W Team

Again dreaming by a Toronto fan. No way Kings make that kind of trade.

Hell no

What is that "cap dump" to Chicago? Max Ellis as the sweetner?
Horrid absolutely horrid overpay for two years of Marner

I have loved seeing the dozen or so ACGMs by Toronto fans every day for the past week or so in which they admit, intentionally or not, explicitly or not, that what they want NOW is a team constructed from the bottom up, like Los Angeles, with a large number of moderately valuable and effective players, instead of from the top down, with a few stars poorly supported by overstretched spear carriers, like the fast-declining Toronto Maple Leafs.

When Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty are gone, the Kings will still be contenders. What would happen to the Maple Leafs if one of THEIR eight-digit players moved on in 2024 or 2025?

Count me as one of the Leaf fans that WANT to move on from the "core four". Kinda of illussion that by paying Matthews and Nylande 2m more on each of their new contracts makes the Leafs any better.
Well Tavares won't be back at 11m, and you can certainly question if Marner is worth his 11m now, never might when Dubas resigned him
Can Leafs still be contenders? Yes, but it has to be the right GM for the job....who finds value players and can negotiate fair contracts.......and that ain't Dubas.
Your "bottom up" theory and a good one, doesn't work for the Leafs as well since they don't have good prospect base, and have traded many future picks away.
In the Atlantic we see the rise of Sabres and Wings, and maybe even the Sens and Habs. Some teams(s) are going to fall out of the playoffs. Could very well be the Leafs and maybe for multiple years..