You may not realize this, but Muprhy isn't a UFA. He signed a new deal which would mean the Hawks would be retaining for four more years after this one. Hawks aren't doing that.

I doubt aNYONE wants Ritchie at 2.5mil and Murphy is worth more than that, Dermott for Crouse is laughable....

Without being super repeititive: Crouse is young, a cheap RFA having a career year and has alot of value right now. Dermott and his plummeting icetime is an average 3rd pairing guy who can;t clear the crease or produce offensively. Dermott is being offered by Toronto because hes a placeholder until somebody better comes along. Dermott does not equal Crouse, Dermott and a 2nd comes closer.

A year ago, I would have said that the Arizona deal was fair, but Crouse has taken several steps this year, while Dermott has not. It's a no from Coyotes.

Ritchie won't be picked up by any team.

Chicago maybe say yes, but I'm not sure.

Most of what you said here is accurate. Dermott's ice-time is up 1.5 min per game compared to last year though. So plummeting isn't accurate.

Plummeting compared to when he first arrived, and up this year due to: no bogosian, holl sucking, liljegren not being ready....but ultimately he is a capable, no-frills 3rd pairing guy AND the best the team has right now in that 6th-7th spot, but after so many NHL seasons, he is what he is, a 3rd pairing guy at best and maybe not even that on another team.

But Crouse's value is probably at an all time high and the Leafs would probably have to add a 2nd or better, along with Dermott for that to even look attractive.

Toronto declines………
Don’t want Crouse, have Engvall already who fits better in this lineup.
Want Dermott as 3rd pairing or depth guy
Would like to upgrade Holl but Murphy not available for realistic price, not to mention the hawks are not retaining that much for 4 years.

His ice-time certainly plummeted last year compared to his career to that point.

Not disputing anything else you had pointed out, and he may have 4th round pick value at this point. It would be a 1 in 20 chance now that he takes another big step and becomes a Brodie type, but it probably doesn't happen as a Leaf (unless Holl gets dumped this summer, and lightning finally strikes this summer for Dermott).

Agree about Crouse's value, and I really doubt the Leafs are the team to pay that inflated price for him.

I'm going to take a guess that Ritchie clears. $2.5mil cap hit for a guy with 1 goal in 30 games that makes $3.3mil in actual cash next year. That'll need a pick or to be part of a bigger deal to move.