Quoting: Zavi902
no for the leafs....
Not even close.
The Wild are going to be in cap hell the next 3 years and this trade just makes it significantly worse. There's literally zero reason to do this unless the goal is to torpedo the franchise. Because this trade is crippling for Minnesota on an absolutely absured level.
Furthermore, this move does three things for the Leafs.
1) Creates the necessary capspace and shed a unnecessary caphit to actually fill out the roster so it can actually compete for the cup.
2) Fiala may be a somewhat of a talent downgrade from Marner, but he's
still a legitimate elite playmaking winger with gamebreaking talent in his own right. This is a guy who is going to pitch in 60-70 points on his own
without a line worth a damn. Next to Matthews? He's potting 80+ points a year minimum... easy. All for $4M less on his next contract, that's a win for Toronto.
3) Toronto also gets a gritty hard hitting offensive defenseman RHD capable of playing top pairing minutes. This is another win for Toronto.
In short, Toronto is basically shedding cap here. All while it fills a position of need, but also getting a viable replacement for Marner in the process to boot. The only downside is losing Robertson here, but that simply isn't enough of a sweetener for Minnesota to consider it.
This is a surefire W for Toronto and a bigtime L for Minnesota.