Quoting: Eli
Nah. I think all the Tor fans looking for Marner trades are looking for cap space to keep Rielly. If Sandin will be ready for a top four spot in two years, then one year of Orlov gets Tor over the hump. Then it's a question of how much Nylander's numbers are driven by always playing with Tavares or Matthews. Since he had a year on third line and scored less than Eller there, I think that Orlov's low cap hit allows Tor to shop in a buyer's market for top six wings rather than give Rielly 10M a year or whatever he wants.
Oh. You really were serious.
Listen, I know you're a smart guy, which is why I'm sure that, despite not noting it, you knew that Nylander's "down year", the year that he was on the 3rd line, was also the season where he sat out training camp, and didn't return to the ice until December. A season where he started with just 3 points in his first 19 games. I'd assume it's not easy jumping into an NHL lineup mid season. He appeared to hit his stride though, given that he had 24 points over the last 35 games (0.68 ppg), good enough to get him back within 0.06 ppg of his career average.
I'm also sure that, despite not noting it, you also knew that Eller played 27 more games than Nylander that season. Eller point per game: 0.44 vs. Nylander point per game: 0.5.
I'm also fairly certain that, despite not noting it, you also knew that Nylander finished that year with 10 points in his last 13 games.
Honestly, it's really ok that, even when you cherry picked a season that he sat out for the first half, you forgot to mention all of the things that would go against your narrative.
As for shopping for top six wings? They've got one...his name is William Nylander. The thought that, moving him to replace Rielly with 1 year of Orlov, to free up about $1.8 mil in cap space, to then go overspend on a free agent winger that's older and most likely less productive than Nylander is absolutely insane. The reason people are making Marner ACGM's is because there's a weird group of Leafs fans that have an irrational dislike for him because they consider him overpaid in spite of the fact that he finished 4th in league scoring last year, is reliable at both ends of the ice, and is not what they'd consider "Gritty", which is why that same group was happy to get Nick Ritchie, who isn't good at all.
Conclusion: Nylander for Orlov is very, very bad for Toronto, and very, very good for Washington.