Why would we downgrade on blue line with moving Rielly without getting same elite level of RHD back?

Because in this scenario we have not downgraded the blue line as it is believed in Leaf Nation that Dermott is a 2 LD and that Sandin and Liljegren are ready to step up to big roles and are the future of the blue line

Dermott is 2LD but that right side is horrendous. holl is not a top-4 D and Lehtonen can be whatever. Liljegren is ready, but you would need a much better top-4 right side to implement him on 3RD. Thats why I think Rielly for RD of similar quality is the only viable option if we trade him.

Gord Stellick is that you?

We need to add to our D not give away our best Defenseman for something we are already strong on (the wing/offence)

Even if Dermott is a 2LD that does not mean you get rid of your 1LD maybe your current 2LD???? both Sandin and Liljegren are ready for prime time(NHL) but you still need to shelter them

The ONLY way Reilly is ever traded from Toronto is if the return is a legit top pairing RHD. That is where it starts and finishes for me and even then I don't think there is a snowball's chance in hell of that ever happening.

This management team likes what they have. Any additions will be minor. However, a cap-compliancy move of one of the mid range forwards is likely.

I think this would have to be 2 trades.
I would do Domi for Rielly 1 for 1 and would happen this off-season.
The Danault trade would have to happen closer to the trade deadline so we could evaluate the progress of KK and Suzuki and see if they can handle being the #1 and #2 C's.
For Danault I would want Kapanen and Kerfoot, I'm not sold on Johnsson, plus with Tatar, Drouin, Lehkonen, and Byron on LW it would be hard for Johnnson to crack that. He is better than Byron but paying Byron $3.4M to sit on the bench is crazy and its hard to trade Byron since he is making about $1.5M more than he is worth.
But my first preference would be to trade Danault for Kerfoot and that Roberson kid I keep hearing about but I doubt Leaf fans go for that so it is better that we trade Danault elsewhere.

And since you are giving Kulak away anyways we would just keep him he is a very useful guy to have on the bench.

It would be tough to lose Domi but we do need a #1 LD and I think Rielly could bounce back.
It's an interesting trade from a Habs point of view, but can the Leafs afford to give up Rielly for more offensive scoring, don't they already score enough goals?

Laugh Out Loud!

Alright , so Domi and Rielly are not a 1 for 1, Rielly bounce back? From what a another (on pace) 50 pt season while suffering a major injury? Give your head a shake. Rielly >> Domi all day everyday

Both teams say no to the Montreal trade.

The Leafs are making the weakest position on their team (D) even weaker and adding Danault just to squander his talent with 3rd line minutes, and the Canadiens are giving up their 2nd most valuable player to the team and a good forward, to add a player who plays a position of strength. This makes no sense whatsoever.

Danault is a 3 C , that's all he'll ever be, he has had to play higher up in Habs lineup to the obvious lack of Centers in Montreal

Danault plays first line minutes and does very well, that makes him a first liner whether you like it or not

Danault only has two issues: he has a very bad shot, and he mysteriously sucks on the powerplay. Apart from that, the guy is a first liner.

I'm pretty sure the Habs would be happier to give the Leafs a 5th than lose Kulak.

Overall, the problem is this: being an in-division trade, makes both teams better RIGHT NOW. If the Habs were to make a trade with these players, it would be with the idea of helping Toronto now and getting potentially better players who will drive the team in 3-5 years. So it's a little one-step-up-one-step-back for both teams.