That doesn't get Middleton, what you need to add idk.

Leafs aren’t paying a first for tanev if they were gonna they woulda already done it we’ve seen the flames selling early, if it costs a first to do business with the flames they’ll look elsewhere, im sure brad would like to be the gm for longer then 9 months lol and yeah Minnesota declines but im highly interested in him

Probably takes a 3rd to get Tyler Johnson half retained.

We've gotten more offensive production (and good defense) out of Middleton this year, than the Leafs have gotten out of Robertson, their winger. Why would we trade them straight up when Middleton has another year left on a good, cheap contract that will be needed for the last year of the insane dead money? I also don't even see where he'd fit into our lineup. Makes zero sense.

Robertsons on a rookie contract so you’re getting value there too. Plus he’s under team control for longer. Marcus Johansson should be demoted to the fourth line, then you plug your young skilled tenacious winger into your top 6 and add more fire power to your offence. Robertsons ceiling could be a ppg.

Flames give back a second though so really leafs are just trading down ~15 spots

Flames aren’t sending the second back lol it’s just not gonna happen man, if it costs a 1st leafs will go a different route

Id agree if middleton got more than 20 minutes a game. Seems like he’s a role player more than an impact guy.

Oh okay thank you for your input

he's getting 20+ minutes per night right now, that's top-4 ice time. A top-4 guy with an extra year of term getting paid less than $2.5M is going to cost a lot more than Nick Robertson at this point.

What would it be in draft picks?

He is a team player which the leafs only have two in the lineup that play that role.

The Tanev trade you've offered here is a good comp, IMO. The cap hit is more or less the same (Middleton at $2.45M and Tanev at $2.25M after retention), and while they're different players, I think that they wind up being pretty equal in value. Tanev is the stronger defender, but Middleton brings more offense and the extra year of affordable term. I think if you think a 1st and another pick is fair for Tanev, it would be the jumping off point for MIddleton as well. I also don't think Minnesota (or Calgary in your above example) would be sending back a 2nd rounder, either.

Yeah you gotta look at that tanev trade more like A) third round pick B) trading up your 2nd round pick by ~15 selections. Ignore the fourth rounder because its just for retaining on the brodie trade. Its the closest thing to a second rounder that the leafs can offer. Id be comfortable moving a pure first rounder for middleton as i think he’s better than Tanev. And so then Robertson TO ME is worth a first round pick so that’s why he’s there. And I think he’d fit well in the wilds system.

Tanev wont fetch a 1st + because he cant fetch a first at all until a team gets desperate. In that case I would walk anyways. Middleton gets a first because of the extra year (similar to the deal for McCabe). But honestly at 22 years old theres a real opportunity for a top6 scorer that skates exceptionally well and gets in peoples faces. If he was 25 he’d be perfect for us he’s just not ready to contribute towards a cup run this year at 22 years old, and we have Minten coming up through the system very shortly so its just bad timing for him here. He deserves a better opportunity to show what he can do on the powerplay

This is the last year of his ELC so his cost will be going up. The $14.74 million in dead cap extends beyond this season into next season. If we ship out Middleton, we're going to have to find someone else to fill his 20 minutes per night which is likely going to be a lot more expensive than $2.45 million. We have $11 million to work with and only 16 players signed for next season. If Spurgeon isn't quite ready for the start of the season, that makes the money even tighter.

Trading Middleton for Robertson also takes out a defenseman with size (which we lack) for an undersized forward (which we have a bunch of right now). Actually, depending on how you look at it, Robertson would be the 2nd or 3rd smallest player on the team. Between Kaprizov, Rossi, and Zuccarello, we already have enough 5'10" or under forwards in the top 6. If history is anything to go by, making 2/3 of the top 6 be that small isn't exactly a recipe for success, especially since we are also losing size on the back end in the deal.

Wild decline, putrid for them

Brodie to the Avs makes little sense for the Avs so that's a nope.

Sam malinski?

Is one of 8 Avs Dmen yes.

Travis macdermaid?

Im just trying to understand who your 6 defenceman are

Makar, Toews, Girard, Manson, Byram, Malinski, Johnson, Jones. Plus MacDermid at a push if he was needed although he hasn't played D since last season. Tell me who Brodie pushes out of the top 4? Because at 5 mil he's probably the 6th D on the Avs. Ain't gonna happen! Even with retention it ain't gonna happen and the Avs sure as hell ain't going to be the team that pays for the retention for a guy they don't want or need.