Modifié 13 mai à 12 h 13
Quoting: Garak
I don't think so. Theodore is a very high end dman who can play both sides effectively and give them a lot of offense, AND he comes in at a very affordable price point comparatively. The cap implications of acquiring Marner who will be looking for a raise, for a team like VGK that is already up against the cap, make Theodore more valuable to them. Not to mention, you can put up all the points in the regular season that you want, but if you can't get it done in the playoffs, none of that matters.
I'm not saying they won't choose to keep Theodore, or that they should do the trade, or that if a Marner trade to VGK happens, that it would look like Theodore+ a 1st. Just saying if they didn't want him and wanted Marner instead, it's just not farfetched that they would add a 1st on top value-wise. Getting Marner would require them to move Karlsson as well, so I would assume the trade would be Theodore+Karlsson or something like that.
In terms of getting offense from the backend, they would still have Hanifin and Pietrangelo. So, if they miss him, it would be because of his defense. He's not going to stay 5M next year, so instead of signing him for 7.5M+ or 8M+, they could look to getting a cheaper defensive D in the following year when the cap rises. In terms of salary raise for Marner, there is the possibility that he re-signs for 11M or even 10.5M in a tax-haven since that would be equivalent or more than 12-12.5M in Toronto. For argument sake, let's just say it costs 12M to re-sign him. So, it would be a matter of wanting Marner until he's 34/35 or Theodore until he's 36 or 37 and Karlsson until he's 34. Theodore's production will likely take a hit before Marner's does. Just like Theodore, Marner is effective on both ends of the ice, so it's not like they are trading defense for offense purely. As for Marner's playoff woes, new place and new team with less pressure can do wonders for a player. Tkachuk in CGY during the playoffs was even worse than Marner.