Nah I don't see any of these moves being realistic. Marner's not signing that cheap, add a million to that. DET won't take Zaitsev, they already have their RHDs stacked with Green, Hronek, Bowey, Daley(plays on the right side) and possibly Kaski as well. Marleau is not waiving his NMC to be bought out, his career is most likely over if he does that. The premise of moving Marleau in the first place is unrealistic. I think Wild could do better than that with Spurgeon, they need right handed wingers more than another 2C in the team when they already have Staal and Koivu in there. And EDM is in no position to move their best RHD. They have no one to replace him with.

Where’s the realistic part?

OMG where to start 1) RFA signings are off about 4 mill. 2) Wings have no cap space and no-one wants him anyway 3) Marleau is not going to the Yotes.

Detroit isn't trading for Zaitsev 5yrs @ $4.5M is just way too much and a 4th round pick doesn't come close to making it worth while. Plus Detroit doesn't have room for another defenseman. You might have better luck moving him to a team that isn't rebuilding.

Every other Leafs armchair includes trading Marleau....boy will half the fanbase be upset in September when they realize that's not reality!

That said, I think the Marner bridge deal, let's assume Marner would take a 3 year bridge, is not a bad idea to save on cap. Could even be a 2 year deal.

thats a huge over payment for marner

In a sense, I agree with you. But there's nothing pointing he'll sign with any less that what I said there. Especially if his first comparison for a new contract is Matthews. Which seems to be the case.

if it was 7-8 years that would be about right but at 3 he should be at 7

Yeah no. Bridge deals like that just don't happen anymore.

Disagree on Marner. 9.5 is not nothing on a 3 year bridge, he'd be betting on himself again, and would stand to make more than Matthews in 3 years, plus im sure hes well aware how much this would help the team next year. Regarding Zaitsev, I take your point, didn't think the right D in Detroit through - maybe up the pick with another destination, hes definitely tradeable though. As for Spurgeon, replace Kadri-Brown with Kapanen, brown and a First. I also hear you on Larsson, maybe trade Naz for another option, or sign a UFA D instead.

You do realise that you must re-sign Rielly and Andersen in that 3 year time-span? Possibly Kapanen and Johnsson as well. In 3 years, it's going to be harder for you to re-sign Marner than it is now, unless you let Andersen walk.

Three years is three years. Anything can happen. Next year should be the primary concern.

With a team like TOR that think they could keep their core intact for years to come, that is not the case.

Disagree on the RFA signings. Johnsson and Kappy have no leverage, one good season means nothing, particularly when neither is among the 7 best players on this team (Matthews, Marner, Tavares, Andersen, Rielly, Nylander, Muzzin). Marner has leverage, but again, I think Dubas can get a bridge done here for cheaper than what many assume. Marner is going to get his for sure, but I mean, 9.5 is Kucherov level - it is not an insult on a short term deal.

That's fair, but, Johnsson and Kappy are not a part of the core (unless your definition of core is quite a bit broader than mine). Re: Rielly and Andersen, yeah, both could be problems down the line, I just think you gotta play things over both the short and long-term. There are adjustments they can make over the long term. Andersen is great now, but in 3 years, i'm not 100% sure they wont be ready to move on, and this is just one example. Many players can be moved to keep the core intact, and the team as competitive as possible, and i think they'll do that.