Just to add an additional thought to this, Big Dog 91..

let's say the leafs do go after a guy like Spurgeon at the TDL, ship out Benning, and throw in enough picks to land him with money retained and stay cap compliant.. and then Lily and/or Sandin make the jump mid season ala the Dermot/Johnsson/Moore/Kappy treatment. That would essentially give you the same d in the 20/21 agm I posted. Its green, but by all accounts, they're talented

as long as the cap doesn't force us to make panic trades next year, we could theoretically keep this young group together for quite a while. And everything that I've heard from Dubas in his public comments is that he values the Marlies, draft/development and he has no intention of moving Nylander.

And, I still think Marleau retires next year....

While i dont think Marleau retires next year, I feel as though if the Leafs offered him a good job as an Advisor or Development Scout or something, he may take it. (i believe he has 3 or 4 young kids and he has made enough money in his career that he would be comfortable to stay at home).

Now as for these D pairings, I can see alot of potential things that could go wrong here. I dont think Benning is a good everyday second pairing type guy. Holl doesnt really excite me either. knock on wood if Rielly suffered a serious injury, this defence core could crumble, badly. Any potential UFA Dmen out there you think that the Leafs could afford??

yeah, very true about how fragile the d core could be if Mo ever went down for any extended period - it certainly is a big, big, big band aid. But it's really only to point out if we don't make a panic trade it might be in our best interest.. and, not to forget, Tampa didn't even make make the playoffs, like 2 or 3 years ago, and now they could be fighting for one of the most dominate regular season records ever. There certainly is never a guaranteed cup, and it can take time.. I'm sure Ovie shared stories about that over vodka this past summer.. and countless leafs fans have been talking about just that, forever...

At this point, I think Dubas should have a sit down with Marleau and Hainsey this summer and let them know if they want the special team assistant coach and defense assistant coach jobs, it's theirs... at a serious pay raise..

At this point, I think Dubas should have a sit down with Marleau and Hainsey this summer and let them know if they want the special team assistant coach and defense assistant coach jobs, it's theirs... at a serious pay raise..[/quote]

Agreed, or maybe send them to "Lupol Island" as we called it lol

Why do leafs fans want Benning?

It's not so much that I'd want him, but its a way to facilitate a trade for Brown, who we likely can't afford on RW where we have depth, while also plugging someone into the right side, where we have no depth, and doing so without a negative cap hit. They both have a year left on their deals, after that, who knows. He would be a half season stop gap is my guess, until one of Sandin or Lily, or even Borgamn, could make the jump, or someone gets brought in at the trade deadline.