Flexing Its Financial Muscles This Summer

Forums/Armchair-GM

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Created by: MG1986

Team: 2020-21 Toronto Maple Leafs

Initial Creation Date: May 22, 2020

Published: May 22, 2020

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Description

Realistically, whether you like or not, this summer will be a summer of change. The flat cap combined with what I imagine will be a quick and swift playoff exit means whoever is at the helm of this team when the 2019-20 season is over (does Dubas get fired? I am unsure), there will be change a-plenty. I will address each trade, because there are quite a few of them.

NASHVILLE: They are not a rich team. Their ability to get out of the Turris contract as part of any deal would, I am sure, help them out, for a price. Additionally, I don't think the Leafs have the means to sign Morgan Rielly when his contract his up. Rather, they would have a significantly better chance at resigning Ekholm, a significantly better defensive defenseman (what the Leafs need), over what Rielly will likely be asking for ($8.5 million AAV over 8 yrs, maybe?)

DALLAS: A team that would be adding some more offense without losing a ton of grit. The caveat to this deal is that Johnsson is on the mend and would be ready for the start of the 2020-21 training camp. Dickinson comes in a bit cheaper next year, plus offers the Leafs a better defensive-minded centre than either of their top 2 guys.

COLORADO: A team that is not in a rebuilding phase by any means and will surely be a cup contender, not only this season, but the next few. Nylander's contract now looks more team friendly than ever. It would give the Leafs a chance to acquire some young assets. My issue is Nylander is that his game is very one dimensional, so sell high on him while you can.

COLUMBUS: Pretty straight forward here. The caveat of this deal is that Anderson is on the mend and will be ready to return for the 2020-21 season. He may not score 30 goals again, but he plays a gritty game and would likely be good for 20 goals a season. His protection of Nick Robertson would also be invaluable to the kid, and to the Leafs. To me, Robertson-Tavares-Anderson has a good feel, but could easily interchange with Matthews at center.

The sudden financial flexibility of their cap would allow the Leafs to make deals during the 2020-21 season.

As always, let me know your thoughts. Stay safe everyone.

Free Agent Signings

RFA	YEARS	CAP HIT
Mikheyev, Ilya	2	$1,850,000
Gauthier, Frédérik	2	$850,000
Anderson, Josh	4	$2,500,000

UFA		YEARS	CAP HIT
Spezza, Jason		1	$700,000

Trades

TOR

NSH

TOR

NSH

Turris, Kyle

Additional Details:

CBO (idea per Pro Hockey Rumours)

TOR

Dickinson, Jason

DAL

Johnsson, Andreas

TOR

Compher, J.T.
Newhook, Alex [Reserve List]
2020 1st round pick (COL)

COL

Nylander, William

TOR

Anderson, Josh [RFA Rights]

CBJ

Bracco, Jeremy [RFA Rights]
2020 2nd round pick (TOR)
2020 4th round pick (VGK)

Buyouts

Mikhail Grabovski: $0

Retained Salary Transactions

Phil Kessel: $1,200,000 (15%)

Draft	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7
2020
2021
2022

ROSTER

LONG-TERM OUTLOOK

EMBED

TEXT-EMBED

ROSTER SIZE	SALARY CAP	CAP HIT	OVERAGES	BONUSES	CAP SPACE
23	$81,500,000	$75,841,227	$0	$850,000	$5,658,773

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Hyman, Zach $2,250,000$2,250,000 RW, LW M-NTC UFA - 1	Matthews, Auston $11,640,250$11,640,250 C UFA - 4	Marner, Mitchell $10,903,000$10,903,000 RW UFA - 5
	Tavares, John $11,000,000$11,000,000 C, LW NMC UFA - 5	Anderson, Josh $2,500,000$2,500,000 RW, LW UFA - 7
Robertson, Nicholas $821,667$821,667 LW, RW RFA - 4	Dickinson, Jason $1,500,000$1,500,000 C, LW UFA - 1	Compher, J.T. $3,500,000$3,500,000 C, RW UFA - 3
Mikheyev, Ilya $1,850,000$1,850,000 LW, RW UFA - 2	Sissons, Colton $2,857,143$2,857,143 C, RW UFA - 6	Watson, Austin $1,500,000$1,500,000 RW, LW UFA - 3
Engvall, Pierre $1,250,000$1,250,000 RW, LW UFA - 2

Left Defense	Right Defense	Goaltender
Ekholm, Mattias $3,750,000$3,750,000 LD/RD UFA - 2	Fabbro, Dante $925,000$925,000 ($850,000$850K) RD UFA - 1	Andersen, Frederik $5,000,000$5,000,000 G M-NTC UFA - 1
Muzzin, Jake $5,625,000$5,625,000 LD NMC UFA - 4	Holl, Justin $2,000,000$2,000,000 RD M-NTC UFA - 3	Campbell, Jack $1,650,000$1,650,000 G UFA - 2
Sandin, Rasmus $894,167$894,167 LD UFA - 2	Lehtonen, Mikko $925,000$925,000 LD UFA - 1

Scratches	Injured Reserve (IR)	Long Term IR (LTIR)
Gauthier, Frédérik $850,000$850,000 C UFA - 1
Rosén, Calle $750,000$750,000 LD UFA - 1
Spezza, Jason $700,000$700,000 C, RW UFA - 1

May 22, 2020 at 6:30 a.m.

Caniac2000

Joined: May 2018

Posts: 19,560

Likes: 5,044

I like your thinking, although you've overestimated the value of a few players. Nashville rejects quickly, and Colorado rejects quickly. But the idea of moving out Nylander to strengthen the team around the big 3 is a smart idea.

May 22, 2020 at 6:35 a.m.

MG1986

Thread Starter

#LeafsFever

Joined: May 2017

Posts: 3,787

Likes: 932

Quoting: Caniac2000

Neither Nashville nor Colorado would reject the deals. Rielly is still a top-pairing defender and his stock is still high. Maybe Nashville doesn't include the 1st, but I think the deal is a win-win for both groups and Nashville isn't a team that seems to care much about defenders playing on their stronger side.

As for Colorado, if they are truly in win-now mode, their prospect depth as-is, especially at defense, combined with their forward group, makes this deal a win for them as well. I think Nylander would be a good fit their and Newhook might not be ready for another 2-3 years.

Richard88 liked this.

May 22, 2020 at 6:36 a.m.

Caniac2000

Joined: May 2018

Posts: 19,560

Likes: 5,044

Quoting: MG1986

Oh, the ideas make sense, but both reject because the value is off. Rielly is a top pairing D man, but so is Ekholm and so is Fabbro. Newhook is one of the best prospects in hockey, and more for Nylander? I think you've overestimated their values. Both teams reject.

May 22, 2020 at 7:20 a.m.

Barilko14

In Pridham we trust

Joined: May 2015

Posts: 3,589

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So when this team has a 1st rd exit in April 2021 does the other half of the team get dealt?

May 22, 2020 at 7:27 a.m.

Richard88

John 3 16

Joined: Apr. 2020

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Quoting: Caniac2000

Newhook looks really promising, but he's still a prospect who hasn't done anything in the NHL yet. His ceiling is what Nylander is now, so Colorado would effectively be expediting Newhook's production by trading for Nylander. A late 1st and Compher are expendable in the trade to get a legit 1st line winger. As an Avs fan I think Colorado accepts that trade.

Nylander has a great contract and Colorado can afford to add a ~6.5-7m forward for the next 3 seasons without damaging their cap so it would be a good fit. It would undoubtedly be a move aimed at winning now, but wouldn't sacrifice too much of their future as Nylander is still fairly young and has term until 2024.

Landeskog ---- Mackinnon ---- Rantanen
Burakovsky ----- Kadri ----------- Nylander
Nichuskin -------- Jost ------------- Donskoi
Calvert --------- Bellemare ------ Kaut

That's probably the best forward group in the league, and the defence would still be untouched.

That said, I don't really see an ideal fit for Toronto with Newhook unless they are planning on moving Matthews in 2-3 years time. They'd probably prefer Timmins+ given their current RHD need.

May 22, 2020 at 7:32 a.m.

Richard88

John 3 16

Joined: Apr. 2020

Posts: 9,584

Likes: 4,618

I don't think the Nashville trade is realistic. For starters I don't think it's likely that the owners or players agree to CBO's.

Even if CBO's were possible this trade has an unnecessary amount of moving parts. You'd be better off structuring a smaller trade around the Turris CBO and Fabbro for Kapanen ++ without involving Ekholm or Reilly. Attaching a 1st pair Dman like Fabbro to a capdump wouldn't be prudent for Nashville, so you'd likely have to add something good to Kapanen to make it worthwhile for them, perhaps Liljegren + pick or something like that.

May 22, 2020 at 7:33 a.m.

Caniac2000

Joined: May 2018

Posts: 19,560

Likes: 5,044

Quoting: Richard88

Newhook's ceiling is above what Nylander currently is. Newhook could easily be a 90+ point player. Colorado won't move him unless there getting something of that quality, E.G a Taylor Hall, Johnny Gaudreau etc.

Nylander's deal isn't great. It's about fair for what Nylander is. A GREAT contract is MacKinnon. Colorado also isn't in win-now mode. They have such a deep prospect pool, they'll wait to go all in. Their goaltending is still questionable at times, and there's a lot of questions regarding the development of someone like Timmins. Colorado won't center a package around Timmins I don't think because Nylander doesn't hold that kind of value. He's good, is he worth that though? I dunno. If I was Joe Sakic, I'd only be moving the high end prospects for high-end talent, and Nylander isn't in that top tier of players around the NHL.

May 22, 2020 at 8:21 a.m.

MG1986

Thread Starter

#LeafsFever

Joined: May 2017

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Quoting: Barilko14

So when this team has a 1st rd exit in April 2021 does the other half of the team get dealt?

Dubas would be fired and then who knows.

May 22, 2020 at 8:26 a.m.

MG1986

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#LeafsFever

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Posts: 3,787

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Quoting: Caniac2000

People need to be careful with prospects, as far as evaluation. Yes, Newhook's value is high, I agree and certainly a top-15 prospect in the league at the moment. While I am not comparing the two, and the NCAA offers a level of play that the OHL does not, I would point you in the direction of Marner. He was a top-10, if not top-5 forward prospect at one point, before he ever entered the NHL. It took him 3 plus years of him getting adjusted to the NHL to truly find his offensive legs. I also think that at the NHL level, Newhook projects more as a winger.

May 22, 2020 at 8:28 a.m.

#10

MG1986

Thread Starter

#LeafsFever

Joined: May 2017

Posts: 3,787

Likes: 932

Quoting: Caniac2000

Ekholm is a solid top-4 defender, but I wouldn't necessarily consider him top pairing. As for Fabbro, he might project as a future top-pairing, but at the moment, he is certainly not that either.

May 22, 2020 at 8:33 a.m.

#11

BigBlackBoomBoomCocoaButterD

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All of the teams are rejecting your trade offers.

May 22, 2020 at 9:02 a.m.

#12

palhal

LongtimeLeafsufferer

Joined: Jul. 2015

Posts: 59,861

Likes: 22,867

I really think it's false narrative about a flat cap and buyout. There has to be an overall change to the the actual cash payout to players. The reality is the true cap for 2020/21 should be 70m based on revenues for the 2019/21 season. Even if there is season played in 20/21 the revenues may be a lot lower that cap might really be 50m. for 21/22. So CBOs aren't the answer.

May 22, 2020 at 9:32 a.m.

#13

Barilko14

In Pridham we trust

Joined: May 2015

Posts: 3,589

Likes: 1,969

Quoting: MG1986

Dubas would be fired and then who knows.

I'll make a prediction. No matter what happens in this 24 team tournament, the Leafs don't have 9 new faces in their lineup next year, and there is no way there's "change-a-plenty" like you've predicted here.

PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood liked this.

May 22, 2020 at 9:38 a.m.

#14

PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood

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This is just needless. Rielly is an elite defenceman who had a down year due to a nagging injury and panicked irrational fans want to move him. Anyone who thinks Dubas could get fired this summer is lost. It's his second full season as GM, has assembled an insanely talented team and had to fight a coach who wanted the team to play like the Islanders until he got fired. Since then there were the usual ups and downs that occur when a new coach comes in but far more ups than downs. Moves like this would require the team to change its system again which would result in more ups and downs and more fools thinking Matthews and Marner will need to be traded for guys 4-5 years older who have accomplished nothing more than the younger players moving out. This is garbage

Barilko14 liked this.

May 22, 2020 at 9:39 a.m.

#15

PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood

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Quoting: Caniac2000

You probably wish you could get Nylander in Carolina. He isn't getting moved and doesn't need to be moved. The team is strong and just needs more time to build to what their potential is.

May 22, 2020 at 9:40 a.m.

#16

PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood

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Quoting: Richard88

Why would TO trade a 1st line winger who looks like he's going to be another point a game player on the team for a guy who may be that someday? It's a backwards step.

May 22, 2020 at 9:42 a.m.

#17

PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood

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Quoting: Caniac2000

No TO player is, they all are overrated and over paid. At least according to everyone who isn't a leaf fan on here and half of leaf fans on here, mainly because they don't have the cognitive sophistication to understand that opinions of emotional fools means nothing in real life.

May 22, 2020 at 9:42 a.m.

#18

PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood

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Quoting: MG1986

Dubas would be fired and then who knows.

Can fans who think Dubas should be fired, be fired?

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May 22, 2020 at 9:44 a.m.

#19

PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood

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Quoting: GoodNewsLeafs

All of the teams are rejecting your trade offers.

As in the Leafs reject all this because Dubas doesn't listen to blog posts and panic and move half the team every off season.

May 22, 2020 at 9:54 a.m.

#20

Richard88

John 3 16

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Quoting: PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood

Why would TO trade a 1st line winger who looks like he's going to be another point a game player on the team for a guy who may be that someday? It's a backwards step.

I agree with you. But I was simply responding to the AGM trade in this thread.

PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood liked this.

May 22, 2020 at 10:01 a.m.

#21

PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood

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Quoting: Richard88

I agree with you. But I was simply responding to the AGM trade in this thread.

The mentality that TO needs to make a bunch of big moves to succeed is frankly just dumb. How many years did Jordan fail in the playoffs before they won it all? This core us young and immensely talented. They have never missed the playoffs since Matthews arrived and have taken Boston to the limit twice. That isn't failure, it's the same thing that Jordan when through with Detroit. They needed to lose to learn how to win. TO has done the same. It's not like this team was the best in the league and then loses to the 8th round team year after year. They weren't supposed to make the playoffs in year one and took Washington to 6 with each game decided by 1 goal. They took the 5th best team in the league to 7 the year after and then took the 3rd best team in the league to 7 the year after, that team went on to final. They are close, blowing it all up now because idiots on here keep saying TO can't win with their forwards making money is listening to an angry mob that just wants that to be true because it gives them joy to see Leaf fans suffer.

May 22, 2020 at 12:28 p.m.

#22

Ajp_18

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The Columbus trade is just a waste of assets for Toronto, Columbus just wants the picks and would probably let Bracco be a UFA so he can sign else where as he wouldn’t make the jackets roster. You might as well just keep him or trade him else where.

May 22, 2020 at 4:41 p.m.

#23

MG1986

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#LeafsFever

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Quoting: PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood

Can fans who think Dubas should be fired, be fired?

I mean, I guess they could be in a spiritual sense? But fans bring in support and money, and that's what this league is all about, even if fans don't always agree with one another.

May 22, 2020 at 5:45 p.m.

#24

PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood

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Quoting: MG1986

I mean, I guess they could be in a spiritual sense? But fans bring in support and money, and that's what this league is all about, even if fans don't always agree with one another.

I just don't get the hate Dubas gets. I get why non leaf fans chirp him, he's doing things different and if different works better than the norm, then that means their teams aren't in good shape.

May 22, 2020 at 6:24 p.m.

#25

MG1986

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#LeafsFever

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Quoting: PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood

I just don't get the hate Dubas gets. I get why non leaf fans chirp him, he's doing things different and if different works better than the norm, then that means their teams aren't in good shape.

There was an agent poll recently done about the GM they can get the best deal from, or something like that. Dubas was at 26%, and the leader by a mile. Next was a tie with a bunch of GMs at 6%. He really rolls over contract negotiations. That is far and wide my biggest issue with him.

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