to be honest i would keep kappy over nylander lower cost and a more physical player.

And few levels lower quality player.. not good.

I know everyone thinks Nylnaders 6.9 cap is high, which I agree. I think Nylander is more of a 6-6.5 Million player. That being said, Nylander skills much outweighs Kaps. I also think Nylnader is going to have a killer year this year beside Matthews. He showed at the World Cup why hes part of the Leafs future.

Sure Marleau might be "gone" what team has the honour of absorbing his 6.25m cap hit. That's the difficult scenario Is that enough of a sweetener for Arizona, paying more cash outlay and taking the full 6.25cap hit over Hossa.
Almost the same with Zaitsev, sure there is possibility he is not a Leaf, but does any team want his 4.5m X 5 contract without the Leafs having retention?
Does Hainsey have motivation to be paid so little and be a workhouse for the Leafs?

Eric, hope you are right about Nylander (as a Leaf fan). But you know what I got out of the World Championship. Nylander doesn't really care about the long grind of the NHL. He likes a short tournament on a big ice surface to show off his "skills". But the NHL is different, and the long schedule and travel just too much for Nylander to have his heart in it.

Compeltely agree with both Marleau and Zaitsev. That being said Arizona expressed interest in wanting him to play.
Zaitsev is a different story ...
As for Hainsey I think he isnt Reillys top pair. I feel like he plays bottom 6 mins but lots of PK time.

Ive heard alot about his heart but he puts the effort in. Last season when he was getting called out for his lack of offense he tried t work around his game. He started back checking, he started taking hard assignments. Ive always hated these no heart comments due to the fact you have to love the game to be good at it. He had a really rough season and the world champion was a great way for him to feel better. I also think people forget his two previous 61 point seasons before.

I think moving Kapanen and putting Bracco in that spot is a huge mistake. Everyone seems to be blown away by his AHL numbers this season but I don't think many have actually watched him. He's a good skilled player, but I'm not so sure he fits in long term with the Leafs. Of the 79 points he had this season, 40 of them came on the PP (8G, 31A) to which he led the AHL in powerplay points. That's a great thing, but to me it says more bad than good. He's an extremely good passer with great vision. He finds the open man and can quarterback a PP. But that's all with the puck that he shines. He's not that good when it comes to playing without the puck and he was only a +1 this year for his +/- which says a little to that point. Unfortunately with Toronto, Bracco is highly unlikely to see top PP unit minutes with Matthews, Tavares, Marner, Nylander, Kadri, Johnsson, and Kapanen all seeing time on the 1st PP unit this year who are all ahead of Bracco. So if Bracco can't be on the top PP unit, he's not going to get that much time on the PP which is where he excels and he might become a liability at 5-on-5 and he'll never be above a 3rd liner then as he won't pass Marner or Nylander at RW. It's hard to believe high in Bracco when i was only 1 good season in the AHL that he's had and there might be some other issues that don't allow him to fit into the Leafs roster long term. Personally, I'd use his value now to Toronto's advantage and keep Kapanen (you even have the cap space to do it) because Kapanen fits the role better of a third liner and someone who can play more than just PP time and he can kill penalties and play both RW and LW up and down the lineup.

I like the idea and think its very reasonable to get Colin Miller in Toronto and at a cheap cost, but it might cost slightly more than Holl who hasn't played much and doesn't have any value.

I'd much prefer to keep Brown and I think it is possible. That's more because of the role he plays and kills penalties and has a physical edge to his game. I think if it's only a 3rd round pick that they can get, I'd rather them move someone else that has more value to get a more significant return (I'm more thinking of Kadri being moved).

Everyone knows Zaitsev will 99% be moved. Requesting a trade helps Toronto but everyone knows about their cap situation so they'll have to pay to offload him unfortunately.

Free agents can be a hit or miss. I don't think Toronto will be signing any due to their cap issue. I like Stralman as a fit, but I think he'll get more money and term from someone else and Toronto just won't be able to fit him.

Final small thing, nitpicking a bit, but Hyman and Dermott will both be on IR to start the season, might be smart to adjust that and bring in 2 more players to fill their spots to have a better idea of the cap situation when they return.

Check out something I posted a little while ago. I made some very similar moves with slight changes but found a way to keep most of the roster together:

https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/1198695

Good to hear that about Bracco considering I only watched the Marlies when the Leafs lost out. I truthfully dont want to lose Kap either, I just think Cap wise we couldnt. If we could that would be unreal but again I dont see that being the case.

I agree with Holl, I thought Rosen would work.

I pretty much think Brown is gone. I like Brown alot but he has an easily movable cap. And truthfully, would you rather have Brown or Kap for around 2-3 million?

I agree I dont think we will make a big splash in FA, Stralman is just a long shot but added him regardless.

I also know about Hyman and Derrmott missing time in the start of the season. They are both big losses. Which is why I am hoping Sandin and Moore can step up in their absent.

Bracco and Matthews have proven chemistry. Think he is a perfect winger for him just not this season. If Kadri is moved this season or next nylander will probably find himself playing centre. The way the money is lining up we will have enough to keep both kappy and mango unfortunately if you want to upgrade the defence via trade one will have to go.

Haven’t check your agm but I will now.

The issue with Nylander is I cant see you paying a guy 6.9 million to play on the third line, especially when he has proven to be good with Matthews. Thats just my option tho!

I agree, but if you are going to go with centre depth and roll 3 lines it might work. Personally I like nylander better with a skilled shooter.

Bracco and Matthews have chemistry while growing up in juniors yes. Nylander and Matthews have proven chemistry in the NHL and I'd take Nylander's defensive side over Bracco's any day. The problem with Bracco is that if he's not incredible at zone exits and zone entries, he'll never find himself above a third line guy. He doesn't have the size to be consistently winning 50/50 battles along the boards without taking a beating and possible missing time with injuries. Kapanen just fits the role better and does more things well than Bracco just being exceptional at 1 thing (playmaking).

As long as Babcock is the coach it doesn't look like Nylander will play 3C at all. He just doesn't seem to like Nylander there too much. I don't mind him there, but even if that's the case a guy similar to Bracco isn't hard to find to replace him with and probably a better defensive player too. Then have a third line with Nylander and Kapanen and someone else who fits well (Johnsson would but Matthews needs wingers too).

I think it's definitely possible to upgrade the defence and still keep both of Johnsson and Kapanen. Toronto isn't the only team in a cap problem so other good players can be had for cheap too (like I did in my ACGM). But it's also gonna be reliant on young, ELC guys for the short term so I think both of Liljegren and Sandin see at least 30 games in the NHL next year. Hopefully they're ready for it and then all that's needed is a cheap veteran guy to play bottom pairing minutes.