but they still kept Ovechkin, Backstrom, Kuznetsov, and Carlson who were even bigger parts of their core


Matthews, Marner, Nylander, and Rielly are still young and will only continue to improve.

Washington shipped out their older guys but still kept the main boyz together and did not give up on them.

Also Toronto already did its share of moves

Brown, Kapenan, Johnsson all were moved for prospects and picks which has set the team up well for the future with guys like Anderson, Amirov, Hallander, and other prospects.

& who did Tampa ship off after being one of the best regular season teams in league history and then getting swept in the first round? .... nobody from their core.

Not saying blow it up. Not saying he’s leaving, but Matthews only has 3 years left. That’s your window until he re-ups. At this point there should be a move. You don’t want to be like the Habs over the past 10 years, good teams that never go all out

with this flat cap I dont see many teams being able to afford him and his bonuses. Yes there is always the risk but rn just cant see many teams handing him a huge deal. And who knows maybe we are better off without him and will become the new Islanders when JT left them.

Not saying they’re never going to win but ovechkin and stamkos won a round in year 2 and 1 respectively. Stamkos and the lightning also went to the Stanley cup finals. Not quite the same thing
As I said above, until Matthews re-ups you have a 3 year window to win. Not saying he’s leaving but they’re probably a reason he only took a 5 year deal

Teams will find a way. Again not saying he’s gone but you can’t just sit back and wait to win a cup in 5 years until Matthews re-ups

Why’d he sing a 5 year deal?

Not saying he’s gone, but you don’t have the luxury of waiting, for now

& you're idea of helping them win is by trading a top 5 playmaker and a top 15 offensive defenceman? Yeah that seems like a recipe for success.

Well I guess losing 5 straight first rounds is a recipe for success?🤔
Not saying it’s marner and Reilly, or even 1 of them. But to say that they should just let the kids play and not do anything while Matthews is only locked up for 3 years isn’t very smart

If tomorrow Matthews signs a brand new 8 year deal than you can relax a little


Also it seems like every leafs fan wants marner gone

Carlson was a rookie in 2011 and he replaced Mike Green. Similar to Sandin and MR right now. Semin left bc Carolina offered him too much money. Basically what happened with Marner but Washington was too smart to dish that type of money out. Kuzy started playing full time in 2015. You could pretty much say he was the main catalyst to the Capitals being spectacular the last few year but he was hardly a core guy when they moved on from Green and Semin. Capitals basically draft well and spent their money well like trading Varly for the #11oa pick. They just made some boneheaded trades. I think leafs should move on from MR and just keep drafting well. Even dumping MoJo and Alzner was huge for them.

Washington didn’t have 40 million committed to four guys.

core is core does not matter how much you spend on it. Good players make money and often cup cores average 30-35mill amongst their top members

You mean how every Leaf fan wanted Nylander gone a few years ago too? & he developed his game into a more well rounded offensive one instead of just a perimeter one. Let them. They clearly don't know much and are just looking for an immediate scapegoat.

You surround the core with better complimentary pieces that can lead better. The problem with the team is accountability. So bring in players that are going to hold the core accountable. Outside of Spezza, no one outside of the big 4 + Rielly does that. Thornton didn't. Muzzin doesn't all the time, every now and then he would though, Brodie didn't, etc. That the issue that needs to be fixed. If you move a guy like Marner, you're going to spend many more years needing and wanting a game breaker like him and not having it. Not to mention trading him likely pisses Matthews off enough to not re-sign in the first place. Moving Marner right now is incredibly dumb.

It does if the goal is winning. If the goal is to have a great core, plan the parade in toronto.

There’s been one player getting 10 mill+ to win a playoff series. It was price a few nights ago. Toronto has three of those guys. Unsustainable.

I said multiple times that they don’t have to move marner or even Reilly. Your talking about accountability. Matthews is making 11.6, nylander 7 and marner 11. These guys should be accountable without needing a kick in the ass. Veteran leadership should be for giving advice. This is how you play in the playoffs, this is how you win faceoffs vs really good centres, this is how you defend a lead, this is how you play on the edge etc...

Again not saying trade marner right now, or that Matthews is gone. But you can’t be all relaxed when you keep losing in the first round and Matthews only has 3 year left on his deal. Yes marner is a beast, and yes he could figure Out how to preform in the playoffs, and yes he’s a key factor to Matthews’ success. But I don’t really agree that a couple of veteran 4 liners will fix this team

Tampa won a cup with 3 guys making nearly 10mill. It makes 0 difference who is getting paid.

Its sustainable

Matthews will continue to improve his game as will Marner as both are young and skilled

Tavares is improving his defensive game while still generating points and providing strong leadership

and Nylander is silencing his critics as he continues to get better offensively while also improving his defensive motives

like Washington with time and patience they will get over the hurdle and win it all.

So kucherov, Hedman, and stamkos. 9.5, 7.785, and 8.5 for the three of those vs 11.634, 11, and 10.9 is it? Difference of 7.75 million. You can get a few useful players for that.

I'm really not in a panic mode at all and I don't think Leafs management is either. There's a difference between being frustrated with the situation and overreacting and making a panic move like most of Leafs fans want. I'd be more impressed if Dubas kept all 4. Trading one of them is the easy way out.

Washington.... accepts.