Leafs likely pass. Mikheyev is too important to the bottom 6 and PK. Wilson doesn't fill that need and Hagelin just isn't as good as Mikheyev on the PK. Leafs are also giving up more offence between Nylander and Wilson, not to mention the suspension worry with Wilson. & If you're balancing the cap out there's really no incentive for Toronto at all.

I pray caps make this trade. Signed every Penguins fan

mainly because I disagree with the philosophy that Leafs need to trade Nylander for a rugged player I'd decline.

Wilson and Hagelin are both great on PK. Hagelin led Caps forwards in SHTOI last year and their PK unit was in the top ten. Wilson used to play top unit before he became a top line power forward. Leafs could use him wherever they need him, but I think he'd be best used on the power play.

Do you want a guy who missed a quarter of a season because he misjudged where a player would move to after he lined up an otherwise clean hit, or because he wanted more money than thirty teams thought he was worth all summer? Your call.



Yep. Totally your call.



Thanks. I try to make 'em fair. The Caps still have Hathaway, Chara, and Dillon in case they need to fight somebody this year. Term remaining on a couple of those guys. Having Wilson on the top line is awesome, but I also think the above top nine ends up with a whole lot of skill. But while I'm a Caps fan, I don't work for any team, and my big goal here is to try to figure out what might be close enough to fair to get two teams to start talking about it. As a hobbyist, I'd be really unsuccessful if all my posts were about ways the Caps could rip teams off. And I've noticed that MacLellan seems to be happy to make fair trades to shake his team up or add whatever he thinks it's missing. Wilson is an absolute beast. I'd compare him to a Gordie Howe type of complete talent. But Nylander is a potential #1C, and you can never have too many of those. And Mikheyev could be even better if he played with some other Russians.

it might as well be 1 for 1.
Both the other two players are damaged goods. Hags has no legs, frankly he hasn't been the same player since he broke his ankle.
Mikheyev hasn't been the same player since he had his tendons cut.

True, but then the cap doesn't balance and it's too big of a win for the Leafs. Wilson is a beast.

The value here totally depends on Mikheyev bouncing back sometime this year or next. If it won't happen, it's a bad deal for WSH.

kind of sad but I think if it's his hands he's done. It's so hard to repair a tendon. It's either too tight and then there is nothing you can do about that, or too lose and the risk of trying to shorten it isn't worth the risk. It's almost impossible to get the length back to "normal" which means biomechanically it's never the same, on top of it, possible scarring issues.
You end up like Bellerive for the penguins. He jacked his hands, now can't hold the stick normal and his game is whack.
Just a **** injury all the way around. Horrible luck for the guy.

Ouch. Is there someone else the Leafs could offer that would balance Wilson for Nylander? I genuinely included Mikheyev thinking of him as a young, defensively sound middle six forward with some offensive upside who speaks Russian and could turn great with Kuznetsov and Ovechkin. If he is no longer that, then this post deserved to be laughed at.

I think you'd probably have to go prospect or pick.
Hållander is a fairly decent prospect.
Leafs fans love Roberson, but he's like Braco 2.0.
Abramov might fit the bill as well. He's russian, decent skilled guy. Personally I think he's their best forward prospect.

I'm not sure an undrafted 19 year old who has yet to play makes much of a difference, yet. If the Caps need a Russian forward prospect for next year, they'll bring up Protas.



Just re-read this (bored) and really, since Wilson started playing on a top line, his offense is pretty darn close to Nylander's. Over the last two seasons, Nylander has two more points than Wilson, but Wilson has five more even strength points. http://www.nhl.com/stats/skaters?reportType=season&seasonFrom=20182019&seasonTo=20192020&gameType=2&position=R&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=points,goals,assists&page=0&pageSize=50

So I was posting this as if Mikheyev was still on the up-swing. Pittsburgh fans chimed in that with Mikheyev's hand injury he might be done, so there's absolutely no incentive for the Caps to downgrade 1RW on offense, defense, PK, and toughness. With all due respect to Nylander's takeaways and passing, Wilson is better and cheaper.

& Wilson only gets production because of the line-mates he plays with. Nylander actually drives play. If you think for a second that Wilson is a better play driver or offensive creator, yours just nuts.

It's a terrible deal for Toronto. Live with it.

Sure. That's why all the other Toronto fans keep suggesting it.

Cool. Fans that likely know nothing about analytics and are likely 50+ years old so all the know is old school hockey. Sorry, it's new school and old school is out. You can't assault your way to a cup now, the league has changed and is constantly changing to avoid hockey like that. Wilson is nothing more than a suspension risk. With his history, those are only going to get longer. No need for that in Toronto. At least if the cost is Nylander who can be such a game changer and X factor

Yes. William Nylander is a game changing x factor. Got it. Thanks. Because "analytics" and "New School." Wilson just gets more ponits, sometimes, and gets more hits on the score sheet in half a season than Nylander has in his career. And hits aren't important, because who needs to get the puck back. Not Toronto. They'll just win the opening faceoff and keep the puck forever, as soon as they find 19 more Nylanders.

Lol. Ever heard of stick checks and takeaways? ... Leafs are 1st in the standings and 2 in goal differential. I think they're doing just fine without Wilson. But sure, keep blabbing on about whatever you what thinking you're justifying it. But you're still not.

I'm fine if it doesn't happen. No worries. The Leafs have a good team. Highlights include Matthews and Marner tearing up the scoresheet, Tavares always being a threat to score, and Thornton and Spezza playing really well for free. Rielly and Muzzin aren't too bad, either. Andersen isn't perfect but he's got some great endurance. The Leafs are having another strong regular season, but that doesn't mean their 2R is better than the 1R off a recent champ.

Nobody in Caps land is actively shopping Tom Wison. You're arguing against that like it is a thing. It is not a thing. You are dreaming.

I'm literally not cause I never said they were. I said he isn't worth Nylander.

In the way that a hundred dollar bill isn't worth $90.

Probably the worse metaphor I've read. Thanks for a good laugh though kid 😂

If we're teaching each other English, now, you want to pick whether you're saying it's "the worst metaphor," or "one of the worse metaphors." Singular vs. plural. Like when you talk about dimensions of a hockey player. Nylander is slightly better with the puck than Wilson, but put them both in a corner in overtime, and Wilson has the puck, while Nylander recovers. Should this be the rulebook the NHL plays with? I don't know. Is it? Yes. It still is.

Wow. 😂

Goodbye kid.

I believe it was Radiohead who said, "Kid, eh?"