Leafs dont have cap space for that next year. Even if you retain the full 50%, it would put a lot of pressure on other positions in the lineup. You are putting a ton of pressure on their lineup by taking 4 players off of it with 1 replacement. You are hoping for it to be around equal cap but the Leafs need to spend around 2.5 mil(at a minimum) replacing the other 3 guys as well.

Rakell is a cap dump. 30-years old with four more years @ $5MM and having a poor season = you're not getting anything back for him. Aside from that, the Isles don't have the cap space for him even if you gave him away for free.

I mean the cap hit change with that EK65 deal is 1.1 mil. You're moving out 2 depth forwards, an ok young NHLer that is up and down from the AHL, and a 3rd pairing d-man with 2nd pairing potential at best.

I can't imagine TOR would pass this up

For the 2nd time today, the Hawks are not paying for Smith.

The problem is that with removing so many NHLers is that they all need replacements. It's not just their cap hit being removed without something replacing it which you left out of your figure. It actually adds around 3.6 mil in cap after replacements on league min salaries for a team who's already going to be up against it next season. After this move and an 87.5 mil cap the Leafs would have around 15 mil in space to fill 9 roster spots, including a top 6 winger, a RHD pair for Rielly and a goalie. It's just not workable.

**** no signed Leafs Nation

SJ will take Smith and Rakell from you for a 2024 2nd and a 2026 1st