wait. this almost happened?

Kill me.

i dont think it was actually gonna happen but i remember this being a HEATED rumor in the 2018 offseason because the leafs needed a number 1 RHD

I remember Kings fans hated it.

No, it was just CapFriendly talk...rumour. Doughty had no intention to leave California.

it wasnt just capfriendly talk it was an actually massive rumor.... i wasnt even of capfriendly back then

For the record. Kings fans still hate it.

then kings fans are dumb af lmao

Just because various media like to talk about it, doesn't make the trade or near trade at all factual. Only the two GMs at the time will know if there were any serious discussion about a Marner/Doughy trade, and if one team actual mad the offer.

If the Kings traded Doughty for a forward, then their defense would be even worse than the Leafs'. That's bad.

their defense is already worse than the leafs lol, maybe the kings wouldnt have a bottom feeder offense if they had marner, tbh i cant even beleive this is being argued youa re getting a player whos 8 years younger and way better at the same cap hit, but doughtys contracts is longer LOL, kings take this trade and run and its not close to being close

Is it crazy that I look at this Leaf's team and think it's got a better chance of winning a Cup than the current one with Marner? I mean, I guess I'm biased as a Kings fan, but this looks like a legitimately balanced squad with great scoring depth and a great blue line. Sure, it doesn't have Marner, but there's still so much scoring potential in that lineup that I'm not sure he's needed for the team to go all the way. (For the record, I obviously agree with you. Kings would have been in the wrong making this move.)

Eh. I'm probably about to get crucified by Leaf's fans, so what do I know? I'm just a "dumb af" California-grown hockey fan who doesn't know the game.

the leafs blue line is fine, not the same narrative like years past

I didn't say the blue line wasn't fine, which remains to be seen (Leafs should come out of the North, but you can't deny that it will be interesting to see how they perform against a team like Tampa or Colorado or Caps/Islanders). Just that it looks better. To me there's a better chance of a Cup with this lineup than one without Doughty/with Marner. Personal opinion, is all.

I have to disagree. because our d is better that move leaves a bigger hole at forward, and not going to lose the trade to make our d better, marner is worth around his cap hit, doughty is not

Totally fair to disagree. I just think you were way too harsh (and rude) on the "dumb af" comment, because I believe there's an argument to be made either way. Toronto has clearly not had any issues scoring, with depth up and down that lineup and Doughty could have been a piece to the Cup puzzle that Toronto hasn't figured out yet.

Also, I think its fair to say that neither Marner nor Doughty are worth $11mil. (Personally, only MacKinnon and McDavid are worth that to me. You could argue Matthews from a Leafs' perspective, as well.) Marner's probably closer to value, but it's not as if Doughty is far off. He has had a renaissance year as the Kings have been more competitive. I think he'd be a $9-10mil player on a team like Toronto's that is competing for a Cup. I think there's a stat out there that the pair of Doughty-Anderson are one of the pairs at the top of the league in goals against during 5-on-5 play. Drew's doing that with a rookie defenseman in a division with Colorado and Vegas. Pretty impressive.

you are right 100% and it was a very poor choice of words, i think doughtys that piece maybe 2-3 years ago but leafs d hasnt been their achillies heel for the first time in years this year. I get what you are saying but if you compare marner to other top wingers cap hit, he is earning it, leads all forwards in icetime in the NHL, plays ever situation (PP,PK, etc.) and is top 5 in scoring

Doughty is 2nd in the NHL.com Norris poll from a few weeks ago, behind only Hedman. He's earning every dollar of his contract.

Trophy Tracker: Norris

I think Toronto would be the cup favorite with a Reilly - Doughty combo, even without Marner. People who disparage Doughty haven’t been watching him this year. I’m not just talking numbers either. The 2-1s he’s been breaking up have been unreal and his shot is noticeably more lethal. I would have made this trade the last 2 years with no hesitation. I would not make it now, and that’s no offense to what Marner has done this year.

I actually do remember this, and I hated it

this is his first good year in 2 years, and he always gets norris votes because if who he is, he isnt worth 11 million at all like come on, and hes on the back leg of his career, this trade is bad for the leafs and good for the kings, end of story, i wouldnt even trade marner for doughty 50% retained

Good for you. I wouldn't do Doughty 1-for-1 for Marner either. So it sounds like we're each happy with our own players.

a 24 year old winger who plays every situation of the game, leads all NHL forwards in ice and top 5 in scoring who hasnt even hit his prime yet OR an almost 32 year old d with his best years behind him making the same amount of money for more years? hmmmmmmmmmmm i wonder who to pick

well thats not very bright, you take a poll of neutral hockey fans id be willing to put good money that majority pick marner

The Kings need Doughty more than they need Marner. If you were building a brand new team from scratch, I'd tend to agree that going with the younger player is probably a better idea. However, the Kings have a lot of forward talent in the system and no top end RHD prospects.

When Doughty is on, he takes over games. He hasn't been on a lot over the last couple seasons because the Kings have been terrible, but he has shown that he's still capable of bringing it. With the Olympics coming up and Doughty having something to prove, he has brought it out more often than not this season, hence the Norris nods this year (For the record, he received 0 Norris votes in 2018-19 and 1 4th place Norris vote in 2019-20, so your assertion that he "always" gets Norris votes is incorrect).

Doughty for Marner would be a terrible idea for the Kings and would set the rebuild back several years since it would completely eviscerate their defense. As Toronto fans should know, it doesn't matter how good your forwards are. If your defense is garbage, you're not going to make it far in the playoffs.