Leafs would be infinitely better sending Murray to the minors.....and a 3.6m cap hit rather 5.7m Mantha and losing all those young assets

Love Soucy add, but am not sure Rodrigues has much on O'Reilly at that AAV aside from youth and maybe speed?
Brown could be solid if he stays healthy.
I'm sure you'll get an earful from Caps fans if that buyout plan doesn't add up, but a big boy like Mantha would certainly give the third line a new look.
Fourth seems like it needs McMann to hit a new level for it to make a difference.

They don't lose too much in this deal realistically

True, the Leafs would like the deal a lot more if Mantha wasn't included. It's just a cap wise deal for the Leafs.,

caps decline. Good luck cleaning up Dubus' mess.

Want to explain because most people I am taking to are saying this is a steal for the caps

Feel like Rodrigues has the ability to drive his own line better than ROR at this stage in their respective careers

He may very well have that ability, but it strikes me as a different $4 mil gamble: can Rodrigues produce 40 points or more throughout his term VS can ROR bounce back/not fall off into his mid 30s?

If the Caps are planning on buying out Mantha or retaining on his current contract just to move him then this is a no-brainer. Not sure that's the direction the org wants to go except as a complete last resort then. I definitely think he could bounce back on a team like Toronto as well