You will never contend with McDavid on the team. Trade him to the rangers for a 7th and get rid of that terrible overpriced contract then u will contend

Dont be that guy

There is no chance TO would make that trade.

usually deals are a roster player, prospect or two and draft pick or two
no club can trade too much experienced depth and then contend in the playoffs
team chemistry would be ruined

Cuz we all know, ya just gotta dump players with back2back Art Toss trophies..
Jealousy based hatred is highlarious..-~

theyre dumping a bad contract for a defenceman who can play on *THEIR* top pair and giving up two bottom 6 wingers whom they cant afford to be making 2 million dollars per year. hows this a bad deal? were not having the "Zaitsev is actually good" conversation again because hes not and you know it

Look bud, as much as I don't want this to be a reality it is. Edmonton isn't a good team and the only thing they really have going for them is McDavid. Their defence isn't very mobile or effective and that includes Larsson who's an okay skater but not at all great. TO has a much better record, better depth and a better defence and goaltending. TO doesn't need to make a trade like this, it really doesn't help them. Who will they put in the lineup instead of Brown and Johnsson? Gauthier and Grundstrom? Gauthier is serviceable but he has zero offence and Grundstrom has never played and NHL game. On top of that TO is a legit cup contender, while Edmonton is a legit bubble team that will likely miss the playoffs again. I was hoping that Edmonton and TO would be meeting in the cup final in the near future. Its not going to happen for 3-5 years tops and that is only if Edmonton fires Chiarelli and finds someone who isn't terrible to run the team. Bottom line forwards in TO would be 2nd or even 1st liners in Edmonton. I am sure you'll disagree with that but remember when Rattie was supposed to be an offensive force with McDavid? You can check through all my posts, I'm on record saying he won't be in the NHL by seasons end.

If Larsson is as good as you say, then what is happening in Edmonton? They allow way too many goals and barely score when McDavid isn't on the ice. So its really hard to argue that anyone outside of McDavid is a great player. Even Draisaitl's shine has dulled. He's making 8.5 million and is supposed to be an elite centre who can drive his own line, and yet his production falls off a cliff without McDavid.

The point I'm trying to make is Edmonton isn't in a good position, they have many, many holes on their team. TO has the 2nd best record in the NHL currently, near the top of the league both offensively and defensively. They have perhaps 1 need which at this time is more of a want than a need and that is an upgrade over Ron Hainsey. Sure Larsson would be a big improvement over him, but Larsson's value isn't very high. Edmonton trading him now looks more than anything like Chiarelli realizing how bad a trade it was to acquire him and now he's trying to recoup some of the lost value from the Hall trade. So with all that in mind, Edmonton is the desperate team in that negotiation. TO is fine standing pat, they are hoping to win the cup this year. Edmonton will be fortunate to make the playoffs. If they miss the playoffs, Chiarelli is fired on the spot, so do you think he'll be able to be patient or would he have to pull the trigger to save his own job?

So in conclusion, there is no way TO would make this trade. Maybe in the off season but even then, I think it would be sending an unsigned Johnsson and Zaitsev and call it a day. You won't get both him and Brown I think. I imagine they can find better deals out there.

you were making decents points until you mentioned draisaitl's production "falling off a cliff" without mcdavid... guy is on pace for 88pts and makes a fair salary. how about nylander and his 61pts making a prorated 7.5M and it only bought 1 UFA year lmfaoo man ur a joke

edit: also have u seen the time frame that this is being done? this would be an offseason trade OBVIOUSLY. What value do u think Brown has to a team that definitely cant afford him?? Brown is coming back as a salary dump but can be a useful 3rd liner in edmonton where he'd be a 4th liner in toronto

I am not saying Draisaitl is a bad player, I'm just saying he's supposed to be a lot more than he's been. Part of that is of course the horrendous depth that Edmonton has up front. They literally have only 3 forwards that would make the Leafs without a doubt. The rest of the forward core wouldn't make the team and many other teams. Still though, Draisaitl should only ever be playing with McDavid on the PP and then he should still put up 70 points, but he doesn't. He spends long stretches playing wing for McDavid and that is where he scores a huge chunk of his points. His contract isn't very good considering he needs to play with McDavid for his production to warrant the 8.5 million he makes. Chiarelli gave him the farm before he knew what he was.

Sure chirp Nylander all you want, it doesn't bother me at all. His contract at less than 7 mill is fine. He'll put up between 70-90 playing with Matthews and leading the 2nd PP unit which is amazing value for that contract.

Instead of lobbing lazy insults though we can discuss the trade. And here it the heart of the matter.

Larsson is a 20 point defensive defenceman for a team that allows too many chances and goals which doesn't exactly paint a great picture for him. Again not saying he's trash but he's far from elite and definitely has not once proven to be an effective top pair defenceman. Zaitsev is a solid defensive defenseman best suited to play on the 2nd pair, but he also does have some offensive upside and can QB a pp in a pinch. In a head to head battle, I think Larsson has more value. But its not a huge difference which is the point I made a while ago.

As for Johnsson and Brown. They are top 6 wingers in Edmonton. That is how bad your forward depth is. A 4th line winger in TO is possibly McDavid's right winger.

You can talk about cap situations and cap dumps all you want, and you have an idea of what you are talking about when you say the leafs need to move a contract or two to fit their stars. However, that doesn't mean they have to give away good players. That doesn't make any sense. Why would they have to dump an effective player making 2.1 million dollars? That is a valuable asset that will get a fair return. Brown is a classic yeoman depth player. He can kill penalties, play good in his zone and chip in with some offense. He has scored 20 goals once in his career.

Johnsson appears to have a lot of upside and is the exact type of player Edmonton desperately needs, relatively cheap wingers who can add some speed and skill to a team that lacks that in on its wings.

At the end of the day, TO has a wealth of assets at their disposal, you don't just give those away because it makes Edmonton Oiler fans happy.

Dubas would be an idiot to trade Brown and Johnsson for a small upgrade over Zaitsev and have to retain salary, that's just insane.

Here is where I'll challenge you sir, don't let your fan bias cloud your vision.

Edmonton isn't a very good team, they are a bubble team. Toronto is currently 2nd in the league and they did that while missing Matthews for 14 games and Nylander for almost 30. How would Edmonton fair if they lost just McDavid? The answer is they'd lose almost every game without him, because he contributes almost 50% of the entire teams production.

I get why you want to obtain these players, it makes sense and if I was the GM in Edmonton I'd try to be making moves like you suggested all over the place but I'd do it in a fair way. If you want to use Larsson to get Brown and Johnsson, I think you will have to add another asset and take back Zaitsev. Or you'd have to retain some of Larsson's salary.