Quoting: handsomeIAN
There's no scenario where the Leafs should not be spending all their cap space every year (or any team, really). You need to pay attention to the long term outlook, obviously, but if rebuilding you should be weaponizing it every year to acquire assets and if not you should be maxing it out to compete/acquire assets. Held cap space simply expires; it's a waste!
Acquiring the best D in the league on a long term deal, who is a RHD, is maybe the best possible use of cap space for the Leafs right now. The time for them to compete started three seasons ago with Matthews, Marner and Nylander on ELCs, instead, Lou clogged up the cap with half-measures designed to "build character" because he considers hockey teams his own personal doll house and doesn't understand aging curves or the salary cap. So instead, the time to compete is now, while they are still young.
I agree with a whole lot of this, especially your rationale on how to manage the cap and why a team should manage it that way.
Personally, I'm not sold on EK if only because I think his history with injuries has a taken a greater toll than what's being let on. I get it that he's still putting up points and playing well but there's times when you watch skate that something seems wrong.. could be something, could be nothing, it could just be me.
I think Lou gets a bad rap sometimes. Some of that is deserved and some not. He did alot of good in leafland in the time he was here, not the least if which was establishing order and credibility with the organization. We were a joke before he got here.. a not a funny one.
The one thing that baffles me with Lou is the Marleau contract. Given your rationale for how to manage the cap, and my belief that Marleau's 3 yr contract was set up as a 2 yr deal, then why didnt Lou just pay the 9M + over 2 years to give him his 18.75 M instead of paying that amount over 3 years?
Maybe my take has been wrong the whole time and Marleau always had every intention of playing the third year. And if that is true, then signing Marleau to that third year was a magor fail on Lou. If Marleau is around next season it really does put the leafs in a pickle.. that would be on Lou.