2018/19 Line up
Hyman - Matthews - Marner
Brown - Nylander - Kapanen
Marleau - Kadri - Leivo
Martin - Aaltonen - Soshnikov
Gauthier/Rychel
Gardiner - Zaitsev
Rielly - Hainsey
Dermott - Carrick
Borgman/Rosen
Andersen
Pickard
I'd probably go:
Hyman - Matthews - Marner
Marleau - Nylander - Kapanen
Leivo - Kadri - Brown
Martin - Aaltonen - Fehr
Sosh
same dcore but with Dermott-Borgman as bottom pair
Think we need to have at least 1 PK focused centre, which could be Fehr being brought back. Then because Marleau is more of a speedy player that hasn't really meshed well at the speed of the Kadri line, a slower Leivo would work well while bringing Marleau up with speedy players in Nylander and Kapanen, while providing that line a definitive vet for Nylander's 1st full season at C and Kapanen's first full season. Then Brown provides more defense on the 3rd line, making it a shutdown line once again.
I think a 3 year deal will get it done for 4.5 a season if he really wants to stay. And then we can put this to rest. We hold on to JVR until right before July 1 and trade his rights away for a couple of picks. Maybe a 2nd and 4th rounder. To me JVR cannot be traded at this time. Things are going to well to screw around with things.
No one is going to pay a 2nd and a 4th for a JVR quality player with no guaranteed games played in return. Now there's a 5 day period before July 1st where players can discuss contracts with any team before actually signing on July 1st, which negates the benefit of trading for a UFA's rights.
And that line has not been going too well to not screw around with it, hell, Babcock already did by switching Marner and Brown.
Wonder what Statsny, who is 31 now, is looking for in terms of cost/term
The only other option off of the top of my head would be Thornton ... Perhaps the Leafs bring him in for one year
I've thought about Thornton being a great option for the team, but comes down to would a Marleau-Thornton-Marner line work well? Both Thornton and Marner pass more than they should, not sure if Marleau as the only shooter on the line is sufficient. Might require moving Marner to Matthews line while Nylander as a playmaking shooter would fit better.