In order for this entire team to work, Muzzin has to get moved. I just put him on LTIR in order to not create many arguments, but I can see him being moved with a 3rd party team (SEA, ARI, etc.) who would be willing to retain. He is only owed $8M in real money over the next two years, and the trade would happen after he gets his signing bonus, meaning only $6M remaining. Now for the trades:
I think that where this team is now and where it is going, Hague is a better fit than Sandin. He can play in a somewhat sheltered shutdown role (18 min/game). He is a big bodied mobile defenseman who can move bodies. As much as I like Sandin, he does not do the greatest in his own end, and he would be a great fit in Vegas.
Little is making just a bit more than Mrazek over the same time span, so I think that those two being swapped would be realistic. Obviously, the Leafs would need to add, and Duszak was one of the top defensemen in the AHL this past season. He also requested a trade.
Garland and Kerfoot put up pretty much the same amount of points last year, and Kerfoot also plays a great two-way game. However, I think that Garland fills a hole for the Leafs and could bring the team to the next level. More probably needs to be added to make the money work, but I think this is a fair baseline. Garland is on the 3rd line to spread out the scoring, plus I want to see how Robertson does with JT and Willy during an extended period of time.
Colorado is most likely losing Manson, and they just lost Barron to the Habs. A bottom-pair dman would really fit their bill, and Holl comes with a cheap price tag. He was better towards the end of the year, but he played too many minutes in critical situations, so Leafs fans - including myself - turned on him. I hope he can succeed elsewhere, though.
Lately the Leafs have been rumoured with almost any goalie, but mostly Gibson. With how he has played the past few years, I feel like this is a fair start. Anaheim gets a first, 3 B-level prospects and a 6th. The only untouchable prospects imo are Knies and Niemela, but anyone else can be added if necessary.
Lastly, Dylan Strome is only traded for if he's qualified, which there have been rumours that he will not be. I think that we should move Kampf to the 4th line so that the 3rd line gives more offence, so we will need a new centre. I think that with this past season (22-26-48) and a new team, he will be able to do as well - maybe even improve - in a 3rd line role.
All in all, if this is the team on opening night next year, I think it wins the President's trophy.
Just a few facts should included in the fantasy. Why do you think Mrzarek and Little are owed the same amount of actual $$$$. Little's LTIR is covered by insurance, Leafs bad signing of Mrzarek isn't.
Still fantasying over a Muzzin trade.
That is horrible trade for the Leafs to obtain Gibson. Paying him 5m and giving up all those futures? Just sign a 5m goalie and keep the assets
Just a few facts should included in the fantasy. Why do you think Mrzarek and Little are owed the same amount of actual $$$$. Little's LTIR is covered by insurance, Leafs bad signing of Mrzarek isn't.
Still fantasying over a Muzzin trade.
That is horrible trade for the Leafs to obtain Gibson. Paying him 5m and giving up all those futures? Just sign a 5m goalie and keep the assets
Thing is there isn't really that good of an option in net. The max I'd go for Campbell is $4M, and besides him the FA market is too thin. We could try to find a resurgence project/breakout candidate, but I think that would be too much of a risk.
Garland is signed for four years at a good price for a top-6 forward. Kerfoot is a rental and isn't as good, although he's a fine Swiss-Army-knife kind of guy. It's generous to think that the draft picks pay for the retention, so where's the compensation for the value difference between Garland and Kerfoot?
Gibson doesn't fit in Toronto's cap structure. As @Xqb15a says here and my friend @palhal has said many, many times before, you're better off spending $5 million on a UFA goalie and keeping the assets.
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