What would you do for cap space a month later when Hyman comes back?

Hyman and Dermott to IR not LTIR

if the leafs could dump Ceci somehow after a good start this ultimately could workout... but that's the only way I see it happening

Combine they make 3 million and they'll miss 1/3 of the season on the IR, so when I make an ACGM I usually place only Dermott with the LTIR boys to showcase the extra cap relief they'll receive (roughly 1 million).

So to bring in Gards and Marner, Mitch would have to sign a bridge deal, 2 years x 8 million and Gards would have to sign a 1 yr 4.5 million deal.

Marner would already be resigned if he signed for that, And i'd be shocked if Gardiner took 1 x 3.

That's answered in "Team Explanation" above.

Agreed on Marner. Gardiner's is listed as "team-friendly" in the explanation because it's definitely well below his value. I've just always had a suspicion that he could partly be holding out to see if he can land in Toronto for one season.

For IR vs LTIR, you could both be right. But if they're looking at the possibility of signing both Marner and Gardiner, you do what you need to now and make other moves later to adapt as guys become available. Don't forget the intentional overpay on Marner, which realistically could be a lot lower and make the cap shuffle easier.