I checked out Staples recent Q & A with fans ( need a subscription). His most interesting points were....
1. Lou is not prepared to pay some big price to move Ladd. It'll likely have to be LTIR if his cap hit is removed (and that remains a real possibility). He also mentions that if Parise was moved to LI, Ladd would be going the other way. I felt Staples contradicted him self here because taking on Parise's contract and moving a good prospect or a 1st would be paying a big price.
2. Staples thinks the Thompson coaching criticism is unwarranted, that it should be directed more at the Isles scouting staff.
3. He felt the Toews trade was inevitable because of the upcoming cap crunch next offseason, when Sorokin, Pelech and Beau are due raises.
4.Staples expects plenty of debating among nyi fans when the team has to decide between protecting Leddy or Mayfield, in the Seattle expansion draft.
By the time of the expansion draft, both Mayfield ($1.45m) and Leddy ($5.5m), will be one yr away from unrestricted free agency. If Leddy doesn't fit long term into the isles plans, if he is not signing an extension, then I think Leddy and his big cap hit need to be left unprotected.