Minnesota declines. They can't afford Nylander

Homer trade!

Nashville and Minnesota both pass.

NSH is getting shafted so hard here.

Nylander plus for Ekholm and one season of Dumba, with retention - and you call this a homer trade? Leafs lose on draft capital, trade a season of Kerfoot for a season of Dumba (a win), but lose Nylander for the declining yrs of Ekholm? Nylander is the best asset in this trade, not to mention the loss of potential in Sandin. It’d be the Leafs with the hard pass! No thank you.

Yes it's a homer trade. Nylander has skill and good size but is soft and lazy. Toronto improves their defense and gets retention on ALL THREE incoming players to fix their cap too. If Minnesota could afford Nylander they would have resigned Fiala earlier. The Predators are like everyone else, they don't want Kerfoot and Sandin either.

Agree about resigning Fiala versus trading/affording Nylander, but disagree about fixing Leafs D? They’d be overloaded on the left side, just as they currently are. It would push Giordano to 4th on the left side, and Holl to 4th on the right side. Not good cap management if either of them are sitting regularly and are your depth defensemen. That’s what Benn and Mete were signed for, on the cheap. What truly ails the Leafs IMO is secondary scoring and forward depth. Removing Nylander & Kerfoot for Sissons only exacerbates that problem. I’d be targeting Fabbro, not Ekholm - but admittedly, Kerfoot, Sandin and a 2nd likely doesn’t get that done. (leaving out Minnesota and other incidentals entirely, including any retention)

Trying to make room, both under the cap and on their left side D, for Sandin is what I think the Leafs still need to accomplish this off season. I think that’s best accomplished by moving Muzzin, if they’re able? What’s more likely is moving Holl and/or Kerfoot, neither of which hold much trade value in the off season. They’d both be more valuable as trade deadline rentals, but the Leafs as contenders/buyers - haven’t sold at a deadline during this current window. Ideally, the Leafs would have a forward on a ELC push for time, thus adding additional forward depth/freedom to make additional moves. Those hopes rest on Robertson and perhaps Knies.