A few quick hitters;

Kapanen alone will not get you Dougie

If Leafs were only asking for a 7th for Zaitsev- he’d be in Vancouver already.

Guessing you won’t be able to just hide Hyman and Dermott salaries in LTIR, so your team is over the cap.

i agree with you on the first 2 points but the third, when they come off ir then the 2 way contracts get sent down you still have abit of cap room. 3.1 mill on IR and 2.7 in avail cap space currently and with 2 guys going to the minors when they come back that gives you another 1.8 mill sent down so all is well in the cap area.

1 - that might be true. It also might not be. Apparently Hamilton has worn out his welcome on a 3rd team for being a loner. And people are undervaluing Kapanen. He’s easily top 6 and if ever learns to pass while entering the zone will be top line material. Plus elite speed and kills penalties. Both teams deal from a strength for a weakness.

2 - you missed the point. Zaitzev will be gone. And nobody has a clue about his value so I just basically gave him away for cap relief. If Dubas gets anything extra that’s a bonus.

3 - will start year on LTIR. They 100% get cap relief for the time they’re on LTIR. Yes will be tight to the cap. But many ways to make it work. Could easily play with 20 guys on roster at home.

Fair enough on the other points - Neither of us are LTIR experts.

However, this I have a major issue with. This is complete speculation and can not stand this type of comment. No one is in the room or hanging out with the team. The fans named a semi-mascot after Hamilton and he has been praised for how he has interacted with young guys like Foegele and Svechnikov.

Can we drop this tired narrative?

No. It is very well reported that he wore out his welcome on his first 2 teams. For not getting along with teammates due to differing interests. And the rumours in Carolina and not any different. Yes he helps the young guys in practice etc. Not the point. For how good a player he is to be just gotten rid of? Where there have already been 2 fires, and there’s smoke again? You believe what you want. I’ll believe 5he reporting. And either way doesn’t matter. If he’s available he’s available. And you might think he is worth more than a highly skilled young cost controlled player. I just think it’s close.

Edit: fans have zero to do with team chemistry. So whatever they do doesn’t matter unless the ownership cares more about them than the team (see Leafs getting rid of Kessel, and Montreal getting rid of Subban).

So why are you trading for him?

Because he’s a great defenceman and Toronto is desperate. Plus it’s Toronto. He can do all the cultural stuff he wants and still have time for teammates. Not exactly true in his last 3 stops (sorry Boston, no you don’t compare to Toronto culturally). And as Dubas has said he doesn’t mind different personalities in the dressing room. He’s okay with ‘oddballs’.

That's classic. Start bashing the player you want if other team's fans are not happy what u offer.

Well argued. I wasn’t bashing at all. I said what has been reported many many times. Saying the truth as reported is not ‘bashing’. Unless you are a trump/ford/scheer supporter. They obviously hate all reporting.