God this as been a disappointment in the fact that they still got stung in the first round. Just pathetic. And at the beginning of the season, I thought this was do or die for the management and the core.
Truth is, watching this team compete in playoffs, I have never seen them so close and ready for a serie. They took the back to back champs to the wire. They came back from behind in two games against one of the best goalie in the league, and one of the best team. You might think this is biased, but I thought they played overall better than the Lightning, not to discredit them for their win, in the end they move and the leafs not!
Not even close to the results we all wanted, but I don't see how they could get better by trading their core, I just don't see it. I think the only one is JT thats isn't worth is contract and seems to be declining faster than anyone would think, but is NMC is a pain in the ass and makes him not tradable.
Matthews, well 60 goal scorer speaks for itself.
Marner as been amazing this playoffs, showing his skillsets and how important he is to this team, on the PP, on the PK, and at 5v5.
Nylander, damn this guy is full of talent. Isn't in the league of M & M but he is needed next to JT to drive that line, no question about that. I can't imagine getting a point per game player in a trade with Willy.
I think until JT's contract is done, this group of players are gonna be the maple leafs best chance to make it. I think it would be a mistake to trade the core, as I don't see how to replace them in a better fashion.
This summer : sign Jack or a goalie. Trade Mrazek an holl. Sign Lyubushkin, this guy is amazing. Hopefully we can keep Gio, but I also crave a full season of Sandin and see what he can do. Liljegren should also be full time.
Agreed with the description. TOR played really well. TBL's stars were shut down pretty good. Kuch was invisible 5v5 for just about the entire series. Matthews/Marner wer dominant. Their window is now and they need to buy cap space.
Hawks won’t pay to take on both Holl and Mrazek. They will be paid to do so, and while a buyout would be the easier route, it’s not exactly an option considering where the leafs stand with cap space. It will likely take a minimum of a 2nd rounder to move them, and I can see teams pushing for a first considering how desperate the Leafs are for cap space.
You essentially just built the same team for more money. Leafs played well this past series but you cannot just keep losing players or paying the same players more and expect to win.
McDavid, Connor
250 000 $)
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