Not even close on the Mantha trade...

I get that Mantha has been one of Detroit’s few bright spots in recent years but he’s never scored 30 goals or 50 points in a season and has not consistently shown improvement year over year. His performance this season (20 pts in 40 games) is perhaps just a down year on a bad team but he’s already 26 and his career trajectory doesn’t signal that he’s going to break out as an elite player.

He’ll be nearing ufa status and pushing 30 by the time Detroit is ready to contend, so Yzerman should be looking to move him while teams still perceive him as a young player with potential

It's about what is best for the rebuild and taking a gamble on Mantha's ceiling is worth more than that return to the rebuild, specifically. If they decide to move Mantha, it will need to be for a very handsome return. An Isles fan posted an offer of Salo, Bellows and a 1st that I thought made a lot more sense if we were going to move him.

There is just no incentive for us to move him for anything less than a haul.

leafs pass

That's a cap dump, a middle 6 winger and a late 1st for Mantha. I'm sorry but it isn't going to happen.