Must be a tough decision for Dubas to give up Knies. On one hand Meier is what you want Knies to be but if they can't retain Meier then they lose that player type that they want.

If they keep Meier I think they will need an ELC contract in their top 6 next year and after, maybe Robertson can fill in for next year though.

I have been thinking the same thing. I wish we knew what he had in Knies. Is he Jimmy Vesey or Alex Galchenyuk?? Niederreiter or Barbeshev?? Maybe Knies is going to be a Meier....but at a huge savings.

I suspect he would have to be included in a Meier trade. You would probably have to choose between Nylander and Meier after next season. Both will probably get $8.5 MIL a season for 7-8 years on their next contracts.

The KEY to keeping the forwards together would be to sign Bunting to a $4 MIL contract, Meier to an $8.5 MIL contract...and then buyout Murray for a cap hit of only $667,000 next season. That would save $4 MIL in cap savings!!

The following seasons would be tough to keep Nylander, Meier, Marner, Matthews and still have room to sign McDavid when he becomes a UFA.

I think Nylander's next contract will be in the 10 million range just because of what he's already done this season and what he will do next season especially if he stays a Leaf.

I'm banking on Meier coming in cheaper than Nylander as one is set to be a UFA and the other will be an RFA. If the Leafs can get Meir and possibly save 2 million, sounds like worth doing but as always, at what cost...

Tough question.

In terms of skill he can be any of those but really Galchenyuk doesn't have a similar play style even though he's big. If he turns to Vesey that's fine too if he's at least able to contribute enough. I would expect him to produce somewhere around the Crouse or Anderson range but in Toronto but with Matthews and Marner or Nylander, I would expect Bunting like production.

Meier, Bunting (maybe let him go if they manage to keep Knies), Samsonov, all need to take haircuts on their deals to keep everyone around. Murray's money is really just Matthews+Nylander's pay raises. Liljegren and Sandin need to be bridge at around 3.5-3.75m. Then the rest of the squad needs to be ELC contracts.

I would rather take Nylander at the higher price in the long-term because he's the more skilled player so likely going to be good for longer especially if Meier slows down. That being said, I could see Nylander asking for Pastrnak money (whatever that may be) so they might not be able to afford him.

He might just decide to walk as well since he seems to be the 4th wheel (or the 5th if you count Rielly), who doesn't get favored at all by management in comparison to the rest.

Definitely think Meier comes in cheap, and I think they just sign him with no trade protection in the first 3 years if possible, if they can get him around 7.8-8.3, maybe 8.5 depending on what the cap projects to be the following year.

To your point about Nylander, I can already see his argument of "why should I be the only core guy not making a double digit salary?" And that is why a Meir trade makes sense right now because he should be coming in cheaper than what Nylander will cost in the long run.

I fully admit that between the two, Nylander is the more skilled guy but I do think Meir brings a little more grit/heavyness which the Leafs lack anyway.

Pending the results of the coming playoffs, perhaps it is time to lean a little towards that grit/heavy style of game because certainly Tampa and Boston are bringing that to the Leafs whether they like it or not.

Yeah, that heavy game is something the Leafs definitely need, but I think they need to retain both otherwise the Leafs would become a one line team with Meier-Matthews-Marner probably, or they could still have Meier-Tavares but I think without a good passer Tavares would be essentially useless. Getting Meier could be leverage though with Nylander/safety blanket, but he's going to need to take a major discount.

In the summer changes are coming no matter what regardless of playoff result so I'd rather drive the ship by trading for Meier now.

Downside is what happens if he wants to sign the QO and walk.
That's the gamble.

I think there has to be way to acquire him without giving up Knies, Knies exactly what we want next if we make a move for Meier... a player with term on a ELEC deal.


To me the real issue is that we need more then Meier.

Agreed.

I think Meier+Bonino addresses the 2LW need, and consequently the need to bolster the bottom six. Adding Bonino strengthens the C-depth and with Jarnkrok going down it should improve the scoring depth. Perhaps even Knies could help if they can secure the trade without dealing him. Adding a D-man like Soucy to potentially replace someone or Seeler. At some point though, they just need to outperform the opposition. Imo, last year was the first time that the team performed well in the playoffs overall (ignoring the times when they were underdogs). Frankly, their current squad should have a chance at beating TB considering the difference last year was a goal in game 7, doesn't mean they will though, but same is true even after they add Meier or whoever.

Well the first thing in talking trade about Meier is getting permission to talk to his agent about an extension. If the answer is no extension, there's no point in continuing trade talks IMO.