Yes they are

Yes they are, Carolina wouldn't take that with a gun pointed to their head.

Everyone says no....so yes, they are

Tell me why anyone would want Zaitsev for 5 years at $4.5M without any chance of trading him again.

Also that trade is awful Pesce would go back in a deal for a Top 4 forward or a top pairing d-man

LOL Yes they are....cap isn't $85M and Marner signs for more, plus Carolina laughs at that deal.

Cap might be $85 mill, there's not a definite # on that, probably 83. No they're not in trouble. Don't want Pesce or Hainsey. Would rather give Rosen, Dermott, Oz more minutes or bring up Sandin/Liljegren. Put Zaitsev on the power play and watch his offensive stats go up without Gardiner eating all the minutes. It will be a step back next year in terms of competitive hockey, but cap wise they'll be okay after that. No, they're not in trouble. Chicago and LA are in trouble. People who say they're in trouble are clearly not Leafs fans.

I think Marner will sign for 10-11 mill, just speculation though.

Coming from a St Louis fan, with your cap situation that's ironic. You're on ice product is very average.

Yes they are. The cap will not be at 85M (more likely 83M), plus you are only 600K under the cap with 2 rosters spots to fill and the league minimum salary is 700K.. Pretty much the definition of being in trouble !

I guess it depends on how you define 'trouble'

Can the Leafs sign all their RFA's and get under an $83m cap? No...I don't think they can
Can they move complimentary pieces to fit the RFA signings? Yes...quite easily I would imagine
Does signing all the RFA's at the expense of some complimentary pieces make them worse next year? It very well could

IMO...the leafs are not in 'trouble'. They simply have tough decisions to make. Marner is going to get whatever he gets on whatever term and they'll move out whatever $2m + contracts they need to in order to make it all fit. It might mean the team takes a step back next year while they wait out Marleau's deal to expire...but it might mean that they call up Moore and Bracco to take over for Brown and someone else and there is no drop off.

I would take the Leafs' situation over about 26 other team's right now. Tampa, Winnipeg, Nashville, and Colorado I'd consider swapping spots with...but realistically..other than Tampa all those other teams have their own issues and warts to deal with too.

Average. So any team with a record of 7-1-1 in the last 9 games is lower than average then.

Well...they're 20th in the league with a few games in hand on the teams above them....so a couple wins puts them almost exactly in the middle of the league...which is average.

I like the Blues team and would love to see them continue this run...but a 9 game snapshot does not define a team

They are a point out of playoffs right now with a 7-1-1 in the last 9 which is one of the better records in the league. Average before the break, but now we are doing better than average.