Leafs Sign Rickard Wallin
Written by Paul
Brian Burke, president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced Friday that the hockey club has signed free agent forward Rickard Wallin (pronounced WAHL-ihn, RIH-kahrd) to a one-year contract. “We’re pleased to get Rickard signed to a contract,” said Burke. “He’s a st…
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7 Responses to “Leafs Sign Rickard Wallin”
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Leafs sign Rikard Wallin….?
I just read an article on Sportsnet that says the Leafs have signed Jonas Gustavsson’s teammate from Sweden, Rickard Wallin to a one-year deal.
Article here if you wish to read:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2009/07/09/leafs_wallin/
Leafs fans or not: your thoughts on this?
How do you think he will do in Toronto?
Is this a good signing for Brian Burke for the time being?
To be honest, it’s not even really worth talking too much about.
Rickard played in the NHL la few years back and wasn’t really all that great.. I don’t expect much more than that this year with the leafs. He’s just a roster filler and a way to make Jonas Gustavsson more comfortable since he’s taking his first step into the NHL.
Like I said though, there’s a reason it’s just a 1-year deal.. he’s just a roster filler, i gaurentee he wont be around after that.
From leafs fan to leafs fan, don’t cross your fingers too hard on anything Brian Burke does to make an immediate impact.
Signing Kadri or Grabovski for example, this is all talking a year or two down the road.
after this year, the Maple Leafs will be barely recognizable, not only will they be free of many contracts, they will have a ton of cash to spend and hopefully they can move some of next summers UFA’s and get some draft picks or younger players in return.
If you told me, when Brian Burke was hired, that I would eventually agree with all of the moves he’s making, i would have told you that you were a liar.
He’s done a much better job than i had anticipated thus far.
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It’s an excellent signing for Toronto. Wallin is a highly regarded and skilled centre and has been courted by several NHL teams that past couple of years including Detroit, New Jersey, and San Jose, mainly for his two way play. He’s also got some leadership skills having worn the ‘A’ on a Swedish gold medal winning team a few years back as well as being the captain of the Farjestads team that just won the Elitsarien championship.
He scored 10 points in 19 games for the Wild while averaging less than 10 minutes a game (and had a shooting percentage over 30%), and was a good face-off man, but felt stifled in Lemaire’s system. The Leafs need a good 2 way centre who can win face-offs and kill penalties and these are facets of the game that Wallin excels at. He’s not expected to score a point a game (or even half of that) but he will be expected to help the Leafs in their own zone.
He’s currently ranked 978th by NHL Central Scouting – higher than people like Colton Orr!
Chris -the reason this is a one year deal is because that is all the CBA allows any team to sign him for. Any player between the age of 25 and 31, and not under contract to an NHL team as of September 1, 2005 is eligible to be offered a 1 year contract with a maximum salary of $950,000 (plus bonuses). Players who are 22, 23, and 24 are eligible to be offered 2 years contracts…and players who are 18 to 21 are eligible for 3 years contracts. These are the Entry Level Contracts under the current CBA
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He might do well, but Chris is right. He’s mainly there to aid Gustavsson’s entry into the NHL. I can’t imagine him playing higher than our 3rd line.
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nothing special really. I personally wouldn’t have signed him, but who knows, he was the leading scorer on his team Farjestad BK last year. Could be maybe a 30 40 point scorer
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I’m thinking he’s a great signing because two Swedish great had good things to say about him on the FAN590. Looks like he may be a steal
Nicklas Lidstrom
– The Leafs have signed a gem. Wallin’s a very versatile player who is very underrated. I have tried to get him to sign with the Wings for a couple of years now. Toronto fans will love him
Borje Salming
– He’s the perfect answer for the Maple Leafs. he can play all three forward positions, he can take face-offs, he forechecks well, and he’s great in his own end. He’s got great character too.
I had heard Detroit was interested so not sure why he chose Toronto.
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I’m not sure if Wallin will be here for another year, this is kind of a fill in the gap kind of signing for now. He can get some points up (said something like 45 points in 55 games) which is good. If he can at least get 40 points here, then he would be a great addition. He could be a top 6 kind of guy. Let’s just see how he plays and if he has a great season, then go for him again and if not,let him find other options. It’s a win/win signing and not in a major way.
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