That TO trade is terrible, Brown is at least as good as Murphy and they won't want his contract so that trade is not at all happening.

Brown is a depth F and Murphy is a top 4 D. Toronto needs a RD but not a 4th line winger. Murphy's contract isnt that bad either..3.8M

You yourself have stated the cap situation TO will be in next season. Its not terrible but its tight and spending 3.8 million on Murphy (who isn't that good on a team that is really not good) is really not a smart idea.

Also what is a top 4 defenceman? According to people on here, everyone who is right handed is a top 4 defenceman but never play in the top pair. They are always 2nd pair defenceman on their team and get labelled as top 4. Murphy is not a top pair guy, in fact I'd wager he's best suited to play bottom pair minutes on championship calibre teams. Yes Brown is a depth winger, on an extremely deep team upfront. He's probably a bottom 6 guy on most teams but he'd be an improvement on a lot of teams top 6 winger depth.

Please keep in mind that I am not trying to overvalue Brown and undervalue Murphy, they are pretty well on par. The difference being that Murphy has a contract that isn't attractive to TO while Brown could be traded in the off season for cap relief and bring back a decent draft pick. The trade makes no sense for TO at present. Better defenceman are available.

Yes I do agree on most of this but Murphy is a cheaper option for a trade and is 2M cheaper than someone like Parakyo.

The cost for obtaining a guy like Parayko makes the trade a bad decision in my opinion. The assets I think TO should put up for sale are one of a 1st or 2nd rounder, at max one of Johnsson or Kapanen and a prospect not named Liljegren or Sandin. I doubt you can get Parayko for a 1st, Kapanen and Bracco and I think paying more than that for 1 player who isn't a star at his position is counter productive.

Personally, I see someone like Chris Tanev or possible Jared Spurgeon as better options. They both can be had for much less than Parayko and if you are clever you may be able to get their teams to retain half the salaray. Easier in the Vancouver scenario since they are absolutely still in the early stages of a rebuild.

Yes...thats true...but Murphy(esp for his cap hit) is a decent D. and the trade hit is not alot(Brown and a 3rd)

I am not high on Murphy, I don't see him as an upgrade over Zaitsev or Oziganhov and I doubt Babcock would use him over Hainsey either. Which is a problem all in itself.

A Top 4 defenceman is someone who plays on the top two pairs and Murphy is that. Plus in this trade TOR is only taking on 1.7 mil for this season and next, whereas if TOR gets Tanev, like you said down below, they would be taking on close to 4 million dollars. Plus Murphy is a way cheaper price for a slightly worse player if you think TOR should be giving up a 1st Kapanen and Bracco for Tanev.

All these are pretty fair deals and very creative. I would argue the Boston one is the only one that is not fair. The calgary one is pretty far fetched but pretty fair for both teams. Overall well done.

Buffalo says no, while Gustafsson is intriguing and Saad is ok, we are giving up way too much to help you clear cap space to go after Panarin.

I’d be interested in Saad to some degree and Anisimov as a pseudo cap dump. BUFs 1st is off the table however as is St.Ls more than likely. I’d be willing to part with Nylander possibly but we need Asplund’s center depth.

For the Boston trade I tried to base it off the Martin Hanzal trade a few years back. If you look at Hanzal's stats that year and Anisimov's stats this year they look similar. The Calgary trade I just tried think outside the box to help both teams.

I agree...It would only happen if Calgary isnt keen on Bennett...Its fair though

No I think the Leafs would give up a 1st and Rosen for Tanev with the Canucks retaining half his salary. 1st of all Tanev is actually a top 4 defender (I utterly hate that term because its useless and misleading) and if his salary is 2.25 million for the next 2 seasons, he can easily be retained next season without needing to make other moves to cut salary. 2nd he only has 1 more year of contract meaning he can just be let go after next season if Liljegren and Sandin (or other young defenceman) progress as they appear to be progressing.

Onto the top 4 defender phrase. I know what people mean when they say it but literally everyone is a top 4 defender according to fans of their players. Murphy isn't a top pair guy, never has been and never will be, so he isn't a top 4 guy. He's a middle pair. I am so tired of hearing the term top 4 for guys that at best are 2nd pair players. If you aren't capable of playing top pair minutes, you are not a top 4 player, you are a middle pair player. Murphy is better described as a middle pair defender or a bottom 4 since he would be a bottom pair guy on a lot of teams.

With both Saad and Gus the Sabers should be able to make the playoffs, so their pick won't be a lottery pick. This trade also helps the Sabers in the future. Nylander is struggling to develop and could use a change of scenery. The St. Louis and San Jose 1st will quickly be able to replace Asplund.

This season Murphy is playing better than Tanev according to both Points Per Game and advanced stats. Murphy is also younger, and has room to grow. Also if you suggest giving up a first and a good defensive prospect who will probably replace Gardiner next season, for Tanev, the older and worse defensman, when you could just give up Brown for Murphy and save a mil even if Tanev is half retained. Plus TOR is going to have to give up Brown anyway to clear cap next season.

I guess what I am trying to say is, I don't like Murphy, he essentially a sideways step with a way too big contract for what he brings to the table. Tanev I have seen play great and his struggles this year have way more to do with the crap team he plays on. I think he'd give Rielly a really good responsible partner who can skate well and provide a much needed upgrade playing on the top pair in TO. I would not trust Murphy playing top pair minutes.

Tanev is on a better team than Murphy and he is still playing worse, Tanev is also only playing about a minute more too.

You aren't going to convince me that Murphy is anything more than a middle pair guy at best. Perhaps Tanev is in a big decline, I'll have to watch more of him to be certain. If that is the case, I'd still rather get Pysyk from Florida or Petrovic from Edmonton. Or just not trade for a defenceman and roll the dice with what they have. For Toronto, no matter what they do, how the forwards decide to play will be the reason they win or lose in the playoffs. If they decide to give it their all every night, they will be fine, if they decide to take shift or entire games off, then they'll be in trouble no matter who is playing defence.

I obviously tend to disagree, but thanks for a great conversation ?