AJ deal is right in the ballpark. Smack dab in the middle between Kreider and Connor Brown's contracts after their ELCs.

Zacha and a 2nd is fine for Kap, and the Kadri trade is a little light. The 1st is nice, but Ratcliffe isnt really worth a lot, he is producing in the OHL, but he's an overager so it doesnt really mean a ton. Ratcliffe is basically as valuable as Justin Brazeau at this point, who the leafs just snagged for free. Between those two trades the leafs should be able to get a 3C and a #4/5 D with some upside. Can let hainsey walk / move brown to make that work.

I don't think you can really say anything bad about this. I am not sure I'd move Kadri though, he's in the same boat as Zaitsev. If you move him, you will find savings but you have a big hole that you'd have to fill. I'd sooner trade Brown for a 3rd and keep Kadri. Its a lot tighter but its still doable. I am good with the Kap trade though.

LMFAO, nice hot take on Ratcliffe, hilariously wrong, but nice take...

Is moving Kadri really creating a hole if you can put a good 3C player in who will actually play some playoff games when the time comes?

Zacha is still young so he could progress and you'd be banking on that. However, Kadri has scored 30 goals twice and is currently a lot better than Zacha, so you are taking a big step backwards down the middle. At the same time you still have Nylander who can play centre as well, but I'd prefer him playing with Matthews since Matthews needs someone to feed him the puck.

All around this isn't bad, I will give credit where credit is due.

Personally I'm just not sure it makes sense to down grade the centre ice as much as this does. Especially if you can move Brown and likely be under the cap keeping Kadri. In that scenario, you now have another potential centre on the team and if injuries happen or someone gets suspended again like an idiot, you can have Zacha there to slide to centre.

He does make a point. Ratcliffe looks like a bit of project, not the best skater and scoring a lot as an overager rarely translates into a star player. Brazeau was 2nd in OHL scoring this season but he's still a long shot to be an NHLer.

Thanks LoganOllivier.



I never said he was bad. I just said he's not worth a ton. Draft + 2 and he's producing in the OHL. That's fine, but it's not great. picks and prospects are risky, and ratcliffe might develop similar to a guy like bracco, but that still puts him 2+ years out, plus factor in the risk of what he actually develops in to. That's not worth a ton to a team like the leafs. The cap space is nice, dont get me wrong, but the trade is light.

How is Ratcliffe an overager? He just turned 20 in Feb.

So by your logic, Owen Tippett, Gabe Vilardi, Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki are all basically worthless now.

That makes him an overager for the OHL. Its not a slight against the player but as @TML1991 mentioned, Bracco was dominant in his last year in junior. I am not sure how good Bracco will be yet and that was 2 years ago already. So Ratcliffe is far from a blue chip prospect. Its a stretch to say he's more valuable than Bracco is at this time. Mainly because Bracco at least has been dominant in the AHL this season. Despite that, I still think Bracco doesn't hold all that much value.

Zacha and Hainsey money actualy covers a Kapanen bridge similar to Johnsson....

Also 8 x 11M shouldnt end with 6 x 10,75M

So you want a worse D? Bracco could easily be better than Kapanen so why not give him a shot?

Well you are entitled to your opinion but I bet management think both players have value.

Not worthless but they'll need to progress to the AHL or NHL soon. The guys you mentioned though were all blue chippers. Ratcliffe was never a blue chipper and putting forward a big season as an overager in the OHL doesn't increase your value that much. Ratcliffes path will be to graduate to the AHL soon and then see how he does playing against men. If he does well there, then he'll earn a call up and then who knows.

So what if they were blue chippers. They are in the same position Ratcliffe is. None of them have accomplished anything outside the CHL. Every one of those players will be playing pro next year. GMs don't just give up on assets before they hit the pros. Their values do not just disappear when they dominate the OHL at 20 years old. As long as they show progress, they are on track.

Liljegren has played 2 seasons in the AHL and hasn't progressed as the offensive D man he is supposed to be...does he lose a ton of value now?

With your way of thinking, prospects should never be put into trades because they are mostly all worthless.

I think his point was moving Kapanen for Zacha who can then replace Kadri. Personally, I think Kapanen is the guy that should be traded along with Brown (Not in the same trade but two guys will have to be moved). Kapanen won't get a huge contract but I think he value is at its highest since he was drafted and moving him will get some future pieces that can save money now and provide some talent moving forward.

Of course they have value, but Bracco might get the Leafs a 2nd and I think that is a stretch. Ratcliffe could very well be better than Bracco, at this time its impossible to say for certain. However, Bracco is a good comparison because he also dominated the OHL in his overage years, won a memorial cup and was the MVP, then struggled in his first year in the AHL before being dominant this year so far. So because of that track record he's a bit of a safer bet than Ratcliffe at this time. My point is that both guys are still more of a wait and see prospect because moving them won't get you much.

Proly, but after Kadri departure Nylander can take over, he did fine by the time Kadri was IR

You are taking my words to the extreme.

Marner was drafted 4th overall, and stayed one more year in Junior and was dominant. He then made the jump directly to the NHL. Ratcliffe was drafted in the 2nd round and this is his 2nd year in the OHL since he was drafted and looks like he could be a potential late bloomer. But as I've mentioned being dominant in the OHL as a 20 year old doesn't increase your value a lot. Its a good sign but he's still a long shot to make the team this coming year. His skating isn't that good and that just doesn't do well in the NHL these days.

The blue chip guys these days often spend 1 more year in the CHL before either going to AHL or NHL. The list of guys you mentioned will all be good bets to crack the lineup or at least turn pro. Ratcliffe could very well turn pro as well but that doesn't increase his value. Those other guys have their draft pedigree that GM's fall back on. 70% of value is reputation and its hard to break through that. If there are two players who's stats are identical, 9 out of 10 GM's will take the 1st round pick over the 2nd round guy only because of that arbitrary piece of information.

Nylander should be Matthews winger, Matthews needs a playmaker not two small perimeter guys who are also shooters.

That's what prospects are, wait and see. The thought that they just lose value for no reason is just not logical and that is why the above trade is fair value. It gives the Leafs what they need, cap room and assets to replenish the cupboards.

That is not what i said at all. You should work in politics or sensational journalism. I just said he's not worth a ton TO A TEAM LIKE THE LEAFS. Read that again. Quit putting words in my mouth.

All i am saying is look at his projections. 2 years from now, ratcliffe could be in the same position as a player like Bracco. A player that looks like a serviceable middle 6 forward. That is not a bad thing. I'll repeat again, that's IS NOT A BAD THING. Leafs fans love bracco but it's taken 4 years to get there. So once again It's not great but it's not bad. There's risk in any player's development and ratcliffe might turn out to be a serviceable NHLer but there is also a huge risk he might not. Ratcliffe producing in the OHL in his D+2 season is the expectation, let's see what he does in the AHL next year.

Also Ratcliffe has never been in the same category as glass and suzuki. They've produced better results every step of the way. Tippett and Vilardi have been okay, but havent lived up to their draft position.

I forgot to touch on Liljegren, that is a different situation all together. Most players in his position go back to junior overseas. Liljegren was the 2nd youngest player in the AHL last season and the youngest rookie. He hasn't been an offensive force but he's still a high value player. Still plenty of time to hold on to him and see what he can be.

Actually i would take PHI offer ( if its not ment like sarcasm toward TML fans )

Skip Kapanen and Hainsey.

Brown to EDM for 4th, which would allow Johnsson and Kapanen to make 2 x 3,5M bridge ( which i think its to much but still )

Marners 8 x 11M shouldnt end in 6 x 10,75M

The pick is a good pick, but Ratcliffe isn't much of an add to that. I'd rather keep Kadri, simply because he is the best asset for a team that is competing right now. Kadri is hands down the best 3C in the league (when he isn't suspended and believe me, I will be at the front of the line of people wanting him out of the city if he does that again), that centre depth is an asset that TO shouldn't move away from unless it makes sense. This is close but I think I'd rather keep Kadri and move brown to make the cap work. If only because TO is better for it over the next 3 seasons.