That’s just wrong but thank you for your feedback.

They have nearly $15m in cap space right now. None of their RFAs are big-tickets and if they keep Brossoit, they are not spending much on a backup. They have more than enough to sign Demelo and Hamonic. Hamonic wants to be there, which is generally unusual, and unless you overpay for Demelo, Winnipeg would likely compete on anything < $5m. Don't see why WPG couldn't provide these players with stability too. I suspect if WPG gets a 2C--and there is some suggestion that they were fine with Wheeler playing centre--they will likely make a trade and that will probably involve salary in and salary out, so I don't see that cutting into their $15m substantially.

As I said, as well, if the 1st is unattainable, 2-2nds should not be based on comparables. You know TO just traded Kapanen and spare parts for a 1st, a decent depth guy, and a quality prospect, right? Kapanen for Larsson was heavily rumoured by both TO and EDM media, so, I'm not crazy here, regardless of your biases.

I don't think they can offer a better package to STL based on needs. If STL moves Parayko, they logically need a LHD. Reilly is way too good; Muzzin is too old and too expensive to provide STL with the cap relief; and TO's other LHD are 3rd pair, regardless of future potential. The merit of my deal is that the Oilers assume nearly $4m in cap space and, though they get the best player in Parayko, Klefbom is not a massive drop-off in quality and even offers an additional year on his value contract than Parayko has. Financially, it's a great deal for STL.

Pesce and Hamilton are definitely very attractive options that TO should pursue over Larsson for sure. Realistically, I'm not sure Carolina is really prepared to move on either of them, even though they pop up on trade bait boards. If you look at their depth chart, they are likely walking away from Vatanen and Van Riemsdyk so that leaves them with only two natural righties in Pesce and Hamilton. More likely, they are standing pat (as Fleury can play LD or RD) or they are trading one of their lefties to acquire a righty, not trading their top 4 righties. Jake Bean, who is pushing up, is a leftie. Carolina could outbid EDM on the Parayko deal easily if they were so inclined but I doubt they want to take on $4m in cap.

If you think it's terrible, then you either aren't noticing that EDM is taking on nearly $4m in cap or you are seriously underrating Klefbom (or overrating Parayko). The reasoning makes a lot of sense. The premise is STL wants to keep Pietrangelo (which may or may not be true). Including AP, STL has 3 righties that can play in the top 4. I think Faulk is untradeable because of the contract they gave him so that means STL has to decide between AP and CP. If they want to keep AP, they need cap. Bozak is their worst contract and they have more than enough forward depth that they can absorb his loss. So in this deal, they gain just under $4m in cap space by sending him out, even retaining 50% with 1 yr left. They also acquire Klefbom who is not as strong defensively as CP but offers a bit more offensive ability and plays an excellent two-way game. Klefbom's contract is universally recognized as a value deal and they get him for 3 years (as opposed to just 2 more with CP). The drop-off from CP to Klefbom is not massive by any stretch. A B prospect is a reasonable starting point to compensate for the retained money but I'd be open to increase the value of the sweetner to a point.

Rich in LHD? Dunn is their only bonafide top 4. You can't be thinking Scandella or Gunnarson are legit top 4, let alone anywhere near as good as Klefbom? As stated above, nobody has said Pietrangelo signs in EDM (least of all me) in this forum but now that you mention it, check out this article, https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/1998237.

Reasonable observation. Thanks.

Thank you. Just for fun at the end of day and Holland isn't an aggressive GM so I wouldn't expect such a drastic overhaul in EDM. Definitely not Holland's MO. I don't think the trades are unreasonable though, assuming that some of the premises are accurate (e.g., that STL wants to sign AP, ARI is looking to offload OEL as reported, and Dubas has interest in Larsson and Khaira). I'd readily acknowledge that some of them might require a bit of give and take with EDM able to offer some modest sweetners to make deals more attractive or willing to accept more modest returns, e.g., 2-2nds instead of a 1st from TO.

Logic is very flawed. Larsson is 1 of the last options I'd go for. Even with Pietrangelo off the market there's at least a dozen better and cheaper guys then Larsson. Also those 2 don't get you a 1st. They barely get you a 4th. That's a lot of cap to eat and give up a 1st. Leafs paid a 1st to get rid of 6 mill of Marleau and you want to get a 1st? 😂😂😂

I wouldn't even give up Johnsson unless a 2nd is coming back.

No, I think the trade is terrible because it is terrible for the Blues.

It saves the Blues $4m in cap? Entirely disingenuous. If the Blues are willing to retain 50% on Bozak then there are plenty of teams who would want Bozak at a $2.5m cap hit and $2.125m salary. Bozak at 50% for a mediocre prospect doesn't do anything for the Blues... they can find that easily elsewhere.

So this trade is Kelfbom for Parayko. Which saves the Blues $1.33m in cap.

First, Parayko is comfortably a top-5 defensive defenseman in the League, he's significantly better than Klefbom in this regard. Klefbom is a top-pairing defenseman, but Parayko is elite defensively.

Is Klefbom better than Parayko offensively? Sure. Parayko average 33.77 points per 82 games in his five years in the League. In the same five year span Klefbom averages 36.23 points per 82 games. 2.5 points a season better offensively isn't closing that defensive gap.

Then we come to the fact that RHD are more valuable than LHD. Then we can talk about the fact that Parayko has missed 13 games in his five years in the League. Klefbom has missed 99 in that same span.

Klefbom has an extra year on his contract, and that's great... but it doesn't add the value you think. It's far, far easier to be comfortable giving a healthy Parayko a long term extension at 29, how comfortable will it be giving an injury-prone 30 year old Klefbom the deal he's looking for in three years?

As for the whole right-left balance on defense... that's a load of nonsense. If Parayko was a lefty then he still wouldn't be playing with Pietrangelo, if you have two stud defensemen then you want them on different pairings; so that one is on the ice 45-50 minutes a game and they are raising the level of their two defensive partners.

As for your proposed pairings for the Blues should that trade happen... Dunn-Faulk would not be a good second pairing when you consider their skill sets. There isn't the issue that some like to pretend there is in having so much money tied up on one side of the defense, particularly when one can play either side.

Then the fact that the Blues have Dunn, Scandella and Gunnarsson on the left side, with Mikkola viewed as NHL ready and the organisation extremely high on Perunovich. Yet, we've got nobody beyond Pietrangelo, Parayko, Faulk & Bortuzzo in the right. Taking a RHD to add a lefty wouldn't make sense.

Downgrading Parayko to Klefbom to save $1.33m in cap is a terrible, terrible idea for the Blues. We save more than that buying Steen out.

Dubas does not have interest in Larsson. It's been speculation for years but has never happened. Why? Because Larsson is not remotely close to what the team needs. They don't need a ****ty stay at home guy who can't move the puck or really do anything except block shots and hit people because he's too slow and unskilled to do anything else. They need two way guys. Guys like Klefbom, Larsson sucks.

Thank you for engaging thoughtfully. I take your point about Bozak at $2.5m having more suitors. That's fair. I'll need to reconsider how to make it more enticing or if there is a way for Edmonton to take the contract straight across. I also appreciate the insight on Mikkola and Perunovich. I'm not convinced that a left-side of Dunn, Scandella, and Gunnarsson is terribly attractive. Dunn and Klefbom would be a better top 4 by far with whoever the Blues wanted to slot in at number 3. My intent with the pairings was less about the chemistry of the combinations and more about pointing out the top 4. With AP, CP, and JF on the right side, you've got three righties that can and expect to play lots of minutes so that's the argument I was making for balance. I think more and more, NHL coaches prefer to play their D on their natural side.

A 4th is just wrong... that's bias and doesn't reflect comparables. You can read my responses in the forum as I've defended on the logic and conceded that the ask is a *reach* but it is not as outrageous as your counter. Six dmen have been traded in the past year for a 2nd+ (plus being another pick or prospect) and in most cases, Larsson is better and/or younger, and in some cases cheaper, than those guys. RHD especially have value and Larsson is a good one who plays in a top pairing role in Edmonton and would be at least second pairing on most teams in the league. He is 27. His major drawback is that he has had some on-again, off-again back problems and his performance did suffer some after his dad's death in 2018. But, when he's on his game, he is an absolute difference-maker in Edmonton and despite the fact that he was acquired for Taylor Hall, which was an overpay, he has a lot of fans in Edmonton. Larsson is 2nd on the Oilers, behind only Klefbom, in outlet pass success rate (71.5%) and stretch pass success rate (70.6%), and he leads the Oilers by far in his dz exit success rate (84.3%).

Larsson is 2nd on the Oilers, behind only Klefbom, in outlet pass success rate (71.5%) and stretch pass success rate (70.6%), and he leads the Oilers by far in his dz exit success rate (84.3%). He is not too slow nor too unskilled. He is a second pairing RHD on most teams in the league. Larsson is a very solid defensive defenseman, which may not be sexy, but still has value in NHL today.

But the Oilers suck defensively so that's not good.

Well, it's not like TO is a shining beacon of defensive play. Maybe if they were, it would be easy to be dismissive of these results but given that they aren't, our 2nd best is probably not so crappy as your rose-colored fan glasses have you believing. In any case, you obviously have a largely unjustified bias against Larsson. That's fine. There are players I dislike too but it also tells me how to assess your feedback. Thank you for taking the time, though. I genuinely appreciate it.

Better than Edmonton and it wasn't that close. Edmonton was good at special teams but one of the worst teams at 5v5. TO was bad on the PK and 5v5 under Babs but average under Keefe and improving. Plus the Leafs spent a long stretch with Rielly and Muzzin hurt.

Playing on their natural side is preferred, but Armstrong has wanted to have three strong RHD for a while. He tried to extend Shattenkirk, then he almost got Hamilton before he went to Carolina and finally got Faulk. So it's been five years that Armstrong has either had the depth on RHD, or been looking to add it. Even if Pietrangelo is to leave this offseason, I wouldn't be surprised if Armstrong trades for another RHD or adds someone like Brodie in UFA.

I agree that Dunn, Scandella & Gunnarsson isn't particularly attractive on the left. However, it's not really meant to be. It's constructed so that the LHD is a solid player who is a good fit with his RHD partner, and the RHD is carrying the pairing and elevating the LHD players effectiveness on the ice.

Even if all that was true that's 3 stats and compared to a sh*t Oilers D core. Other then Nurse and Klefbom who else do they have?? It's not like Larsson is beating out guys like Rielly and Pietrangelo in those categories. Compare him to the rest of the league and 2nd turns into 141st...

I'm not biased against him. I wanted him on the Leafs for a long time... then I watched him play and ooffa I'd rather resign Ceci cause he'd be cheaper. Like dirt cheap...