Matthews for a big pile of garbage.

Nice way of telling us you know nothing about those players.

I think you’d still get a great return for Matthews, bc even if he doesn’t want to re sign, you’d still need to secure him going to your team. If you won’t pay for him someone else will.

A team that can’t resign him probably won’t give up a top prospect and a team like LA that would be a favourite has no incentive to give away a big piece like Clarke or Byfield.

Which one is 1st line or top pair defender? You don’t trade one of the best players in the game for 3rd liners and bottom pairing defenders.

At this point if TOR ends up trading Matthews, and the best player they get in return is a second line winger, you know it's going to be a sh*t trade.

I agree Matthews' UFA status brings his value down a notch, but we also need to remember that at his best he's top3 player in the sport, and the best goal scorer there is. The latter part especially holds true - Matthews' goals per game ratio is highest in the entire NHL history (0.62 per game).

I agree 100%

We should have gutted this team after last season. Instead we held on too long and in perfect leafs irony after we finally win a playoff series now the GM is gone and it looks like some significant changes are about to go down.

And if an offer that good comes in of course you take it. However, where is it coming from? What incentive does LA have to give us Clarke and Byfield?

I agree. I also think Matthews is the guy to trade. It may sound dumb, trading a franchise center, but I kinda think his impact between the big four in these playoff runs have probably been the smallest, especially in important games. He's also the most likely to bring you guys the most value.

Bigger question is, just how much is any team willing to pay for the guy? Is he going to be considered as your regular rental - or would any trade involve a massive extension in order to get proper value.

Personally I lean towards the latter - Leafs can't afford to lose him for free, nor they can afford to trade for bits and pieces they could just acquire from free agency. Especially since Leafs have surprisingly big amount of cap space for this specific offseason.

The only part I disagree with you on is the last paragraph where you say we can’t trade for “bits and pieces”. This is probably another Gaudreau situation in the making except it’s that on steroids. Calgary tricked themselves into believing they could keep him off the open market and look where that got them! If Mathews isn’t going to sign an extension this summer we can’t be delusional and say we will negotiate at a later date. The fact that anyone wants Trevailing as our next GM is enough to make me vomit.

Wouldn't that be a kick to the head, basically getting Tavares'd and Gaudreau'd by Matthews after 2023-24

What I meant by my earlier point is that trading Matthews for such package that's been done in this post is trading for bits and pieces, because Matthews' impact even as a rental is likely going to be bigger that any number of mid-6 asset you gather up. There's not even a single piece here that you could build from, a guy like Vilardi or Byfield for instance. It's absolutely a must on any Matthews trade that they at least get one Top6 forward with elite potential in him. It's either that, or they just keep him and hope for the best, and then end up sucking their thumbs in 2024.

While I agree that minimizing the damages is a solid strategy in certain scenarios, this is not one of them. They can't half ass how they approach the Matthews issue - that has the smallest probability of success in any scenario whatsoever, both short and long term.

What team would give up an under 25 top line forward plus whatever other assets to rent Matthews? This team also has to have several million in cap space if it’s just a forward like a Vilardi who’s an RFA or on an ELC.

That's the million dollar question isn't it?

I'd imagine there are teams that want to get better now, and would gladly take a player of Matthews' caliber in their team. But it all comes down to cost.

LA is in a lucky position in terms of being one of the teams Matthews would likely sign with as a UFA, so they don't really need to spend on him as a rental.

But honestly, if a player like Matthews is unable to bring in some good young talent, then the whole market is seriously wonky.

Also, one thing to note. Matthews' NMC kicks in at July 1st, so by that point he can't be traded anymore without his approval. So, should he be traded for a package involving a solid youth guy, it'd have to be during the draft, effectively not making him a rental in the traditional sense.

If we're simply talking about teams that have assets "available", well there's Ottawa with DeBrincat, NJ with Meier or Bratt, WPG with Dubois, STL with Thomas and Kyrou and Rags with their kid line. These guys COULD potentially be in play for guy like Matthews. Ideally, the trade would involve an extension though - that opens many doors for the Leafs as well.

Honestly though, I don't think there's a scenario where Leafs would trade Matthews "as a rental", unless they are missing the playoffs next year and he hasn't been extended by that point.

“Also, one thing to note. Matthews' NMC kicks in at July 1st, so by that point he can't be traded anymore without his approval. So, should he be traded for a package involving a solid youth guy, it'd have to be during the draft, effectively not making him a rental in the traditional sense.“

Bingo! And that’s why a trade is going to look closer to the one I proposed than to anything you said in your last paragraph. It’s very hard to get a deal of this importance done by the draft when it’s a month away AND we are looking for a new GM.

And we're back to square one, the thing I said in the very first comment.

If I had to choose between a sh*t trade or no trade at all, I'd choose the latter.

That trade doesn't make them better team, not in the short term, not in the long term.

If that's truly the best they can manage, Matthews will remain a Maple Leaf for the next year. That's absolutely 100% certain. No GM worth their salt is moving him in a package where the most valuable piece coming Leafs way is Alex freaking Iafallo.

If he is to be traded, it's with an extension and for a full value package. That or try to keep him and re-sign him.

Bottom line is you don't trade a franchise player for the sake of trading, it's for the sake of upgrading in either short or long-term. This does neither.

I think they can still get better quality players like a Kempe over Avirdsson or Iafallo, and Durzi over Walker. If not Kempe then one of their young forward ELCs since they would still want to put themselves in a position where they can add Matthews but also play guys.

What incentive is there to deal Matthews?

Losing him for nothing is worse.