Quoting: Db1899
Lou should have stood pat with the leafs, they weren't worth going all in on.
The only player who Lou should have made an attempt to trade for was Debrincat. The Romanov trade was a lot better than other realistic alternatives that Lou would inquire about, like JT Miller.
VGK is not trading Hague, a 6'6 top 4 D is returning more than a 2nd
They were very worth going all in on as when you got Matthews, Marner, Nylander on ELC's, Kadri, 40 goal JVR, semi prime Bozak, and 2 strong goalies you go for it immediately
They had their best season before 2022 and all they needed was some D help and maybe another top 6 forward
Insert Rangers who had McDonagh and Miller up for grabs for almost nothing and with those 2 Toronto would have shored up its Dcore and a 2c replacement for Bozak once he left in FA but what did Lou do and all it would have cost is a 1st + Kapenen and some meh prospects but nope
Trade a 2nd for Plekanec who was a pure rental
Yes the trade would have meant no Robertson or Sandin but they would have had McDonagh to shore up the 2nd pair D and JT Miller as the 2c