as a rangers fan i would take this trade but i hope they turn around and trade him for more that seems low for kadri and i just dont like him

I think this is realistic. Perhaps Toronto looks to trade for a LTIR contract to acquire some breathing room to upgrade the defense instead of getting Pionk because Babcock isn't going to play a 23 year old d-man in the playoffs for meaningful minutes (esp in a game 7 setting in the 3rd) and that was Toronto's weakness all year.

My thoughts on Marleau. You're right, he wants one last shot at the Cup. Gotta believe he knows the Leaf won't as good next year due to cap restraints, especially with his contract. Maybe you thinks all the work and travel for 1.5m isn't worth it. So a retired Marleau is possible.
But pro athletes are a different breed. In effect they have been pros since the age of 14. Most don't want it to end. Even former NHLers often play for little money in the AHL or Europe or minimal NHL contracts. Each players motivation is different.
My opinion, Marleau is done as difference maker as a NHLer. He's a third liner at best by more a fourth or five liner by the time October comes around. Only Marleau knows if wants to continue his pro career.

Yeah I mean, I agree, Babs is going to be a tough nut to crack. I think alternatively, Kadri could be traded with Kapanen for some sort of defence.

Marleau has already stated that he is coming back next year.

I know he stated it. But he wouldn't say anything different with the microphones in his face after game 7. He didn't want to cause any drama by saying, "I'm not sure". He would be hounded all summer.
I agree with you...he likely doesn't retire, but Marleau is smart enough to say "he's coming back", regardless of his true feelings at the time.

no team is going to go into a season with only $81K in cap space. There's going to be other moves. I don't see Nylander starting at centre. That might be what Dubas envisions but it's not what Babcock likes so I'd look for a cheap replacement if Kadri is moved. The defence was the most talked about thing with this team and if it's not improved then management needs to all be fired. Pionk isn't much of an upgrade. He's basically replacing Ozhiganov and Pionk was terrible after November last year. Best fit for Kadri is Carolina. They still need a top 6 guy and they have the defence to deal. A guy like TVR is similar to Zaitsev and would fit pretty good on this team, could also get a young centre in a deal like Wallmark or Roy and then a mid round pick (2nd/3rd). But Zaitsev is gonna have to be moved. He'll be the big one to go in order to make the cap work, even if they have to pay to do it. If not it's gonna come at the cost of losing a key asset due to the cap

Trading Zaitsev must be done at the Draft, come July 1st, the official start of next season, he'll own a MNTC ( a 10 team no trade). I don't mind the idea of trading Kadri and using Nylander as 3rd C as long as Bracco, Moore or the Russian kid can be counted on as being top 9 forward worthy.

Technically he said "we'll cross that bridge if they ask" when a reporter asked him if he's willing to waive his no trade clause.

Yeah I think you bring up a good point with the cap space. I definitely looked at Carolina as a potential option for where Kadri could get sent. Looking around, a lot of people had us getting Pesce for Kadri, which I just can't see happening. TVR was another person I though about trading for. I think that when I did this, I was trying to be quite conservative, and not trying to wave a magic wand and make our cap problems just disappear as I've seen on a few other postings. I definitely agree that Zaitsev is the piece that has to go to free up the cap space. We shall see what happens though

I can see Kadri as the move that Toronto would have to sell low on just to relieve the cap space. The problem is that he's still good and on a great contract, but the production was down last year cause of injuries and the obvious suspension history causes a concern. A deal I've posted a few times is Kadri and a 3rd to Carolina for TVR (Carolina retains $800K), Wallmark or Roy, and a 5th. Carolina gets the higher pick because they're helping Toronto out of their cap crunch and they're retaining salary. TVR would be a top 4 right handed shot and if Carolina retained and Toronto only paid him $1.5M, that's a pretty good deal for Toronto.

As for Zaitsev, I honestly think he's moved before July 1 when his modified NTC kicks in. It'd be similar to a deal when Toronto traded Phaneuf to Ottawa where Toronto only gets back lower caliber players, maybe a C+ prospect too, but they take back an equal amount of cap that they can bury in the AHL. Ottawa is a perfect fit for that. Could be a package deal for Condon and Demelo (brings back $3.3M so Ottawa only takes a cap hit of $1.2M) and Toronto can bury most of Condon's $2.4M in the AHL (can bury $1.075M next season so his cap hit would be $1.325M) saves the Leafs cap space, adds a bottom our d-man and helps Ottawa get to the floor while they add a useful piece. Dallas could be a good fit for Zaitsev too with Stephen Johns coming back and going on LTIR. So there's definitely ways to move him, despite what people on here seem to think