Bold of you to assume that:
A) Calgary considers this
B) Anyone pays assets for Jake Muzzin's contract

Muzzin plays LD not RD (and does not want to play on the right side) so he does not address the need for a RD for Dallas.

Oops - that's my bad - so yes, this trade wouldn't happen

Calgary is going to tear it down - so I think they'll consider most things right now!

Doubt they tear it down when they still have most of last year's team, they really only lost one player so far from a team that many had at least making the WCF

I'm sure CGY would consider that easily, a 1st and a top defensive prospect. It would put a hole in their defence but Klingberg is out there and perhaps Holl can regain his form in a depth role.

If you think Calgary considers a late 1st and a good but not sure thing D prospect you should probably look up how good Andersson actually is. He’s elite at both ends of the ice and his contract is a steal.

If Niemela isn't a sure thing then no d prospect is, the guy was second in P/GP in the Liiga for dmen at 19 years old, only guy with a better per game pace is 26

Not saying this gets Ras but Niemela is elite

It's a late first in a really deep draft (analysts were saying to expect 2nd round talent to be taken in the 3rd rounder) and Niemela is a very good prospect and prospects are only considered a sure thing if they are NHL ready. Andersson is really good but doesn't mean they won't consider moving him depending on if and for what they could sign Klingberg (I know he isn't good defensively). They do have the cap space to sign him regardless but that doesn't mean they should.

The key word is consider.

Niemela is a great prospect but he’s 5’11” and has yet to play in NA. There’s definitely a path to being a top 4 guy, but there’s also a path to being a bust. Fwiw the only sure thing D prospects are Sanderson, Power, and Edvinsson imo. And how deep the draft is doesn’t typically change the value of anything outside of a top 10 pick. Like you’d maybe rather have pick #8 next year than pick #5 this year, but you’re probably not gonna get an elite talent where this pick would land.

If Calgary trades Andersson, they won’t go out and sign Klingberg for more money to be worse. Trading Andersson would indicate a complete firesale.

And it might be a fire-sale - we'll need to wait and see! I also considered adding Sandin to the deal - I just think he needs an opportunity to play and will be stellar - so that's another option - but with that the deal begins to look unfavourable for the Leafs.

Agree completely with everything other than the Niemela take, how many more 5'11 guys do we need to break into the league and be absolutely electric before we stop dinging prospects for not being 6'5? The best defenseman in the NHL right now is 5'11 and went straight from college to being a playdriver in the show

I don't think they would trade Anderrson, but what I was saying was depending if the increase in Klingberg's ask was worth it. As for the pick not having an increased value that's true but top 4 D are typically taken late in the draft anyways, CGY being able to get someone more valuable might be an increased incentive for them.

Of course they would need to feel that the moves they make would make them a better team, if it won't or the hassle is too much then of course they won't make the deal. If it's a fire sale then they will ask for something astronomical like ARZ for Chychrun but I CGY would have a better chance. That package would just have to have Kerfoot and holl switched for a young player like Robertson to be considered.

To be fair he's not saying he's a smurf and unwanted, just that GMs are wary of undersized D prospects especially when they haven't played in NA yet.

100% true....but with Makar I think that old mindset is going to quickly shift. Clearly GM's are taking notice that with the speed, skill and style of the game today there's a need to have balance of both mobile and nimble D, plus some size a feistiness to clear the net and punish opponents as needed. It will be interesting to see how teams evolve over the next 3-5 years.

Yep, there were a lot of D-men being taken in the draft based on skating ability. Although, what that means for trades remains to be seen.

I mean Niemela isn’t Makar, but my point is more along the lines of it’s just another risk factor. I think Niemela’s game is well-rounded enough, plus elite in some areas, that he should become a top 4 guy, but being sub-6’ and never playing in NA are his two risk factors that may prevent him from reaching his potential, whereas guys like Sanderson and Power don’t have those concerns. Also even Colorado, for all that they’re fun and employ analytics effectively, 5 of the 6 defensemen on their final roster were 6’1”+ (Girard woulda brought that down to 4 but he was hurt and who knows, maybe Tampa woulda found a way to exploit him on the forecheck). I think Niemela is good enough to be that one sub-6’ D on the team, but he’s not as sure of a thing as a guy that’s 6’5” and mobile, because if Niemela doesn’t turn into a top 4 guy, he’s probably not gonna be a bottom pair guy either, since those guys are generally big PK types (see Zadorov-Gudbranson, Johnson-Johnson, etc.)