Team: 2022-23 Toronto Maple Leafs

Initial Creation Date: Jul. 10, 2022

Published: Jul. 10, 2022

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

yikes. if we're really going for Murray (who, for the record, i believe won't and can't be as bad as he was last year), then might as well go all out to ensure we've got the depth built out around him to try and insulate our goaltending as much as possible

any murray deal is gonna require 50% retention plus an additional asset in return (as was rumoured in the BUF deal that Murray rejected for him). that asset here would be an expiring Connor Brown, a former Leaf/hometown boy who is exactly what the Leafs need, either as Tavares' energy guy or the key part of a solid third line (like Mikheyev in years past). going back is Holl (Ottawa allegedly was looking for an RHD who could slot into their top four) plus Abramov, who's still young enough that he can become something. leafs also get a conditional pick depending on Murray's play (better he plays, lower the pick?)

the big swing here is with Philadelphia. i originally had Leafs giving up a first and Philly not including JVR, but I think both Philly and Toronto would prefer this as an alternative. Philly doesn't have to give up their own (likely higher) first rounder to move JVR, while Toronto (who has done this before with Marleau), likely knows the cost of doing this. either way, both options leave Toronto with one less first rounder. in this scenario, Toronto flips JVR to the cap abyss (aka Arizona) who happily takes on his contract (and a warm body for their lineup) to get an future first rounder.

the core part of this trade though is hopefully addressing need for both teams. philly adds kerfoot, who scored 51 points last year with no PP time, while also being a part of a top rated PK unit. his contract also makes him easy to flip at the deadline for additional assets as well, should philly be looking to sell by then (sidenote: is Philly rebuilding? are they trying to make the playoffs? i genuinely have no idea) muzzin feels like both a Philly type of defender and a Torts type of player, plus him and Ellis could form the greatest beard pairing known to man! and for those already complaining "he's got no value", McDonagh (a better player with a worse contract), also managed to get assets back - plus, NHL GMs blindly ignore the warning signs when it comes to the hard-nosed gritty players like that haha. plus obviously, they clear over 6M in cap (so they can sign Gaudreau? again idk what they are doing) from dumping JVR's deal and give themselves some short-term flexibility by clearing out some of their longer contracts.

leafs, as mentioned earlier, bite the bullet on the JVR contract to lower the overall price, but still eventually pay a first to move out JVR. they bring in Konecny (redeeming the 2015 draft) and Laughton, two good ol' ontario boys who bring some more grit and versatility to the lineup. Konency gives the second line a more physical, energetic spark that Tavares and Nylander sorely need, while Laughton locks down the centre spot on the third line (allowing Kampf to really shutdown opponents on the fourth line as well).

this gives Toronto two legitimate top six lines, and takes two-thirds of their shutdown line from last year (Engvall-Kampf-Mikheyev) and drops them to line four. the new third line has enough offensive pop to chip in, while being balanced enough defensively to still be effective in defence. Robertson is ready for top nine minutes, and we bring back Blackwell as a fourth line energy guy who i really liked last year. simmonds, god bless him, shouldn't be a regular at this point, and serves as our 13th/rotational F with Anderson/Holmberg/Steeves serving as call up options.

defensively looks mostly the same, although we open up the pathway for Sandin (who gets a little more than Lilj) to top four minutes in the immediate future. sign braun (good defensive balance) and miller (former soo greyhound, likely available for cheap, once had great underlying numbers) to rotate through that bottom pairing, but contrary to popular belief, our defence really isn't that bad.

that brings us to goalie, where we're undoubtedly one of the worst in the league. now, with that bein said, we finished with a franchise record in points last year getting like 27th ranked goaltending, so we can absolutely do it again... in the regular season. the hope here is two-fold:

1) once murray makes it to the playoffs, he suddenly reacquires his abilities from his runs with the Pens and flourishes (highly unlikely)

2) if Murray is still meh at best by deadline time, flip him + Brown/Laughton (hate to do it, but cap has got to leave somewhere) + whatever non-NHL prospect(s) it takes (outside of Knies) to get whatever legitimate starter you get can your hands on for a ~6M starter. shuffle the lines a bit and sign Knies for the playoffs, then run the following and pray to god whatever playoff curse we have gets broken:

Bunting - Matthews - Marner
Knies - Tavares - Nylander (drop TK to line three for more depth, let Knies be the physical force and have JT/WN cover the offensive side of things)
Robertson - Laughton - Konecny (assuming Brown moves in the goalie deal - also shelters Robertson a bit)
Engvall - Kampf - Blackwell

Rielly - Brodie
Giordano - Liljgren
Sandin - Braun

whatever goalie we end up acquiring that *isn't* Murray
the veteran we also inevitably add at the deadline too


and that is trying to make the best of our awful goaltending situation :)

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