Honest question…I really don’t mean this to sound negative, but why would either team do this deal? Why does Arizona want Nylander who only has two years of term then he walks. Why would the Leafs trade Nylander + extra assets for one defenseman.

I think leafs fans have two semi-irrational desires; sacrifice Nylander and add defenseman.

ARZ definitely says yes to that

No they don't, Not what Armstrong is looking for not even close.

I think the trade would work, might even be a bit of an overpay from Toronto's perspective. But Arz apparently is looking for draft picks only and don't want to retain any salary. The Yotes don't want to be any better this season. Next season? That is an entirely different story.

Might be a bit of an overpay?? Sandin is an analytical darling with better defensive metrics than Chychrun, Nylander is an 80-90 pt winger who could pot you 40, and a first for someone who’d be playing second pair at best

For starters Nylander does not score 40 goals for ARZ.... In Toronto? Definitely.... Not Arizona. Sandin is not as impressive as you're making him out to be. For one thing all ANY team had to do was offer $4M and all it would cost is a 2nd Rd pick. Toronto would never match that. Is it an overpay? I agree it is. But say Sandin signs for $2M... You're totally excluding the fact that this deal also frees up almost $5M in potential cap space the Leafs were going to have to use and that has to be taken into consideration in this trade. Hence why I said it's a slight overpayment. If there was no hard cap in the NHL? Then it's a gross overpayment. But what could the Leafs do with $5M extra cap space? Hence again why it's not considered a gross overpayment.

And what could they do? For starters 5 million now doesn’t get you a player in the ballpark of Nylander, or even Zach Hyman. What would be his replacement, Tyler Toffoli? The shell of Gallagher? Whatever Josh Anderson is? You’re doubling down on a bad take, this is a gross overpayment by any definition of the word

For starters it would allow them to re-sign Sandin.... Maybe add Kesell, not to mention $5M come deadline time gives you a ton of flexibility. Just think it cost Calgary a 1st round pick to get rid of Monahan.... What did it cost Toronto to get out of Marleau's contract again? So to say $5M of cap space isn't worth a 1st rounder, I'd have to disagree.

Difference is Nylander isn’t a capdump, he’s a borderline star, and Kessel at 34 plus 3mil at the deadline for someone like Anthony Mantha is objectively worse than Will and Sandin

Hey it isn't a perfect world... This is the world the Leafs found themselves in because they overpaid for Tavares.... Beggers can't be choosers. Is Paccioretti a cap dump? He was, shou;d he have been? Obvously not as Pacioretti is more valuable to Vegas than Nylander is to Toronto. Patches played on the team's 1st line and was one of the deadliest lines in hockey. But.... He went to Carolina for future considerations. This is the NHL and there are only 32 jobs.... It's not meant to be easy. Right now, to free up space in your budget, it's expensive to make any deal where the other team takes on more salary than you do. It's just the reality in a hard cap and cap purgatory.

1. The Leafs aren’t 10+ mil over the cap like Vegas was 2. Nylander is significantly younger than Pacces by a ton and therefore has much more value 3. Tavares is overpaid relative to market value today, when he signed he took a significant discount from the Sharks that would have paid him more than McDavid per year

1) Nylander has 2 years left on his deal where Patches has 1, so theoretically you're clearing $10M worth of cap space... 2) Vegas and Toronto are in "win-now" mode, and seeings as both will be UFA it's a moot point.... 3) Doesn't matter what Tavares turned down.... Toronto signed him and that contract hasn't aged well at all. Toronto is where he signed and Toronto is the only team his contract affects. San Jose is thanking their lucky stars they didn't give Tavares that contract. They'd have Karlsson and Tavares over $22M for roughly $12M production. Like I said it's an overpayment but not masive.

It’s not a moot point just because both will be UFAs, Nylander will be 27 when his deal expires, which is an age you can afford to hand out a long term deal, where Pacces is likely to sign a 2-3 year high aav deal. And JT hasn’t absolutely tanked his value and he’s worth being relegated to the KHL, he’s a 10 million market value player at his current rate of production according to Dom’s model, so he’s being overpaid by 1 million, is the difference between Tavares and Jason Spezza a “hasn’t aged well at all” difference between just Tavares? Also, guys still a PPG centre that’s top 3 in the faceoff circle and is a lock for 30 goals every year he’s healthy, he’s overpaid not useless

What fantasy world are you living in???!!! $10M for Tavares is market value?? Lets see.... Nazem Kadri signed 7 years for how much? I'll just tell you.... $7M/7years.... How many points again did Kadri record? 87 points. Okay one player right? How about Zibanejad? $8.5M/7yrs.... 81 points and is younger, faster, more physical.... Barkov recently signed for $10M/8yrs... Do not try and put Tavares in Barkov's territory. Tavares is an $8M/yr player not $10M... and is $3M at least overpaid, and most would constitute that as MASSIVE overpayment in a hard cap league. You telling me Dubas' hands would still be just as tied if they had that $3M?

Patches is a player on a "win-now" team much like Toronto, could you imagine!!!! What would happen in Toronto if Marner got sent to Carolina for future considerations? That is what Vegas was faced with. Toronto basically did it, just in many different parts as opposed to one massive piece being dumped, Toronto downgraded in many areas so they didn't have to do it the way Vegas did.

Of the 3 centre’s you just mentioned, Kadri was the only free agent, there is a premium for free agents, Zibby and Sasha re-signed, that lowers their contract value, and Kadri is a bad example as no one wanted him at the value he was looking for 7x10.5 and he’s FOUR years older than JT when he signed. If you want a comparable to why I say a 31 y/o JT would have a market value of 10 million, which I very clearly stated isn’t a figure I made up it’s based off the Atheltic’s model which factors age and production, Huberdeau just signed for 10.5, and he 1. plays a less valuable position, that’s objective. 2. is significantly better defensively, Huberdeau is a liability. 3. Has historically scored more goals than Huberdeau. Huberdeau’s only claim to his pay day was this season, in which league scoring was in a cap-era high.

Huberdeau is coming off a 115 point season!!! Tavares isn't in that ballpark, not even close. Tavares and Kadri are roughly the same age, my point on Kadri is 84 point 32 year olds are worth $7M not $10M. So when you say Tavares is only slightly overpaid? Tavares is worth $7M as Kadri who offers more dimension than Tavares does, got 7x7 which makes sense. Hence making Tavares $4M overpaid. He does not belong in the conversation of Huberdeau. 2) Huberdeau is a 1st line player, Tavares is a 2nd line player. 3) Huberdeau drives his line.... Should Nylander get hurt? Tavares' stats would tank something fierce.

I agree it's far fetched for the Leafs to just dump Marner but I am using the case that because the Leafs have to get rid of salary they have downgraded everywhere so they don't have to pull a Vegas. Tkachuk is a physical winger, possible captain material coming off a 100 point season. You're not going to get something like that for Tavares. Lastly on the Kadri signing.... He was the Prize center in UFA!!! I agree he really thought he was going to land himself $9M+ and it wasn't there. That's because the market for a 30+ center at 80 points is $7M..... You can say the Athletic wrote this and that... it's irrelevant... The people with the check books made Kadri $7M/7yrs... Give me a 84 point center that also signed for 7 years this year and we will talk.

Getting to your “Marner could have hypothetically been traded for futures if the Leafs were in the Knights situation” Tkachuk was just traded for a better winger and a top 15 defenceman while not having a contract, it doesn’t matter if the Leafs are 82 million over the cap, Marner wouldn’t be traded for futures, that’s an illogical argument.

You’re 84 point centre has never in his entire career before now been a point a game player, that’s why NHL teams didn’t give him what he wanted. Also I can very clearly tell you don’t watch Leafs game because him and Nylander haven’t worked in the past year while they tried to scheme him as the number one puck carrier on the 2nd, last season when JT was running the line they were one of the most effective 2nd lines in the league. Also when you same many more dimensions I assume you’re saying he’s more physical, which he is, but at every other facet of the game Tavares is better, he’s better at zone entries, face offs, playmaking, goal scoring, defensive zone starts, you name it he’s probably better.

When you say Huberdeau is a first liner and JT is a second liner that argument only work in Chel, both players have had the responsibility of running a top line and second line in their careers, JT has found a niche behind Matthews while Huberdeau has improved due to Barkov being the number 1 puck carrier on the line. One of the reasons Huberdeau had a way above expected point total is because he had the freedom to move off puck and have the 2nd best defensive forward on him because of Sasha.

And the market for a 30+ y/o centre isn’t capped at 7 million, reports at the start of free agency said Calgary had a 7 by 10.5 on the table and Kadri decline thinking he’d have better offers, he overplayed his hand and got stuck