Take Marchenko instead of Marincin and 5/5 Would trade again.

This is like taking your leftovers and going to a high class restaurant and asking for a steak dinner. Your not going to get a good prospect for all of your extra players.

Like it or not, Marincin might be the 6th Dman on the Leafs and Fehr is the 5th centre. Getting a prospect for this year just doesn't help the Leafs this year.

...true, McCann may be a little much in return for an SPC dump. the Panthers do need bodies, though; they have 39 SPCs, which is the 2nd-lowest in the league, and they nave no RFAs to re-sign.

they do have a ton of right-shot defenders, and the Maple Leafs would maybe like one? Linus Hultström was a FA signing out of Sweden, and he's done fairly well in the SHL over the past 3 seasons. he's on the smaller side, though, at 5' 11" and 194 lb. he's also 24, so he'll be knocking on the door of the NHL pretty soon if he pans out. there's also Thomas Schemitsch; 3rd round pick in 2014, more of a defensive-type defender, judging from points alone, but he's got the size that so many teams crave, at 6' 4" and 205 lb. Schemitsch is also only 20, so he can play in the AHL for at least a couple of years.

so, then, what would the Maple Leafs be looking for if they were to do another SPC dump? their NHL roster is all but set, so they're not looking for NHL players in return. they've clearly got a ton of prospects already, and a team trading with the Maple Leafs can only give up so many picks.

I disagree when you say the Leafs roster is set. They do have spare pieces at wing where this dump of multiple player trade for one is possible. But the Leafs are really thin at NHL defence, and centre so trading one in each position without getting one in return is IMO not good for the roster. Try making the trade with the Leaf roster and you can't fill the 6th Dman spot or the 5th centre.

13th forward would be Ben Smith; why else would they have bothered to re-sign him? he was signed initially for his faceoff abilities, and the only reason that went south was because he had a broken hand. and, before you say "the expansion draft," Fehr and Martin already satisfied the exposure requirement.
to me, the Maple Leafs defense without Marinčin, looks like:
Rielly - Zaitsev
Gardiner - Carrick
Dermott - Hainsey
Marchenko
(or, like, one of Rosén/Borgman/Nielsen, but my understanding is that Sheldon Keefe seems to be the highest on Dermott)

You asked about Smith. He is signed for his veteran presence with the Marlies. The Leafs absolutely don't want him to be a regular on the Leafs. And you proved my point with your defence lineup. Having Marchenko at the seventh spot is a possibility but the with injuries you want be forced to play him. I'm sure the Leafs don't want this. Marchenko the Leafs are hoping he is being buried in the AHL. Sure Leafs and their fans are high on Dermot but he has only played half a season with the Marlies. No way can he pencilled in to be regular with the Leafs right now. Rosen, Borgman haven't played in North America so they can't be assumed to have NHL jobs in October either.
So while I agree on your concept of the trade, if you're trading for a prospect McCann, the Leafs can't afford to give up two NHLers. McCann for Rychel, Leivo, and Valiev....three prospects. What I think the Leafs would prefer would to be trade for a 5/6 Dman who are better than Marchenko or maybe even Marincin for Rychel, Leivo and Valiev.

Alright. I'm not married to this specific trade; just trying to work out the general idea.

- Valiev and Leivo, I think, are dumpable SPCs.
- Hainsey's not being paid $3M to rotate in and out of the press box, so one of Marinčin or Marchenko has to sit on a nightly basis. If you think that's acceptable, then alright. If not, one of them has to go.
- I still think McCann would be of interest, as he is a C prospect. Maybe the trade involves a swap of McCann for Rychel or one of Timashov/Lindberg? Both of the latter are barely getting any ice time with the Marlies, despite being decent prospects. This trade would help them get actual ice time. I think Soshnikov is also tradeable, as he seems to be NHL-capable but doesn't have a permanent spot on the NHL roster (unless Babcock likes him enough to keep him around).

Sorry, I just don't rate McCann that high a prospect anymore. He scores a 2/10 on Hero Chart shot suppression too.

You quote: Hainsey's not being paid $3M to rotate in and out of the press box, so one of Marinčin or Marchenko has to sit on a nightly basis. If you think that's acceptable, then alright. If not, one of them has to go.

Obviously Hainsey is going to play big minutes because he can. But just because Marincin or Marchenko might rotate nightly doesn't mean that one has to go. One of them would go if there is someone(s) is ready to take their place and is better. And as of mid August, no one has. I would love to see a trade as you suggest but for a an acceptable Dman, not a prospect centre.