I respect and appreciate the hopefulness, but skipping over Marner... what makes you think Kapanen signs for that pricetag? Teams will likely offer sheet him between 4 and 4.5. And, they'll offer him something Toronto cannot (with this roster), which is a Top 6 role.

If that happens, then the leafs match and deal with it by not signing Ennis. But as history has shown, offer sheets are not a huge reality in the nhl. I do agree that Kap is the most likely target though...

As for Marner, idk what you are talking about because $10M is well within the expected range unless you listen to Dreger

lol when was an offersheet actually used? gms dont use them because it boosts the market and one of the best ways to predict the future is look at the past

I could see the Leafs keeping Zaitsev if they are having trouble adding to the blueline. No reason to weaken an already weak spot. But trading for Matthew Benning is not the answer.

That being said, you have a glut of wingers and I'd be happy to see Johnsson moved to bring in somebody who can play in that top 4 group. Eliminates the offer sheet concern for him and Kap. Kapanen can play the left side and has a much higher ceiling then Johnsson.

When referring to offer sheets, just because they were not signed, does not mean that there are none presented. And, there's no way Kapanen signs a contract for $3M when his value to other teams are in the low to mid 4's. He might not sign an offer sheet, but his agent will absolutely present that number to Toronto.

He is worth more to the team in a trade, much like Palmieri was for the Ducks a few years ago. There will likely be a bid war for him, as most teams could use him in a 2nd line (or better) role. Agreed that Toronto would match an offer sheet in that range, but I could see him getting a couple of picks (2nd and a 3rd) or immediate and affordable roster help for him, while not having well over $20M tied up in RWs

Wording was bad in the Marner reference. It is absolutely an expected range, but the situation is odd, because if $10M was acceptable by him, I feel that deal would have already been done. The standards have been set by the franchise with Matthews, Tavares, and to a lesser extent, Marleau. Will be an interesting summer situation to watch for. I'll be interested to see how this cap situation plays out, while finding ways to improve the team

I truly believe that Marner will put his foot down and tell his dad/agent that he just wants to play hockey and $10M is more than enough for him.

I, personally, think Marner demands more if Marleau gets traded before negotiating. Such a cool bond between them, I think that would make it more "just business" in his eyes. I could very well be wrong, but as a Devils fan, I watched it with Parise when Langenbrunner got traded.