Quoting: jfalstaff
Yes, that's why I said "before it gets to that" -- as in, before Marner is in a position to force the Leafs hand by signing an offer sheet, he'll go on the block and offers from the entire league will be fielded.
Fair enough but at the same time why would any team offer more than what they could offer sheet him for? Toronto's best bet would be to trade him to a team with a ton of cap space (like NJ, Philadelphia, Vancouver) because those teams would be able to match any potential offer sheet he could sign elsewhere. But once he signs that piece of paper, forget the idea of trading him. I think some teams will be hesitant if the asking price is too high. For a team like NJ who has two #1 overall picks in the past 4 years, it could make sense to offer sheet since they'll almost be ready to compete and that'll keep Hall around as well. We will see what happens i guess.
Quoting: Matthews34
Great! So then we're on the same page? Leafs will make trades before July 1st, and will not be backed into this magical corner where Dubas wakes up one morning and says "oh no, I forgot to clear enough cap space to deal with a potential Marner offersheet"
Quoting: Matthews34
Great! So then we're on the same page? Leafs will make trades before July 1st, and will not be backed into this magical corner where Dubas wakes up one morning and says "oh no, I forgot to clear enough cap space to deal with a potential Marner offersheet"
No matter what toronto is losing a valuable player so idk why you are treating this like a win.
Marner = bye Kapanen, Johnsson+
If you try to do a trade and buyout and resign of Marleau, Kapanen is most likely gone.
If you try to trade Zaitzev, your RHD get's even worse.
If you trade Nylander, you'll be selling low and losing a good player
If you trade Kadri, you'll need to sign/trade for a 3rd line center that won't be as good, or use Nylander in his non-traditional role.
Who else would you want to get rid of to save cap? Hyman makes only 2m, same with Brown. This doesn't save you long term and you only have 3 defenseman on non ELC's, two of which aren't mentioned but you wouldn't get rid of them either.
In no way does toronto win this offseason, it sucks but that's the price of having two 11+m contracts on the books. Almost impossible to have 3. Yeah toronto still has a few prospects left in the pipeline, but they will not be able to fill the shoes of those leaving for the next 2-3 years, if ever (depending on who is traded).
If marner signs and toronto matches, teams will demand insanely low prices for the players they are trying to trade because they know they are in a bind. Even if he doesn't, don't expect teams to pony up for scraps and give a good offer when they know this is the situation toronto is in. You aren't going to get top prospects, you may get some NHLers but there will be a drop off from the player you trade. No toronto doesn't have to accept, but there will be a point when they'll have to start forfeiting games or waiving players for nothing if they aren't cap complient