Who will be able to overpay him though? I bet he signs a 1 or 2 year deal around 3-3.5 million and I think you make that fit in TO for that term.

Not with a flat cap he won't and definitely not in TO.

You don't trade Nylander. All you'd get is an older player leaving his prime which hurts you long term. The defence is going to get better internally. Just have patience

The Hawks were hurt by not having depth, and overpaying playoff hero's. How many times did they have to move a guy with a good young player or pick just to make space because the guy they needed gone made too much? Kruger? Seabrook? They handed out way too much money to substandard depth guys.

Pittsburgh was in their way who has better dynamic players.

oilers take it

Or CBOs happen... bad news for TOR since they don’t have anyone to use it on😔😔

Neither do you. Elite players win cups. Talent wins in almost all cases. Last year was an odd playoffs but just look at the teams that have won. Crosby and Malkin are elite, Toews and Kane, Kopitar and Doughty etc etc. The Leafs are building up to being a contender, they have the core and they are filling out the rest. They certainly needed a better coach and they have that as well. This team will win.

It would be terrific news, there are several teams who would like to use more than one CBO. The Islanders for example have 3-5 candidates. Edmonton has 2, San Jose has like 5, Dallas 2 or 3. Florida etc. TO can trade for one of those contracts and gain assets to use their financial might.

The thing with the best team of the past 15 ish years, the Pens, is that they incorporate players into their greatness. What stands out with them is of course their raw skill. How they play. But it’s also when you look at how Sid takes his teams and drags it to the cup. Ever since he’s entered the league, he’s led the way forward for his team. His teammates see him play, work, shoot, making his teammates better.

The thing is that I don’t see that GREATNESS on the Leafs, I Just don’t see Matthews doing what Sid did with his team, he just doesn’t have the same fire that Sid has. That’s it.

Right however it doesn’t help the Leafs’ cap situation

Then you don't watch the Leafs. Last year against Boston, Matthews did all he could to get them past Boston. He scored 5 goals in that series despite once again not getting enough playing time due to Babs being such a stubborn idiot. He wants to be the best in the world, he wants to win and he's making strides at being a leader and is 22 years old. You and people like you act like TO has had this core a decade and gets upset in the 1st round every year. That is so far from reality it's painful to even try to discuss anything.

They could move Johnsson for a guy like Boychuk and a highly valued young guy like Wilde or something. They cut salary but also gain a good roster player to bail out another team. You need to broaden your horizons, think outside the box.

There is going to be no CBOs in the next CBA, and if there was, you can't trade for guy to buy them out if they're going to go back to their old team.

Right and I don’t remember defending Babs in any way frankly I’d be shocked if he got another chance at being head coach

However, and you even agreed with me on that the other day, he’s got no consistency in his effort (not talking about performances here because when you have a shot like his things are easier)... like one game he’s unbelievable, scores 2 goals and the other game he doesn’t show up... why is that??? And I find it unbelievable that i seem to be the only Leafs fans to scream about that all the time, because IMO it’s such an obvious lacking thing in this roster.

Don’t see a team like NYI wanting Boychul back lol, he’s as bad as Marc Staal

I have never agreed to that. He's getting more and more consistent as he gets older. He's also getting angrier as he ages. Just have patience. Wanting to go nuts and trade great players for older guys is just poor asset management.

I’ve never seriously advocated for 34 to be moved

Not him but you want to trade one of Marner or Nylander for guys who are 30 or will be 30 very soon. That does not help the leafs in the short term and hurts them long term.

If CAR can’t agree on a new deal with DH, trading Marner for him would be a win like Hamilton is top 3-4 in the league

My top 5
1-Petro
2-Hedman
3-Hamilton
4-Josi
5-I’d have to think about it

All of those are soon to be leaving their prime and cost almost as much as Marner. The Leafs don't need a #1 defenceman, they have one in Rielly. They have a #2 defenceman in Muzzin. They have a #4 in Holl and I think Dermott and Lehtonen will round out nicely along with Sandin to make a formidable defensive squad. When someone gets hurt we have Marincin for spot duty and we have Liljegren who could surprise and push someone else down. Trading Marner also leaves a huge hole upfront. Everyone says TO can't win because they don't have whatever compared to St Louis. Well Rielly and Pietranglo are similar, I say very close to even. Parayko is likely better than Muzzin by a little and then after that, St Louis has just other players. I think TO's other players are as good and have way more upside but the teams system needs to be fixed. Keefe is doing that, it just needs more time and some luck to keep healthy. The defensive issues will get sorted through time and natural player progression, making a huge move that makes the team way older just to fix a perceived flaw is poor asset management.

-as for their prime ending soon, I’ll have to disagree. DH for instance is 27-8 which is only a few years older than Marner (4 years older)

-as for the offensive hole left my Marner leaving, it’s not as big as you’d think it would be. Hamilton is a money in the bank 65 pts which is insane for a d-man. Also, using your D-core is one of the most underrated ways to produce offense.

-as for the d-core they currently have, it’s largely unproven which isn’t a recipe for success

Or its a huge recipe for success. How to players become proven? By playing.

DH is a very good player no question but what he brings to the table is exactly what Rielly brings. The only difference is Rielly has never had a partner remotely close to as good as Gio or Slavin. Not even remotely close. His best partner of his career has been Barrie and he's really bad defensively. Give Hamilton Marincin and I doubt he's even in the conversation for a top 30 defenceman. Give Rielly Parayko (still not as good as Slavin) and Rielly would look like the single greatest defenceman in the game.

Let? Will have to due to the cap? Yes.

VAN decline, they are trying to shed salary and Ferland could eventually land on LTIR