28 Jun 2018 00:39:51
(G) Garrett Sparks + (LW) Matt Martin to the New York Islanders in exchange for (D) Mitchell Vande Sompell + Conditional 2019 3rd Round Draft Pick.

Condition: If Sparks plays 40+ Games for the Islanders, the pick is awarded. If Sparks plays 30+ Games for the Islanders, a 5th is awarded. If neither is met, no pick is awarded.

(RW) Josh Leivo + 2020 2nd Round Draft Pick to the Florida Panthers in exchange for (D) Mark Pysyk.

(D) Jake Gardiner (Extension: 5.0 Million x 5 Years) + (C) Miro Aaltonen (Rights) + (D) Andrew Nielsen to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for (D) Justin Braun.

(I’d love to keep Jake too, but we can’t just keep him and let him walk. We could offer him that extension but we just can’t afford to be paying him and Rielly similar dollars for similar play styles, and with Timothy and Dermott coming up, it doesn’t make practical sense)

This is unlikely. but the speculation continues so. in free agency/ resigning:

John Tavares - 10.5 Million x 7 Years.
Anthony Duclair - 1.25 Million x 2 Years.
William Nylander - 6.00 Million x 8 Years.
Andreas Johnsson - 2.00 Million x 4 Years.
Mitch Marner - 7.25 Million x 8 Years.
Auston Matthews - 10.5 Million x 8 Years.

—
Lineup (2018/ 19, most expensive year)

Anthony Duclair (1.25 Million) - Auston Matthews (10.5 Million) - William Nylander (6.0 Million)
Patrick Marleau (6.25 Million) - John Tavares (10.5 Million) - Mitch Marner (7.25 Million)
Andreas Johnsson (2.0 Million) - Nazem Kadri (4.5 Million) - Kasperi Kapanen (875K)
Zach Hyman (2.25 Million) - Par Lindholm (1.0 Million) - Connor Brown (2.1 Million)

Justin Braun (3.8 Million) - Morgan Rielly (5.0 Million)
Mark Pysyk (2.2 Million) - Travis Dermott (875K)
Nikita Zaitsev (4.5 Million) - Igor Ozhiganov (2.0 Million [Extension])

Frederik Andersen (5.0 Million)
Calvin Pickard (1.0 Million)

Total: 78.85 Million (Fits)

Then, the year after, Marleau/ Duclair/ Braun will be let go or traded, and Grundstrom/ Engvall/ Brooks/ Bracco/ Liljegren will take their place, and will save nearly 7.5 Million in cap. The year prior, Matthews and Marner will still be ELC so we’ll be good there too.

1.) 28 Jun 2018
28 Jun 2018 04:52:30
You’ve made a couple interesting choices here. In particular, I’m looking at Vande Sompell, and Duclaire. What made you zero in on Duclaire, and do you really think he is a better choice for Matthews wing than Hyman? Hyman has done rather well beside Matthews, I have a hard time thinking that combination will be changed. And why Vande Sompell? We already have a lot of depth on defence now. Is it worth taking on another project like Vande Sompell?

Just as an aside, I think you included Matthews and Marner new salary in your total for 2018/ 2019, but that won’t take effect until 2019/ 2020. So you still have some salary left for next year.

2.) 28 Jun 2018
28 Jun 2018 07:32:04
Can't see Nylander and his agent accepting $6 million a year. If Marner gets $7.25 Nylander will want something in that vicinity.
Hard to see either of them making more than Pastranak ($6.6) but with the cap going up it will probably happen.

3.) 28 Jun 2018
28 Jun 2018 12:31:26
Its great that the cap is going up but its bitter sweet because Willie will get more than Pastranak which i don't agree with. Nylander has yet to have the inpact that Pastranak has. Its too bad. I know everyone is tired of talking about it but i really hope that Tavares joins the leafs mainly to keep Matthews camp in check. Matthews is great and all but no where near upper tier quite yet. if Tavares gets 11-12 perhaps that makes the matthews camp realize they aren't there yet and the take 8-9. obviously this won't happen which again is too bad.

4.) 28 Jun 2018
28 Jun 2018 13:46:47
Oh, @GM

I took Duclair as a reclamation project, Hymans looked good, but on a team with depth, playing him in a checking role (Hyman/ Lindholm/ Brown) could really help with team depth. Duclair hasn’t done much right over the past two years, but he could light it up alongside AM, and could possibly even become a trade target for help on d in the future. And he’ll come cheap this summer which is nice too.

As for MVS, he played decently well in the AHL, and helps positionally for us. Gives us more depth on D. He may not crack the team, but he has the potential to be a top6 d, give him a few years if the ‘Detroit slow cook’ method, and he may become a decent offensive #5 dman. Plus, Sparks will probably go considering he has higher value than Pickard or Mac, and we dump 2.5 million which is essential.

5.) 28 Jun 2018
28 Jun 2018 16:04:33
The Islanders trade is a Martin dump, so taking on Vande Sompell is okay by me.

Two years of Duclaire at $1.25M per isn’t going to bankrupt us. If you think he can turn it around, may be worth a shot.

These trades and signings look pretty good. I like your lineups. If Duclaire sucks on the top line, we can easily put Hyman back up beside Matthews and drop Duclaire.