@Penguins_Legend_Sheary I'm sure you have a hot take on this.

20 million tied up in one player, no thanks

CHI:
Gets a struggling Marner without an elite centre like Matthews to play with
Gives two top players for one in return
Retains over $10million next year

This screams I'm a Leafs fan and I think Chicago should help us

Not at all sure why you'd want Toews, but either way, all that retention is going to cost you extra. A lot extra.

Not only would this hurt the Hawks immediately, it'll hurt them because Marner is just good enough to help make sure they won't win the lottery. IF CHI is to tear it down...it'll be for picks.

Really it comes down to maybe kane or toews and a bit more for Marner, but 11mil marner and retention for TWO years of 10mil? Insane.

Marner for one of them and 3.5mil retained, isn;t far off by itself, as that 3-4mil in cap space goes a long ways to fixing other bits of the roster.

(Two years of 3.5mil retention is almost the equivalent of the addition of a good UFA each year that could help CHI longer term. That in itself is probably worth a 1st or more)

If the right deal is there and Dubas thinks he has the opportunity to improve the team by acquiring a better player straight up in exchange for Marner, or acquiring a pair of players that can provide a greater overall impact than just Mitch by himself, I think you need to make the trade. Trading star players (yes he is!) for less than their worth always ends in disaster, and if the right deal isn’t there, you need to work with Mitch and try to help him break through in the playoffs.

This is not one of those trades. Towes has already had some pretty serious health issues, Kane is still awesome but if I was to trade Marner I am looking for another star player who is struggling or going to route of a high end prospect and picks for the cap space. This route is riddled with disaster also cause you need to fill that space properly but if Filip Forsberg is still a FA in this summer, I'd target him with that space.

Wow

Ambitious and fascinating

If chicago had a future I'd say all systems go but the last two years of Marner don't seem like they'll be much of a time of contention for them so

However it's worth a try. Might as well. Hm.

Some neat young pieces too it might work out well

This guarantees Toronto has cap space for whatever Matthews asks, and it shows a real commitment to winning at all costs.

On the other hand, each team still needs a #2 center.

Would Kane be a better piece for the Leafs in the next two years, the answer is yes (example: Kane 4 goals and 9 points in 6 games played and hasn't looked great so far this season either). Kane would put up career numbers playing next to Matthews as he's rarely played with a star center besides early in his career when he played a little with Toews. However, there is not a chance the Hawks give up both at a cost of -$10.5M plus take on Marner $11M for 2 years only to get 2 more years after that from Marner until he's a UFA. That means the Hawks are paying $21.5M for the next 2 years for Marner while losing their #1 center and a top 5 winger in the league to gain 2 extra years of Marner...makes no sense. If the Hawks ask Toews or Kane to waive, they are getting prospects and picks back for a complete rebuild; marner isn't going to help them in that case.

Additionally, Kane and Toews would both have to waive and Kane going to a Canadian team, let alone waiving for anyone, is questionable at best.

How are the Hawks struggling? They're undefeated in the month of November. They're #1 in NHL since November started.