Now the question will be if the Leafs want Zaitsev for 5 more years, or the combination of Kapanen and Johnsson for 5 more years. Honestly, it’s conceivable that is the decision that is going to have to be made in the offseason.

We've been doing posts and it looks like the Leafs are going to have rid themselves of about 7m. Getting rid of 4.5m Zaitsev and then replacing him with 2m RHD, nets just 2.5m. Even a Johnsson/Kapanen trading away 7m, then you have to get replacements. Lately I've been saying Marleau just might retire due to declining play,,,really not up to NHL standards. Suddenly since all star break, he has been playing much better. Oh no....may he does play his third year as a Leaf.

Every player has stretches of good and bad games. Zaitsev has continuously been one of the leagues worst defender since he entered the league

Hard to believe that a player that plays 20 minutes a game, with big PK minutes on one of the best teams in the league, one of the better defensive teams overall and the better PK units, is one the worse defender in the league.

BTW - Marleau is on a 35+ contract...guaranteed cap hit regardless of retirement.

Toronto isn't one of the best defensive teams in the league, and most of that is just coaching and systems regardless. Toronto defends worse with Zaitsev on the ice, relatively speaking. Using a players ice time to determine how good they are is such a circle-argument. Why is he good? "because he plays 20 mins/night". Why does he play 20 mins a night? "because he's good". It's not a logically sound argument, none of his metrics indicate he's better at anything than the average 3rd pairing d-man, and as far as I've watched him he hasn't "looked good" more than anyone either. Having Gardiner, Muzzin and Rielly is maybe the best set of LHD any team has, but credit them, not Zaitsev, because again - Toronto is getting relatively caved in every time he enters the ice

We're assuming if he does "retire" that we pay a cap floor team to take the contract

I posted last week that I believe you'd see an improvement from Zaitsev if he had a better partner. I think the Leafs should explore trading Gardiner as part of a package to get a RHD or trade him for picks and or prospects that you could use to get a RHD. Any RHD doesn't have to be as good offensively as Gardiner but it shouldn't be hard to find someone better defensively.

Nice to see people coming around besides people like @MelonVK , not sure what games he is watching. Zaitsev has been defensively solid all season and has steadily gotten back on track with carrying the puck. People don’t seem to realize that when a Dman dodsn’t Stick out in a game... he is most likely doing his job well.

I am not sure that is correct, I believe if you try to buy him out, his full cap hit remains because of the age. If he retires, its no longer an issue. I could be wrong though, but from my understanding, the buy out is the issue cap wise, not retirement.

EXACTLY! Gardiner is the most absent player on the team when he doesn't have the puck on his stick and trading him for a more responsible right handed defenceman would allow the Leafs to roll a left side of Rielly, Muzzin and Dermott, that is a fantastic left side. Not sure who they can get by moving Gardiner, maybe its part of a 3 team trade with Vancouver to get Tanev or something and they send Jake somewhere else. Either way, he is the guy that is the odd man out.

His contract would need to be moved but it would have no real money value. Leafs could pay him his 3m bonus and marleau could retire the next day with zero dollars owed. Would be a very cheap contract to move.

I think the bonus would need to be paid out as a thank you for retiring type of deal.

Yeah, they would likely send a Marlie who has no real chance of ever making the squad and free up a couple contracts in that case.

That is a heck of a left side! And if gards goes in a trade to improve the right side, then I'd say that's an overall improvement from a month ago.. Im not opposed to keeping gards, I've always liked the dude, but he is a UFA and it seems almost impossible to keep him past this year anyways. If Dubas can flip him for rhd I think it makes the leafs a better hockey team. Of course, that depends on who the rhd is..

Wings moved the 7m cap hit of the retired contract to Arizona few seasons ago, so the precedent has been set.

There is the potential of an Orpik buyout and resign as well. Move Marleau and some okay prospect for a late round pick, they buy him out and we resign him for a season at a much lower cap hit.

Gee, if the the Leafs went the resign Marleau route, I wonder if if the "gloves would be off" and the Leafs might be subject to offer sheets. I'm hoping the Leaf don't go the immoral route of trade, buyout and resign.

Ethics are important. I like the transparency from the Leafs FO since Dubas took over. Lou had some housecleaning to do, and I wouldnt say any of the work was shady, but it was a tight lipped/tight run ship, and it was strange to see lupul playing tennis...

In what way is that immoral? Hockey is a business and if they want Marleau and can keep him by doing some boring paperwork that allows them to keep him for another year at a much more affordable rate, do you think that would bother Marleau? Or any other team for that matter?

Yep. Somebody is going to go, its just the reality of the Cap world. Z and Brown seem the general consensus.

But say, for whatever reason, the leafs chose to keep Z over Kappy/Johnsson... the leafs seem deepest at RW with, Marner, Nylander, Kappy, Brown, and then Bracco coming along as a ppg player in A. Even Hyman would be (and should be..) playing on the right side if there wasnt such a rw/lw imbalance.

I think Brown is as close as you can get to being a foregone conclusion (not that I dont like the guy, but he's too low on the depth chart and 2M stings). if it comes right down it I hope the leafs keep Johnsson over Kappy, although Id hate to see Kappy go too... but the leafs are just relatively weak on the left side.

It's not immoral but it's definitely cap circumvention

BTW - in my comment about NZ or Kapanen and AJ I forgot to mention that Brown needs to be moved regardless.

Not really, its a completely legal way of jettisoning a contract. Washington did this last summer with Orpik.

it's different: https://www.capfriendly.com/forums/thread/201571

I don't recall reading the deal was investigated but I will take your word for it.

However, I think its a bit of stretch to call it cap circumvention, mainly because there is a cost to do a move like this. Its very similar to teams that have a tonne of cap space, taking on bad contracts for assets. Either way, there are other options as well. I doubt this would happen but its interesting to thing about.