Yeah, there was no way the leafs were ever gonna touch that

I’m sorry u don’t have anything better going on in your life than to re-imagine what “could’ve been” 5yrs ago
Good luck with that

I believe Lou would’ve jumped all over it tbh, he loves players with cup winning pedigree.

It’s cuz our team is so bad now. Well actually, we might make the playoffs but I don’t think we’re beating Florida or Winnipeg.

no, he really wouldnt have, it's a terrible trade for the leafs and even Lou would be able to see that and the fact that those guys were like the 13th and 15th most important part of that cup team is why.

As tough as it would be,
U guys should probably do a total tear down
Trade Crosby, Malkin, etc etc
Get as many picks/prospects as possible & rebuild

Rust had some huge goals during the back to back cup years like vs Tampa and Washington in game 7, vs the Rangers, in the cup final vs San Jose. He had more playoff goals than Marner did in his whole career.

Schultz was our number 1 defenceman during the 2017 cup.

and even if that matters to Lou, that's still an awful trade for 20 year old Marner who is still a year away from needing a new contract and is on his ELC. Like it doesnt even get you half way there

Yes but he demanded 8 years 72 million after coming off a 69 point season. That alone would’ve been reason for a GM like Lou to trade him.

Or maybe we could do what Washington did by bringing in a lot of young players in need of change with potential like Strome, Milano, Sandin and others. Our core is still playing at an elite level, unlike Washington. If we had their supporting cast, we would be a top contender.

But you’d have to hit HR after HR on those guys, and most don’t turn it around to the point where’d they’d be the help u need

Again, i know it would be hard, but u shouldn’t try to band-aid up a broken bone. Too many teams do that & it just prolongs the suffering. U don’t wanna wait until Crosby, Malkin, etc lose all their trade value. If u do that, your rebuild will just be longer & much harder to get back on top. Gotta get as many high end young assets as fast as u can imo

The flaw in your plan is that Buffalo did not want Aston Reese. They were attracted to the goal scoring potential that Sheary had. At the time they saw a potential 20 goal man they could get for peanuts because Pittsburgh needed cap space. What’s funny is despite the fact that he didn’t score 20 goals Buffalo still won the trade because they gave up next to nothing and got useful players that you couldn’t afford.

Obviously there are injury and effort concerns with some players, but when you are picking up reclamation projects, you are more likely to hit a home run if you've identified that the player's characteristics complement the system and the players around them.

Like Hagelin, Schultz, Daley and Cole were awful before joining the Penguins, but their characteristics suited Sullivan's system of being a fast-paced team shot-blocking team that attacks off the rush, and so we were able to win the cup. A good coach can make you hit home runs more easily, like Rich Tocchet has done in VAN.

Ok, good luck with that route
Sorry to say this, but your guys run as legit Cup Contenders is over

Obviously in hindsight Sheary is better than ZAR but at the time, ZAR was coming out of college averaging a goal per game. I believe that he was on an ELC, he would have been more enticing for Buffalo to take on as a sweetener for Hunwick.

Much like now Buffalo wasn’t looking for more prospects that might pan out, they wanted someone who could play today and help the team right now. Sheary might not have been the only player they asked about, but he was the one Pittsburgh was prepared to part with apparently.