Let me preface this by saying I'm not a fan of either team, and in fact dont particularly like either team either so there's no bias involved here.
But I was discussing the Leafs situation they've put themselves in over the last few months and kind of got thinking this idea. And the more I've thought about it, the more I really think it makes a tonne of sense for both teams and could turn both teams into ridiculous powerhouses quickly.
So here's the proposal with my reasoning afterwards:
- William Nylander
- Travis Dermott
- Evan Bouchard
- Edmonton 2020 1st Round pick(Roughly 20th overall)
First of all. It's a draft day deal, after the Oilers make the playoffs but lose in the first round. And after Toronto also squeaks into the playoffs but also lose in the first round.
From Toronto's perspective I see it like this. Something needs to change with the makeup of the team. They tried coaching this year and it didn't really improve to the levels they were hoping it would I'm sure(Though injuries definitely haven't helped this). They've got a tonne of money spent on forwards and the result is little money left available for Dmen. Dubas IMO really alluded to a big change in his post deadline press conference, when he mentioned having talks about some things that are more draft day type of deals(IE big trades that change the look of a roster). So, for Toronto they make this trade and immediately gain a tonne of cap space. they get the 7M Nylander is making on average, as well as not having to worry about the new deal Dermott would be getting this summer. Realistically it frees up as much as 9-10M in space for this summer for them. Now lets talk about what they are getting in return.
Bouchard is a big, Right Handed Dman with a canon of a shot, good skater, great offensive instincts, and he's now spent an entire year in the AHL really working on his all around game(IMO the AHL is as good a place as you can find to learn what it takes to Defend well at the NHL level). He's a really good prospect with high upside and NHL ready for 2020/21 season. And as a Right Shot defender he pretty much fits perfectly into what the Leafs really need. They also get a 1st round pick, which gets them back into the 2020 1st round of the draft after losing there own pick to the Canes in the Marleau deal. There's a lot of value in making a selection here because especially in todays NHL where the cap exists, the reliance on young players and ELC contracts is huge for having extended success and cup windows beyond 1-2 years. So IMO they should keep the pick and actually select a player(I'd go Best forward available). But they could also use the pick as currency to go out and add a forward to replace Nylander. Someone like Rakell could fit the Leafs really well and much cheaper. But again, IMO the best course of action would be select a player. If anything it makes it much easier to move the 2021 1st rounder later on in the season knowing you got to select in the 1st round back in 2020 so you're not going 3 drafts in a row without a 1st pick(Since they didn't have one in 2019 either). So maybe at the 2021 deadline they trade a 2021 1st + for a guy like Rakell at that point and get 2 Cup runs with him on the team. They also get that cap space that was previously discusses which in and of itself carries value for Toronto. Now all of a sudden they could have money to go out and target another Defender like Brodie(Who they've been interested in for a while now) to add to that D group. Or perhaps even make a play for Pietrangelo.
Long story short. Leafs get a high end Defensive prospect who is NHL ready right now, who fills a major need for the Leafs, and they get the much needed flexibility of almost 10M in cap space to tinker with the roster in free agency that summer.
From the Oilers perspective I see it like this. They've just made the playoffs. They lost in the first or 2nd round to a good Vegas/Vancouver team. But they've gotten that taste of playoff hockey again and now they're desperate for more. A big reason why they just made the playoffs besides the obvious Connor and Leon, is the emergence of Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones as legit NHL Dmen, and in Bear he's a legit Top 4 guy already. These guys breaking out along with drafting Broberg last year makes Bouchard maybe the tiniest bit available in a trade, only a trade that gets them a legit star winger they can park next to McDavid and really take that team to another level.... Well, hello William Nylander. In Nylander they are getting a guy who's re-established himself this year as a star. He's a great skater, smart offensive player, and when he's on his game he has the creativity that most players in the league only dream of. An almost perfect fit to pair with McDavid I think. They also get Dermott, a solid NHL level Dman, who can come into that D group and be a contributor in a less pressured role than what he was playing in Toronto. Yes the price to get Nylander is a lot, but this move takes nothing away from the current Oilers lineup that just made the playoffs, and turns them into a powerhouse in the West.
Capwise, they add almost 10M in cap space, which would require some maneuvering in order to make it work. But the beauty about the offseason is it's much easier to work around the cap issues than it is in the summer. At that point Russel only has 1 year left on his deal at 4M. Mike Smith and his cap hit expires, so does Mike Green. So does Brandon Mannings buried money, and quite frankly the entire depth of the Oilers is either a UFA or RFA so they have flexibility to figure things out. Perhaps after making this deal they could turn around and offload Athanasiou and his RFA contract to recuperate some of the draft picks they just lost in the Nylander deal and in acquiring AA to begin with.
Long story short for the Oilers. They get a legit 1st line winger on a solid contract to pair with McDavid for a long time, and they get a solid NHL Dman that has shown he can contribute when used in the right role.
Here's how I would look at each teams rosters(The Top lines anyway) for the 2020/21 season after the trade
Leafs:
Marner - Matthews - Hyman
Kapanen - Tavares - Mikheyev
Engvall - Kerfoot - ???
Rielly - xxx
Muzzin - Bouchard
Sandin - Holl
Liljegren
The key here being the 10M in cap space saved in the deal, using that to go get a Brodie or impact Top 4 Defender for that hole in the lineup. I'd also consider bring Nicholas Robertson into the mix at this point for the forward group as well.
Oilers:
Nylander - McDavid - Kassian
RNH - Draisaitl - Yamamoto
Neal - Khara - ???
Klefbom - Bear
Nurse - Larsson
Jones - Dermott
While still having Broberg coming up on that Defense. And the ability to maneuver cap space if needed to make it work in the summer.
Anyway. It's a huge deal, but a deal I could see both teams benefiting a tonne from in the long run. And I think the value is solid for both teams as well. Thoughts from Oilers or Leafs fans, or general fans? Like I said at the beginning I'm not a fan of either team here, I've just spent the last 3 hours during a slow day at work pondering this deal and really think it's a fit for both ends.
But I was discussing the Leafs situation they've put themselves in over the last few months and kind of got thinking this idea. And the more I've thought about it, the more I really think it makes a tonne of sense for both teams and could turn both teams into ridiculous powerhouses quickly.
So here's the proposal with my reasoning afterwards:
- William Nylander
- Travis Dermott
- Evan Bouchard
- Edmonton 2020 1st Round pick(Roughly 20th overall)
First of all. It's a draft day deal, after the Oilers make the playoffs but lose in the first round. And after Toronto also squeaks into the playoffs but also lose in the first round.
From Toronto's perspective I see it like this. Something needs to change with the makeup of the team. They tried coaching this year and it didn't really improve to the levels they were hoping it would I'm sure(Though injuries definitely haven't helped this). They've got a tonne of money spent on forwards and the result is little money left available for Dmen. Dubas IMO really alluded to a big change in his post deadline press conference, when he mentioned having talks about some things that are more draft day type of deals(IE big trades that change the look of a roster). So, for Toronto they make this trade and immediately gain a tonne of cap space. they get the 7M Nylander is making on average, as well as not having to worry about the new deal Dermott would be getting this summer. Realistically it frees up as much as 9-10M in space for this summer for them. Now lets talk about what they are getting in return.
Bouchard is a big, Right Handed Dman with a canon of a shot, good skater, great offensive instincts, and he's now spent an entire year in the AHL really working on his all around game(IMO the AHL is as good a place as you can find to learn what it takes to Defend well at the NHL level). He's a really good prospect with high upside and NHL ready for 2020/21 season. And as a Right Shot defender he pretty much fits perfectly into what the Leafs really need. They also get a 1st round pick, which gets them back into the 2020 1st round of the draft after losing there own pick to the Canes in the Marleau deal. There's a lot of value in making a selection here because especially in todays NHL where the cap exists, the reliance on young players and ELC contracts is huge for having extended success and cup windows beyond 1-2 years. So IMO they should keep the pick and actually select a player(I'd go Best forward available). But they could also use the pick as currency to go out and add a forward to replace Nylander. Someone like Rakell could fit the Leafs really well and much cheaper. But again, IMO the best course of action would be select a player. If anything it makes it much easier to move the 2021 1st rounder later on in the season knowing you got to select in the 1st round back in 2020 so you're not going 3 drafts in a row without a 1st pick(Since they didn't have one in 2019 either). So maybe at the 2021 deadline they trade a 2021 1st + for a guy like Rakell at that point and get 2 Cup runs with him on the team. They also get that cap space that was previously discusses which in and of itself carries value for Toronto. Now all of a sudden they could have money to go out and target another Defender like Brodie(Who they've been interested in for a while now) to add to that D group. Or perhaps even make a play for Pietrangelo.
Long story short. Leafs get a high end Defensive prospect who is NHL ready right now, who fills a major need for the Leafs, and they get the much needed flexibility of almost 10M in cap space to tinker with the roster in free agency that summer.
From the Oilers perspective I see it like this. They've just made the playoffs. They lost in the first or 2nd round to a good Vegas/Vancouver team. But they've gotten that taste of playoff hockey again and now they're desperate for more. A big reason why they just made the playoffs besides the obvious Connor and Leon, is the emergence of Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones as legit NHL Dmen, and in Bear he's a legit Top 4 guy already. These guys breaking out along with drafting Broberg last year makes Bouchard maybe the tiniest bit available in a trade, only a trade that gets them a legit star winger they can park next to McDavid and really take that team to another level.... Well, hello William Nylander. In Nylander they are getting a guy who's re-established himself this year as a star. He's a great skater, smart offensive player, and when he's on his game he has the creativity that most players in the league only dream of. An almost perfect fit to pair with McDavid I think. They also get Dermott, a solid NHL level Dman, who can come into that D group and be a contributor in a less pressured role than what he was playing in Toronto. Yes the price to get Nylander is a lot, but this move takes nothing away from the current Oilers lineup that just made the playoffs, and turns them into a powerhouse in the West.
Capwise, they add almost 10M in cap space, which would require some maneuvering in order to make it work. But the beauty about the offseason is it's much easier to work around the cap issues than it is in the summer. At that point Russel only has 1 year left on his deal at 4M. Mike Smith and his cap hit expires, so does Mike Green. So does Brandon Mannings buried money, and quite frankly the entire depth of the Oilers is either a UFA or RFA so they have flexibility to figure things out. Perhaps after making this deal they could turn around and offload Athanasiou and his RFA contract to recuperate some of the draft picks they just lost in the Nylander deal and in acquiring AA to begin with.
Long story short for the Oilers. They get a legit 1st line winger on a solid contract to pair with McDavid for a long time, and they get a solid NHL Dman that has shown he can contribute when used in the right role.
Here's how I would look at each teams rosters(The Top lines anyway) for the 2020/21 season after the trade
Leafs:
Marner - Matthews - Hyman
Kapanen - Tavares - Mikheyev
Engvall - Kerfoot - ???
Rielly - xxx
Muzzin - Bouchard
Sandin - Holl
Liljegren
The key here being the 10M in cap space saved in the deal, using that to go get a Brodie or impact Top 4 Defender for that hole in the lineup. I'd also consider bring Nicholas Robertson into the mix at this point for the forward group as well.
Oilers:
Nylander - McDavid - Kassian
RNH - Draisaitl - Yamamoto
Neal - Khara - ???
Klefbom - Bear
Nurse - Larsson
Jones - Dermott
While still having Broberg coming up on that Defense. And the ability to maneuver cap space if needed to make it work in the summer.
Anyway. It's a huge deal, but a deal I could see both teams benefiting a tonne from in the long run. And I think the value is solid for both teams as well. Thoughts from Oilers or Leafs fans, or general fans? Like I said at the beginning I'm not a fan of either team here, I've just spent the last 3 hours during a slow day at work pondering this deal and really think it's a fit for both ends.
