That's one a the most rational deals I've seen put forth by a Toronto ACGM. Bravo.

Trading a 22 year old top line forward for a guy over 30 making 7 million a year for several more years is not rational. Its insane and this could be one of the worst and short sighted trades I have ever seen on here. I love Vlasic but he's 31, players don't get better in their 30's, they almost always fall off a cliff. I am also fully aware that there appears to be a fountain of youth in San Jose.

He's exactly what would place them in the top four...right now.

Toronto has more top-line forwards than can play. You use depth strength (and one who whined and held out) to improve your team now.

And just hope that Vlasic somehow doesn't do what ever human does in their 30's which is lose a step? How is LA's 30 plus highly paid core doing these days?

I like Pickles but this trade doesn't align with what the Leafs need moving forward with their core. I don't expect him to 'fall off a cliff' skill wise...but I'd like to think if this is the package the Leafs are willing to part with...there's other d-men out there that are a better fit.

That being said...it was nice to see an ACGM team picking up a D-man from someone other than St. Louis or Carolina and I'll give 5 stars just for that.

Slow and beat up from so many deep cup runs.

Yes, I agree with the latter statement. Lots of Petro, Parayko, Pesce trades. Not much else.

I might also add, none of which Toronto has sniffed in how many decades??

You are half right, they are slow. But that is more so by design and age than it is by anything else. They were the big bruising team that did the beating up back in the day. That doesn't work in the NHL anymore since its a speed game now. Vlasic is still very good but he's on the wrong side of 30 and his contract is terrible. No chance I'd pick him up. Especially not for Nylander, he's 22 and a highly skilled player.

And that means they should send massively valuable assets for a guy who will be moving into the end stages of his career very soon? Nylander is 22, Vlasic 31, there is no trade here that makes sense in anyway.

Sorry, bud. History demonstrates I'm 100% right. Count their cups.

They won twice, the last being 2014, since then they have been getting older and slower each year. Because that is what happens when you get older, you get slower. Not sure if you are a young guy or not but personally I know from experience, that I am not nearly as fast at 35 as I was at 25. That is what happens when humans age, we peak physically in our early 20's and go south from there.

You send valuable assets to another team for an admittedly aging defenseman that strengthens your team now so that you can contend for a cup while he's still good. Good grief, you act as if he's Zdeno Chara. He's still very good and will likely be barring injury for the next three years. You guys better strike while the iron is hot. You won't be able to afford all of those studs after about the next three years. Go for it now. Geez. Too many people lose perspective. As Herm Edwards once said: You play to win the game. In this case, a cup (or two, or three.)

Its one player on a team of youngsters to provide stability in times of panic that a young team is susceptible to. You're talking like the lefas are all 30 or over

I'm approaching 50 and am literally sitting in a hospital bed recovering from cancer treatment. I'm a native St. Louisan. Have watched the Blues blow cup opportunities for almost their entire existence (missed only 4 years of Blues hockey). Played college baseball. Aged. Lost a lot more than one step as I aged. Due to cancer, now realize just how short life is and truly understand you don't take the future for granted. If you can acquire a guy who helps you win this year and perhaps the two after that, you take that shot. My apologies for getting outside of hockey business on the forum, but life is different for me now. It's the only reason I can sit on this site and post.

Hope all goes well for you, brother. These boards are a better place with your input.

Which is twice as many cups as Toronto has even played for, let alone won.

Thank you. I try to be reasonable on here and patrol the name callers. I have the time to do it. I appreciate your kind words.

And adding 7 million dollars a year for 8 more year is going to do what to help the team afford their stars? Spoiler alert it makes it almost impossible to have Matthews and Marner next year. Have you even looked at the cap implications this would create? The Leafs window is just opening, and it'll be open until Matthews is approaching 30 or so. That means they have 8 years of a window, this would only serve to shorten that significantly because you have a 7 million dollar future anchor in Vlasic that would become untradeable as soon as he starts to decline which could happen at any time. Have you bothered to look at how many 30+ year players there are on each team? Now look at guys over 35. Playing past 35 is become less common than 18 year olds playing.

Cap wise it's pretty much 1-for-1 with Nylander....so it shouldn't have any impact on re-signing the other guys.

What @rja40 is saying is that you sacrifice the back end of his contract when he may be an 'anchor contract' to give the team a better chance of winning over the first half of his contract.

You can debate whether you think adding Vlassic and losing Nylander puts the Leafs any more over the top...but in principal his logic isn't flawed...it's just different from yours (and mine)

Well take care my friend! And I hear what you are saying. Life is short, enjoy the ride. That is always a great way to look at things. The only thing I'll say in regards to our debate, which has been a fun time, I would say that Vlasic does not guarantee any cups. The way I look at team management is you want to win the cup but you also want to build a franchise that will be strong for a long time. The best way to keep yourself strong is by never having bad contracts. Vlasic is a really bad contract, he won't be able to live up to it and it'll be almost impossible to move.

Totally, I think many still think that windows are only 3-4 years so blowing up the future 4 years from now doesn't matter since they won't be in a window by then anyways. With this squad they have a window that is around 8 years or so in length. Maybe longer depending on how Matthews, Marner and Nylander look in their late 20's.

From a Salary standpoint though, Nylander's contract will look better each year, if he progresses into what many think he can be which is a point a game high end player. Vlasic's is getting paid for what he did in his 20's, that contract will get worse each year.

This was a tough read. Keep fighting, and LGB!!!

You are a class act my friend. I wish more people on here would separate their emotions from their words. Its a game and this site is make believe, getting mad at each other is just silly. Keep fighting the good fight brother! All the positive thoughts are sent your way!