No reason for the Ducks to trade Manson at 50% retention in the middle of a playoff race without at minimum a 1st coming back

Didn't you hear? Justin Holl is a #1 D just not on the Leafs

thought from me is that Ducks are in a playoff race yes, but are still a young team looking ahead to the future. This trade nets a 2nd round pick but also a guy who can step in and play a similar role to Manson (2nd pair D, penalty kill), and he's under contract for next year too so if Manson were to walk you'd have Holl there next season. Ducks also have more cap space than they can even use this season, which is why I figured retention wouldn't be too much of an issue.

Canucks need a much better prospect

I'd be happy to switch Liljegren for someone like Amirov if you'd like but my thought was that VAN really needs RHD. Liljegren projects to be a defensively sound, 2 way top 4 RHD, could even be an option to play with Hughes in a couple of years. I thought he was a much better fit than Robertson or Amirov (Niemela and Knies likely aren't being moved)

Manson is one of the most respected guys in the locker room in ANA, he's a leader for a young team, that kind of presence has more value than just his on ice impact, a late second doesnt really do anything for us, we're at a point where we need Quality over quantity, imo keeping Manson for a potential playoff run to get valuable experience for guys like Zegras, Terry, Comtois, Lundestrom and so on is worth so much more than a late second and a downgrade from Manson to Holl

The Ducks having cap space doesnt have any correlation to the value of retaining salary. Retaining salary, for a team that doesnt bring in a ton of revenue is a very hard pitch to make to ownership. Cap space or not the Ducks operate off of an internal budget. Retaining any salary means they need more value coming back. Why would the Ducks help the Leafs salary cap "Just because we have space"?

I don't know...The hole on RD is going to be there next year regardless. Think I'd rather take my chances on someone like Stralman (meh) or Lyubushkin as a UFA signing, rather than losing value on a Manson trade when we're falling out of the race already.

I'd revisit Holl in the summer if the Ducks can't fill the hole elsewhere, but right now they should be cashing in on assets. As a Ducks fan, depth issues have caught up to us, and while I think the team can stay in the fight for a wildcard, Soloman absolutely needs to cash in on these guys, and get futures back.

Toronto is going to have to buyout or waive Ritchie he doesn’t do anything good.

Not close on the Vancouver deal. You can keep Liljegren and Abromov

The problem with this theory is that getting a 2023 second for Manson isn't "looking ahead to the future," it's almost Jules-Verne-level science fiction. That pick won't mature into an actual NHL player until 2025 at the earliest, if ever. And how will Toronto be if the Maple Leafs trade Manson and he doesn't re-sign? I know that's unlikely, but I just don't see them taking that risk in trading Holl for Manson.

I'm still of the opinion that the baseline for Manson is a 2022 second and a reasonable prospect not named Knies or Niemela or roster player not named Ritchie or Holl (or any obvious candidate).

And to build on what my friend and esteemed colleague @Salzy says above ("The Ducks having cap space doesnt have any correlation to the value of retaining salary. Retaining salary, for a team that doesnt bring in a ton of revenue is a very hard pitch to make to ownership. Cap space or not the Ducks operate off of an internal budget. Retaining any salary means they need more value coming back."), the Ducks basic payroll for 24 players (incl Jacob Larsson) is under $61.5 million, and the total payroll, incl payments to Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler, is under $65 million.

Isles say no