No

why are the leafs trading Nylander for a guy who might be as good as Nylander in 3-5 years?

For cap space

oh cool, which two top 6 forwards to fill in for nylander and the guy they need even if they keep nylander can they get for that cap space?

Cap space helps you win cups? The window to win is now, and nylander is the far better player.

Add nichushkin in free agency for arounf 5.5 mil, try robertson 2nd line, try mercer second line, use draft pick along with other draft capital to get retained top 6 rental.

and what happenes if he signs somewhere else? or Robertson doesnt develop? then what? What if there is no trade available for a good top 6 winger? You cant just wave a wand and things fall into place. teams who bank on free agents and trades appearing never succeed because they are left holding an empty bag when they are out bid or players simply want to go elsewhere

This would happen only if there's a replacement already set for willy. Again i don't know how good mercer is either or what his value is rn. What would you suggest as a trade idea instead?

i'd suggest they dont touch this at all. They have no need to move nylander unless they are getting a significant return and can upgrade for cheaper. if they simply need cap space they can trade like 10 other guys

What if we do something like Nylander and a 1st for 2OA. Someone like cooley or slafvosky on an elc for the next 3 years would be very valuable to the leafs imo.

value wise that's a win for the leafs, but it still makes them a worse team. the leafs still need to replace nylander and still need to add all the other things they need. there is no matthews or whoever who can step in and dominate or even be a top 6er out the gate.

That depends more on how the Leafs scouting staff sees slafkovsky. Personally, seeing him in the world championships and his other highlights, I think he's absolutely ready to tear up the league in his first year. I expect him to get going faster than wright will. He's also 6'4 225 lbs and adds a lot of physical play in the top 6 that nylander didn't. There's a risk to it, but the reward is pretty high as well.

that means nothing until it's actually done. You couldnt even bank on matthews or mcdavid playing as well as they did until they did it and size means nothing. look how long it took Puljujarvi to adjust.
the leafs are not at a spot where they can put hopes and dreams on an 18 year old being an impact top 6 forward, they are trying to contend.