03 Apr 2020 12:58:36
Tor: marner Engvall
Min: Dumba greenway 1st 2020

So here's what I've been thinking about at some point the leafs will have to move one of these big contracts and the fact is I don't think at the price point there's not really a market for him and Matthews is the face of the franchise and should be kept as long as possible. But what I was thinking about most is look at these three teams

Boston Tampa Colorado

What these team have in common is that they all moved big named player from their club and they were able to balance their rosters and build true contenders the players are Seguin Drouin and Duchene I think the leafs need to go this route as well. What's everyone's opinion on this

1.) 03 Apr 2020
03 Apr 2020 16:53:05
If we go back a few years Boston has traded away a few talents in order to spread the wealth. What Boston also has that we do not though, is the culture of everyone taking a pay cut for a better team. McAvoy said publicly at one point that Bergeron and pastrnak both told him everyone takes less and they always compete. Compare what Boston one line does to Toronto it seems even. Then you compare what Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak make to Mathews, Marner, Tavares and it seems extremely lopaided.

2.) 03 Apr 2020
03 Apr 2020 17:50:19
For sure but one way that may change that (probably not) is to maybe make a trade like this and show these guys coming up that you maybe a talented player but we can still trade you.

3.) 03 Apr 2020
03 Apr 2020 18:12:29
I agree. Trading Nylander would have made a line in the Sand. Everyone knows I am a big fan of Nylander but I would rather have traded Nylander and had Marner at 7 or 8 where he should be.

4.) 03 Apr 2020
03 Apr 2020 19:31:52
You know what, you're absolutely right. And not just these teams either. Chicago traded away a few guys like Byfuglien and Saad over the years and were able to keep winning. Edmonton traded away Gretzky and won the cup again still. It is what it is. Most players do get traded. And even though Dubas promised Nylander he wouldn't get traded, he never made the same promise to Marner or Matthews. The more I think about it, the more I think one of them will go. We can't possibly afford to keep the team together now that the cap might barely go up the next two years. Do we lose Andersen and Reilly both or one of our high priced forwards?

5.) 03 Apr 2020
03 Apr 2020 21:17:33
ok. so to start I like the return from the Wild. and I agree that Marner should be the one to go as he is making the bigger cap hit and he and Nylander are similar style players. problem is I don't think the Wild go for this based on what the media told us about them wanting a centre…. and I think Nylander would be the guy they would prefer. both from a position standpoint and cap price. Dubas made 2 big mistakes that could have avoided this issue. not signing Tavares is the 1st one. and like LeafsLife said. had he strong armed Nylander by either trading him or having him hold out. the others might have fell in line with lower caps (Mathews and Marner)

6.) 03 Apr 2020
03 Apr 2020 21:25:38
Or do we guy the depth?

I bet Dubas guts the depth.

7.) 03 Apr 2020
03 Apr 2020 22:30:49
I'm willing to bet he guys the bottom 6 as well. Could be Kappy, Johnson and Kerfoot gone soon.

They wanted a 1C for Brodin or Dumba. Clearly not one else agreed so they make take less.

8.) 04 Apr 2020
04 Apr 2020 00:38:26
Even if he guts the depth though, he has to bring in replacements. So how much does he really save by trading a few guys making $3M each and bringing in guys at league minimum? If he trades the whole trio of Johnsson, Kapanen, Kerfoot and replaces them with guys earning league minimum, that's only about $6.5M saved. That's only about enough to cover Reilly and Andersen's raise. He still has to deal with the other guys coming off their elc the following year (Sandin, Liljegren), plus Hyman's new deal. Is the cap going to go up enough to cover their raises after?

9.) 04 Apr 2020
04 Apr 2020 04:08:54
As the cap goes up Sandin and Liljigren will want more as well. Dubas kind of backed himself into a corner here. It's either Marner or Nylander+ Kapanen and replace them with league min guys.