Why would the Islanders want Zaitsev at 4.5 mill for 5 more years when they have mayfield (who is an all around better D) at 1.45 mill for the next 4 years?

Because it helps out the Leafs. And every other team is in the league for the sole purpose of helping out the Leafs. Carolina set a bad example. But it did cost a 1st rd pick...

Isles don’t want Zaitsev. We don’t even want right shooting defensemen, we have a surplus. (Boychuk, Pulock, Mayfield, Dobson, Wilde soon)

Mayfield is not an all around better D. What's the basis for that comparison? Certainly not stats: they're both really bad. Zaitsev is the more mobile one, faster and has more potential. He did not live up to expectations with the Leafs the past two years, but he will most likely do with a different coach. The real question here is why would the Leafs want a D who is worse than Zaitsev when they already have issues with their D? And the answer is: because of the cap.

just watch the games

Sorry but I wouldn't trust the opinion of someone who has "Komarov > Tavares" in their description. I guess in your world of game watching it's probably true: Mayfield is better than Zaitsev in the same way that Komarov is better than Tavares.

do u really think i actually think that

But it's not the Islanders job to fix your cap.

Well we can start by looking at CF % rel where Zaitsev was a -12.1 last season and a -10.9 this season. Mayfield was a +2.0 this season. That matters. The islanders are better when mayfield is on the ice.

Can you even come up with a logical argument on how mayfield is bad?

I'm not denying that Zaitsev hasn't lived up to expectations with the Leafs the past two seasons. To be honest, our team isn't good at developing defensemen. We screwed up big time with Zaitsev. To his defense, he is used in difficult situations (~41% of o-zone starts), which affects his Corsi. He's still trusted as a top pairing defenseman with the Russian national team. Clearly, he is superior in terms of skating and mobility. Under the right management, he can live up to this potential.

insiders literally said the Isles are in on Zaitsev

Mayfield is a very good skater for his size and statiscally is a better defenseman than Zaitsev. Zaitsev is a puck moving defenseman and that’s about it. He’s not physical at all meanwhile Mayfield is a shutdown defenseman and has been very effective in his role. Of course Toronto could use one of those- I don’t care if Zaitsev has upside, Pulock is our #1 D , Mayfield/boychuk are both effective in handling 2nd pairing minutes and Dobson is likely going to make the team out of camp and is probably on a similar path as mcavoy/werenski/heiskenan (earning top 4 minutes in their rookie season). The only way mayfield gets traded is if it’s for a 2nd line winger or a good prospect. The Islanders do not need Zaitsev.

Hockeyinsiderrrr341691 on twitter doesn’t count