tavares 18/19

On the basis that somehow someway Jon Tavares signs with the Leafs, I would think that Nazem Kadri automatically becomes the Leafs best and most valuable trade chip. Trading Kadri to a team like Carolina, who is desperate for scoring and center help could potentially net the Leafs Noah Hanifan and maybe even Nicholas Roy (4C option).

So your logic is as follows

Awesome we upgraded our 2nd line centre position with Tavares and our 1 RHD with Dumba. We may now have the best centre depth in the NHL (Arguable but its close).
Lets immediately trade our now crazy good 3C Kadri and wipe out that new amazing depth we have.

How about, keep Kadri and Nylander for that matter and find a RHD that won't cost us one of our best 3 players in Nylander. Like Tyler Myers or Chris Tanev, both of who are likely a better fit for what Toronto needs.

Hey Leaf fans, take a deep breath, we only need minor moves moving forward, don't go crazy and trade talent for the sake of making deals.

Maybe I was not clear, I meant trade Kadri instead of Nylander. If the Leafs can get a kings ransom for Kadri, and it helps their defense, why not make a move. The Leafs will need to address their D and as we all saw in round 1 against Boston, you can't win the playoffs without solid defense.

Yeah, if the Leafs do sign Tavares, I don't see Kadri going anywhere for the reasons you suggested, plus the fact that he's on a great contract and hitting his prime now. And yes, the Myers/Tanev option that you point to, which allows us to keep the 3, has been played by many on this fake gm game - and I think both of those guys are a real options. But if Tavares is available I believe the leafs will take a swing at him, and if they connect on a deal that makes sense, I don't see how we can fit all 3 under the cap unless nothing happens with the D, which I think gets addressed to some degree this summer. If Tavares comes in, I think Willy heads out in exchange for a d - and if its a good d that addresses needs moving forward then I think that's a fair play

Maybe but if the Leafs are in a cap crunch and Nylander is the one to go, that means the return would be lowered. I think you make the big 3 the priority because long term, they are your best 3 players. They could very well be better than Tavares within the next 3 years. To be honest, Tavares's speed is a concern for me. I think the team speed that we can surround him with would make him better but when the Leafs played them last year, Kadri's line ran circles around Tavares. It was Barzal that looked like the star in those games. Kadri always plays well against JT though.