This trade makes a lot of sense but the premise of a Gardiner for Kessel trade will cause hemorrhages for a decent portion of the Leafs fanbase and I'm here for it.

I feel like the Canes, for some weird reason, cause a lot of discomfort for a subset of Leafs fans regardless.

Canes, Blues and Ducks have this effect because 99% of Leafs ACGMs for a few years involved a trade for Pesce, Parayko or Manson to fix their longtime need for RD

I like it but I’d ask for retention if we’re giving a first up even with Gardiner. I think it’s likely that he can be LTIR’d anyways so there’s not as much incentive to dump him. I get we don’t need retention in this scenario but to keep our options open during TDL it would be nice to have an extra 2-3M to play with.

Yeah, I get it. I think they could find a creative way around this, but even with $1M in space to start the season, if they play the roster correctly, could still have a pretty decent amount of deadline cap space if necessary. Maybe not a large splash amount, but a depth add if necessary.

Also - let’s not kid ourselves…they are already spending an asset and bringing in a rental in this scenario, so what would be the appetite for the Canes to bring in another rental. Hockey deals would be more likely if needed that would include money going the other way likely.

Why are the Canes giving up a first here? They have the cap space to take on Kessel with some retention on Arizona’s part. Hasn’t the rumor been that Arizona will retain salary anyway?

Zero need for the Canes to waste a 1st dumping Gardiner. Just make it a lower pick for Kessel with retention, no need for a cap dump.

I suppose it’s wishful thinking on my end. Would like for them to start being a bit more aggressive. These fringe moves they’ve been making this offseason are fine and have some upside but at some point you need to be bold and make a big move to capitalize on the young up and coming core.

You can get Kessel for less than that, especially if Jake does get his back surgery, because he doesn't need to be dumped.