It's a third-round pick to offer sheet Mikheyev at $2M, why would the Kings take Johnsson (they already have Kempe at a cheaper rate)?

that's waaaaay too much for Gudas. If he gets that after what DeMelo just got that GM should be fired

Traded Johnsson to LA just to gain the cap space... but they could use a talented LW as their current options are limited. Also wanted to get back our 3rd round pick from last year's Muzzin/Clifford deal just in case we decide to "go for it" and offer sheet Ryan Pulock in NYI! Lamoriello is in a jam as he's only got $8.9m available and has to sign RFAs Matt Barzal, Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews. If the Leafs throw a $6m offer sheet at Pulock (who's just 25 and a 1st pairing RHD) then we wouldn't sign Gudas and Lehtonen/Holl drop down a pair. We'd also have to trade away Kerfoot to make space for Pulock but I don't think that will be too difficult.

As for Lehtonen on the top pair, I know that will raise eyebrows, but he led all KHL dmen in scoring last season, is doing it again this season (6 G, 12 Pts in 8 GP) and is averaging 22:23 TOI for Jokerit. He'll likely start on the 3rd pair to get adjusted to the N.American game, but I can definitely see him move up to at least the 2nd pair and log big minutes + QB our 2PP unit.

I completely agree with you and DeMelo was my original target (which is on a previour Armchair GM roster). I decided to overpay Gudas as I think he's going to get interest from a handful of teams as he brings that gritty, physical element that every team wants for the playoffs. If we can get him for $3m AAV like DeMelo, then it frees up another $500k of cap room for added flexibility.

except that Gudas is declining heavily. like he's not even a very good 2nd pairing guy right now. overpaying him, especially for multiple years is a very bad idea when you're as cap strapped as the leafs.

Would Thornton come in to play 4th line role for Toronto? Several better teams could offer him a better role such as Edmonton 3c stays in the west can get pp time with mcdavid Leon and nuge.

You're not going to get Mikheyev to sign an offer sheet with LA as he specifically chose Toronto when he came to the NHL last year. On top of that, his agent (Dan Milstein) represents no less than SIX Leafs players including Mikheyev, Korshkov, Barabanov, SDA and newly drafted kids Rodion Amirov (1st round pick) and Artur Akhtyamov (4th round pick).

As for Johnsson, he's not an overpaid plug and brings legitimate 1st line winger potential. I think LA could use a guy like him... but reducing the draft picks to incentivize the trade is an option too.

Again, I agree with you. *I* overpaid him in my simulation just to ensure the numbers work. I'm trying to avoid the problem I've seen in other simulations where Leafs homers have Pietrangelo signing for ridiculous amounts like $7m because "he's a hometown boy and loves the Leafs"! That's why I tried to err on the side of overpayment with Gudas to make sure the money fits.

Yeah, I don't know if he wants to come to the Eastern Conference and perhaps he could get better offers and TOI with other teams. I threw him in as he fills a need at centre and provides grit and leadership. If Toronto trades away Kerfoot, I can see Thornton getting that spot.

If Mikheyev believes getting paid $1.5M x 2 is what he's worth that's fine, and he can turn down all the offer sheets he gets. But if another job was paying you 25% to double as much what you are making, I'd call you crazy if stayed put.

Johnsson being a top-line player seems pretty inaccurate, he looks pretty close to Adrian Kempe who is a middle-six player for nearly 75% more of a cap hit (during a frozen cap) and he isn't coming off a season-ending injury. Sort of seems like a bum deal for the Kings to give up futures and cap space for someone who only scored 8 goals last season on one of the best offensive teams in the league.

Do you think there's a team that's going to offersheet Mikheyev at more than what the Leafs will offer him? I don't. He's going to get $1.25m-$2.0m and I can't see any other team going above that - especially when it's going to cost them a pick. The entire point of an offersheet is to overpay and make it difficult for the current team to match. No one is going to do that for a guy like Mikheyev.

As for Johnsson, on many other teams in the league he'd be playing on the 1st line; in Toronto, that didn't happen because we've got Matthews-Marner and Tavares-Nylander as our top pairs and then lined up puck retrievers with them: Hyman and Mikheyev. Johnsson ends up relegated to the 3rd line where his skill gets wasted; he'd be at least a 2nd liner on the Kings.

Topline potential is great, top-line potential at $4M is still good, top-line potential but 8 goals and an injury last year is the reality the Leafs are selling. I'd expect the Kings to get a second and third for Kempe, who outscored Johnsson last season, has less injury issues, and is paid 40% less. So we already have a player like Johnsson in Kempe, Iafallo, and Grunstrom at a much lower cap hit. I don't understand how the Kings would be seen as winners in this trade.

I see what you're saying and think you're completely undervaluing what Johnsson can do based solely on his stats from last year when he was pushed down the lineup in Toronto and then got injured. He was a 20 goal scorer the season prior and even last year when he was playing on the top line, he was putting up better than 0.5 points per game in 15 mins TOI. That said, I don't even care about the 2nd round pick in this trade - all I want back is the Leafs' own 3rd round pick in case we decide to offersheet someone and need the compensatory pick. If you think Johnsson at $3.4m is overpaid then I don't know what to tell you.

Plenty of players have great rookie seasons and are snakebitten for the following season, but the player you are selling dropped his shooting percentage by 50%, got injured, and is looking like an expensive contract in contrast to free-agent signings today. I agree you shouldn't sell low on him, but if you must trade now, you can't be surprised that his value is low. For the Kings, they are rebuilding and they will not move picks unless a definite slam dunk is coming back. Like I said Kempe is pretty comparable there at a nice $2MX2 cap hit with better possession stats, bigger, and nearly twice the amount of hits ( I know Johnsson is chippy too) at $1.4M less, and he is proving to be good when put up with a top-6 center like Vilardi. I think you can go through every ACGM from Toronto over the past 3 months, I'm not the only one who doesn't want Johnsson for picks (even late picks) because of his cap hit, and the Kings are one of the few teams with the cap space to take him. Good players are being moved for peanuts because of having somewhat high cap hits, free agents with similar metrics as Johnsson going for less, you aren't selling me on him or Kefoot when free agents with similar metrics are being signed for half the cap rate.