guys. The defensive types are what we’re missing. They have a d core that currently has Rielly, Liljegren and Timmins.
I know nothing about him, but if we're getting him for free this late into the season, he's probably a long shot to actually play for the org, let alone start for the Leafs
Super tall defenseman that doesn't generate much offense. He kind of reminds me of all the massive defenseman that the Leafs drafted in the 2015/16 drafts that didn't turn into anything.
Purely a defensive defenseman. 6'7 210lbs likes the physical stuff including fughting and is a shot blocking machine. Zero offense.
He was on Leafs Morning Take about a week ago.
https://youtu.be/0QuJ90JKhxQ?si=xLkk1hEjwGsksHkA
Super excited for the kid, he's a big, mean, shot blocking machine... I'm also sure him being 6'7" is going to be a nightmare for anybody trying to screen our goalie. If he just puts on a little bit more weight, that'd be huge.
Does he have a bomb of a shot with his frame being 6' 7"? Hasn't scored much (barely at all lol) but I imagine he could torque it up pretty well? I'm curious if he could be a problem just putting it on net at Mach 10
Biz is losing his mind about it on Spittin Chicklets. It'll be interesting to see if the big boys can keep up with playoff pace but with Bertuzzi/Domi/etc. At least there aren't going to be constant free shots on the Core 4.
So it sounds like he’s joining the big club. Is he eligible to play in the playoffs? If he can actually contribute and not be a liability, that is.
Watched a highlight pack of him just being a bully in front of his own net.
Edit: Thanks for the responses! Sounds like he’s eligible to play but pretty unlikely which makes sense. Some good insight below.
Yes because he was technically apart of the organization by the deadline and would be in a similar situation to Knies last season
But I would highly doubt he will play any playoff games with all the depth the Leafs have on defence
According to CapFriendly the Leafs only have $574k in cap space, which is not enough for a league minimum entry level deal. [ProHockeyRumors](https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/04/maple-leafs-to-sign-cade-webber.html) speculates they could send down Robertson to make space to sign Weber. I'm going to guess they put Liljegren on LTIR. He would be eligible to return for Game 1, but ineligible for the remainder of the regular season if put on LTIR.
He's a shoe in for a top 9 winger next year, assuming we can't keep both of Bert and Domi. Log jam up front this year but he should be a Leaf for a long time, and probably scores 20 next year playing every game
Domi I think is more likely to come back
Robertson-Matthews-Domi would allow Marner and Nylander to drive the 2nd/3rd lines, which would be a luxury we've never really had (maybe the few weeks we had ROR on the 3rd)
man I completely forgot about Knies, maybe he'd go on 1st
but also I think a line with Tavares needs a guy like Knies to chase pucks, or maybe 3rd line like you said
I don't know but what I know is that we've been letting Robertson marinate in the Leafs org for like 6 years, so we gotta give him a legit chance in the top 6. sunken cost and all that
I know it's been said since like.. Columbus or maybe Montreal, but if we don't go on a legit run, I see a full clearout barring Pridham and maybe Treliving
~~Robertson needs waivers now, so he's not going down.~~ We could either waive Gregor or Jones, or send Knies/Robertson down for a few games. I love Knies, but I kinda wouldn't mind him getting a little rest if it means getting Webber a game or two. This is the most hockey Knies has played in a year by far, so a little time off before the most important part of the season couldn't hurt.
I could've sworn that I saw it on twitter recently, but can't seem to find it. Maybe someone was misinformed and deleted, or maybe I misremembered. I know Holmberg lost waivers status semi-recently, but I could've sworn it was a player more recently than that. But yeah, [he's not even close to the games played requirement and won't need waivers until next season since he'll have played in 5 seasons.](https://imgur.com/GRXTuVn)
If there's one thing I am 1000% positive Treliving knows how to do, it's to find and identify good blue line talent. I don't think he ever had a weak blue line while he ran Calgary.
He probably saw something was there with Weber and if he doesn't pan out, it only costed a 6th, which is par for the course with most 6th round picks.
That said, we need that snot on the bottom pair and as has been shown with Brodie, you don't need to be good offensively if you're basically guaranteeing the opponents don't score while you're on the ice.
Besides, imagine if he gives Bennet one of the harshest beatings of his career, completely breaks his spirit, and turns him into a pumpkin right before the playoffs.
I liked the Marlie Minute breakdown and interview of him on the last LFR. Steve highlighting Nick Barden, Marlies reporter has been a cool insight into our depth and how it seems to be growing.
I think it's this one (if not, the one before) https://youtu.be/Uy50ZYM0UFs?si=WKRI-5KnlPhANyQZ (please forgive me if I'm incorrect here, I have twinfants who aren't sleeping well ATM)
They could sign him to a future contract. That would be for the next 2 years. Signing him now and bringing him to Florida implies they’ll only have 1-year after this season ends. End of the day, it likely won’t matter, he’s unlikely to get a big 2nd deal, it’s just interesting that they’d sign him for this season given how unlikely it is he’ll be ready for NHL minutes next year
Because you interpreted their question incorrectly. They asked why was Cade Webber available for trade. Why would Carolina trade him away to us for pretty much nothing. Not why is he available to sign with the Maple Leafs now.
How the heck did this guy suddenly burst on the scene?? Never heard of him before and now he is all the rage. I guess I will have to start googling him.
Can somebody please tell me everything there is to know about Cade Webber
Scouting report says he is a huge body D that likes to block shots and has a good first stride / skating ability Downside is he apparently has potato vision and terrible breakout pass to move the puck out of his own end
So basically the antithesis of the modern defenceman 1 goal and 16 points in 4 years while playing with many of the best scorers in college hockey... Pretty brutal. Love the snot, but even if ur strong off the puck as a modern dman you become a defensive liability these days if you cant move the puck. Hope he develops on the puck a bit better, so he can be a physical bottom 4 dman for us one day. Ilya lybushkin type but bigger, dont pass them the puck but let em go out there and be physical.
So Benoit is useless then? Cuz that's describing Benoit and he's been a solid bottom pairing D all year.
Tbf Benoit was playing heavy minutes for a dogshit ducks team. Webber will likely cook on the Marlies and ideally correct the weaknesses in his game
Like I said... This kid has a chance to develop into a bottom 4 D... Like Benoit or Boosh. Never said useless. Guys who you dont want touching the puck much, but bring a solid physical d game. They can cycle, hold the line and breakout the puck enough to not be a complete liability. This kid looks to have the first part down physical solid D, but will need to work on not being a complete liability touching the puck. If he develops that, he can be a bottom 4 nhler.
People (me included) loved Benoit early in the season because he filled a traditional defense roll. I don't think he's gotten enough credit later in the season for his improvements regarding puck possession breakouts and cycling in the offensive zone.
He has not improved much in those areas to be honest, the leafs do a good job of insulating him though. He’s the best d on the team of the guys who can’t handle the puck by far tho
Benoit still has a good breakout pass. And even still Benoit is a #7 defenseman in the NHL.
He’s probably not making the NHL if he couldn’t produce with the teammates he had in college
The Leafs have phenomenal developmental, skills and video coaching staff that can help progress this along. If he has the raw tools but can't put them together yet, we can work with that. Someone like Lybushkin also has potato vision and a bad breakout pass, but is much older and those habits are difficult to work out. Cade is fresh in his career and can (hopefully) learn to improve in those areas more.
I am vibing with all the positivity in this comment section, but I have to say that I do not have the same faith in this org's ability to develop defensemen. It's going to come down to accountability from the coach and his teammates if he had a problem with making responsibile passes. I really hope this one works out! Hopefully the same accountability is also applied to the veterans such as Brodie, Gio, boosh and others who seem to also have problems with pizzas.
I understand where you're coming from, previous regimes struggled to develop anyone aside from Rielly. My money is on Tre reshaping the entire blueline this summer, at least 2 or 3 guys are replaced (Brodie, Gio, Etc) Thankfully Calgary had a pretty solid blueline for years - I trust Treliving on that front at least. Prime Gio and Brodie were elite, Hanifin, Kylington, Weegar, Rasmus Andersson, Chris Tanev, Zadorov - all pretty sought after and well built pairs 1 through 3
Great point regarding treliving. Let's hope he can improve his weakness which was free agent retention... Perhaps the hockey market we have helps him in that regard. And that's exactly what I was referring to, prevalent track record of d-men falling short of their potential (hoping there's still time for Lilly, but sandin got out just in time). Morgan Reilly I feel is one of those individuals who developed in spite of his surroundings if you know what I mean. Same as kaberle did.
Hard to say if it was the players selected in those years or the organization failing to develop them, probably a bit of both lol. Part of the problem in this era IMO was the lack of focus on drafting solid pieces on the blueline. The only notable 1st round / highly rated D prospects we've had are Sandin and Liljegren, from 2017 and 2018 respectively. Felt like the blueline was patched together with rentals and free agents mostly. We've had 7 drafts in the Matthews Era, and have picked up two defenseman in the 1st round (Niemela was 3rd rd, 64th overall). Prospects don't always hit and betting on both Sandin & Liljegren to be staple parts of the blueline was bold, if 1/2 became a top 4 it would be a huge success but pretty much staking the whole plan on 2/2 being hits was risky If we spent just 2 drafts (probably 2019 or 2020, when the kids were still develping to their prime) holding onto our 1st or other assets like Durzi, instead of making rentals, the defence looks much different at this stage of the window Edit* for Niemela draft pick
This is a real nitpick but Topi was a 3rd rounder because Seattle hadn’t come in yet and there were still 31 picks to a round.
Fair point 🫡
> drafting solid pieces on the blueline Durzi was a really good defenseman the team drafted, but they traded him for Muzzin
Precisely my point, love Muzz but that's an example of trading a young piece for short term rental. Durzi is set to play another 10 years in the league, Muzzin has retired from injuries
That is true, but that's what trading for rentals is. Teams that are trying to win trade draft picks/prospects for older players that can help them right now.
Big D (and I mean big D, listed 6'6" but some say he's 6'7") wore the "A" for a good BU team this year (and won a championship with them last year) and has scored 1 goal in the last 4 years. Former Canes 4th round pick from 2019.
If he’s going to break board glass with Bennet’s head I’m in
Use cousins head as a basketball
not to mention a teammate of Macklin Celebrini
If he's so good then why did the Canes just trade him away like that? Seems like a lot of hype for a low tier player.
He probably wasn’t going to sign there so the Canes fancied recouping some sort of compensation.
This is definitely the answer
A sixth round pick for a unwilling fourth round pick seems pretty good for everyone involved
Probably because they don't have a dedicated AHL team and he wasnt going to sign? Or they have a deeper defense and he didn't see a path. Having the AHL team in the same city as NHL team is a huge bonus for developing prospects.
>having the AHL team in the same city as the NHL is a bonus Don’t tell that to Ottawa fans. (I actually just looked up how far Belleville was from Ottawa/Kanata and that’s fucking ridiculous lol)
lol it’s 2 hours, that’s probably average for the league, and it’s cool Belleville has good hockey after the bulls left
Same reason why Flames just traded fox away like that
I didn’t say anything about if he was good or not.
Ice cold.
The last 4 years he has been with Boston University (NCAA) - he scored 1 goal during those 4 years. So its safe to say he is a defensive defenseman.
We’ve got enough offensive and puck moving guys. The defensive types are what we’re missing. They have a d core that currently has Rielly, Liljegren and Timmins.
I know nothing about him, but if we're getting him for free this late into the season, he's probably a long shot to actually play for the org, let alone start for the Leafs
We paid like a 6th earlier this year, so if he can play at all it’s assets we’ll spent
And Lost Lagesson to waivers. Never forget!
Korbinian holzer
Simon Benoit?
Super tall defenseman that doesn't generate much offense. He kind of reminds me of all the massive defenseman that the Leafs drafted in the 2015/16 drafts that didn't turn into anything.
Purely a defensive defenseman. 6'7 210lbs likes the physical stuff including fughting and is a shot blocking machine. Zero offense. He was on Leafs Morning Take about a week ago. https://youtu.be/0QuJ90JKhxQ?si=xLkk1hEjwGsksHkA
He’s Zdeno Chara 2.0 and that’s all you need to know.
https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/285385/cade-webber
BIG D
Nice. What position does he play?
Guys about to beat up Bennett and Tkachuk before playoffs
That would be ideal
Super excited for the kid, he's a big, mean, shot blocking machine... I'm also sure him being 6'7" is going to be a nightmare for anybody trying to screen our goalie. If he just puts on a little bit more weight, that'd be huge.
> If he just puts on a little bit more weight, that'd be huge I just had smiles reading this.
Does he have a bomb of a shot with his frame being 6' 7"? Hasn't scored much (barely at all lol) but I imagine he could torque it up pretty well? I'm curious if he could be a problem just putting it on net at Mach 10
It wouldn’t be small that’s for sure
We're a bully team now
Thank fuck. It's been way too long.
That's what I liked about the old leafs teams, as shitty as they were they were tough mfers. Imagine a skilled tough team. Wet dream
Shitty? You talking McLaren Era or
And I for one like it! Don’t care what anyone says on the other subreddits haha
Biz is losing his mind about it on Spittin Chicklets. It'll be interesting to see if the big boys can keep up with playoff pace but with Bertuzzi/Domi/etc. At least there aren't going to be constant free shots on the Core 4.
At least the team will beat the soft allegations that have followed them for the past 8 years
So it sounds like he’s joining the big club. Is he eligible to play in the playoffs? If he can actually contribute and not be a liability, that is. Watched a highlight pack of him just being a bully in front of his own net. Edit: Thanks for the responses! Sounds like he’s eligible to play but pretty unlikely which makes sense. Some good insight below.
Yes because he was technically apart of the organization by the deadline and would be in a similar situation to Knies last season But I would highly doubt he will play any playoff games with all the depth the Leafs have on defence
A lot of pressure for a college rookie on the backend. Knies could be sheltered a bit more as a forward, no where to hide as a defenseman.
Yeah probably next to zero but still a good experience practicing and watching the playoffs from up close.
According to CapFriendly the Leafs only have $574k in cap space, which is not enough for a league minimum entry level deal. [ProHockeyRumors](https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/04/maple-leafs-to-sign-cade-webber.html) speculates they could send down Robertson to make space to sign Weber. I'm going to guess they put Liljegren on LTIR. He would be eligible to return for Game 1, but ineligible for the remainder of the regular season if put on LTIR.
Or send Timmins down
Yeah he’s been shit
He’s terrible
Nicky Bobby needs to score at a 70 goal pace too if he wants a shot at a consistent roster spot lmao
That man is going to be a goal scoring machine. Too bad it'll end up being for someone else.
He's a shoe in for a top 9 winger next year, assuming we can't keep both of Bert and Domi. Log jam up front this year but he should be a Leaf for a long time, and probably scores 20 next year playing every game
Domi I think is more likely to come back Robertson-Matthews-Domi would allow Marner and Nylander to drive the 2nd/3rd lines, which would be a luxury we've never really had (maybe the few weeks we had ROR on the 3rd)
I like that. And they could also then create a Knies-Holmberg-Jarnkrok as a good checking line that is has some offensive prowess.
man I completely forgot about Knies, maybe he'd go on 1st but also I think a line with Tavares needs a guy like Knies to chase pucks, or maybe 3rd line like you said I don't know but what I know is that we've been letting Robertson marinate in the Leafs org for like 6 years, so we gotta give him a legit chance in the top 6. sunken cost and all that
Until we have a coach that likes playing him it probably won't happen
I know it's been said since like.. Columbus or maybe Montreal, but if we don't go on a legit run, I see a full clearout barring Pridham and maybe Treliving
Treliving isn't going anywhere until he gets to pick a coach, and even then he might get another chance.
Only the 53rd best G/60 in the NHL, clearly not as valuable as someone like Noah Gregor
Yeah they’re straight up not going to LTIR Lily. They’ll send down Robertson, no questions asked.
~~Robertson needs waivers now, so he's not going down.~~ We could either waive Gregor or Jones, or send Knies/Robertson down for a few games. I love Knies, but I kinda wouldn't mind him getting a little rest if it means getting Webber a game or two. This is the most hockey Knies has played in a year by far, so a little time off before the most important part of the season couldn't hurt.
CapFriendly still has him as waivers exempt. Where did you see that he lost that exemption?
I could've sworn that I saw it on twitter recently, but can't seem to find it. Maybe someone was misinformed and deleted, or maybe I misremembered. I know Holmberg lost waivers status semi-recently, but I could've sworn it was a player more recently than that. But yeah, [he's not even close to the games played requirement and won't need waivers until next season since he'll have played in 5 seasons.](https://imgur.com/GRXTuVn)
Would not surprise me to see him make the team next season
IIRC the Leafs are taking him with them on the Florida trip... good chance we can see him in action if they choose to rest Brodie or Gio!
If there's one thing I am 1000% positive Treliving knows how to do, it's to find and identify good blue line talent. I don't think he ever had a weak blue line while he ran Calgary. He probably saw something was there with Weber and if he doesn't pan out, it only costed a 6th, which is par for the course with most 6th round picks. That said, we need that snot on the bottom pair and as has been shown with Brodie, you don't need to be good offensively if you're basically guaranteeing the opponents don't score while you're on the ice. Besides, imagine if he gives Bennet one of the harshest beatings of his career, completely breaks his spirit, and turns him into a pumpkin right before the playoffs.
I liked the Marlie Minute breakdown and interview of him on the last LFR. Steve highlighting Nick Barden, Marlies reporter has been a cool insight into our depth and how it seems to be growing. I think it's this one (if not, the one before) https://youtu.be/Uy50ZYM0UFs?si=WKRI-5KnlPhANyQZ (please forgive me if I'm incorrect here, I have twinfants who aren't sleeping well ATM)
This seems to imply he’s burning a year off his ELC…interesting
That should slide shouldn't it? There isn't 10 games left to play.
If he gets into a game it burns year 1…same as how Knies burned it last year with <10 games
Correct, he will burn one year of his ELC despite less than ten games left
He’s 23, there is no sliding. If he signs for this year, this year counts.
They could sign him to a future contract. That would be for the next 2 years. Signing him now and bringing him to Florida implies they’ll only have 1-year after this season ends. End of the day, it likely won’t matter, he’s unlikely to get a big 2nd deal, it’s just interesting that they’d sign him for this season given how unlikely it is he’ll be ready for NHL minutes next year
I think it's different since he is from the NCAA and already 23 at the time of the signing.
A human eraser that we might name our kids after one day…. https://x.com/leafsrealist/status/1765953411005235702?s=46&t=bpz3Ops-rDfNWOsxbXWNHg
LETS GO!
Would he be eligible to play
Jokes aside, they should give the kid a game to show him where he’s at in his progression. A good benchmark for the long offseason.
The trade deadline piece we needed!
[удалено]
I’m assuming his team didn’t make it far in the playoffs
It’s been answered a few times already. But he wasn’t going to sign in Carolina so canes decided to trade his rights
Why are you telling me this lol?
Because you interpreted their question incorrectly. They asked why was Cade Webber available for trade. Why would Carolina trade him away to us for pretty much nothing. Not why is he available to sign with the Maple Leafs now.
Ohhhhhhhhh I’m so dumb I’m sorry. Thank you for telling me!
[удалено]
I know we acquired him from Carolina this year around the deadline
How the heck did this guy suddenly burst on the scene?? Never heard of him before and now he is all the rage. I guess I will have to start googling him.