I like the Dallas ideas. I also like the Ottawa ideas.
Here's mine:
Ottawa
Marner
Liljegren
Toronto
Batherson
Chabot
Why Ottawa does it: they need to get into the playoffs. Badly. Having a 100 point winger will help them tremendously to achieve this goal. He may even perform in the playoffs with different linemates, expectations and systems. Both Mitch and Lily need a change of scenery. Lily, although he's not Chabot, has shown signs of being a solid top-4 guy and may reach that goal in a different system. They don't seem to have faith in him over here. Both guys need a psychological boost/change. Also, there's talk that Chabot may have to be traded this summer due to the team not being able to allocate so much money into the backend. Chychrun is an RD, which may make the team prioritize signing him over Chabot. Lily is a very cost-effective option for the Sens.
Why Toronto does it: Chabot and Batherson are both big guys who seem to have the drive. Batherson is a 60+ point, 25-30 goal type of guy. He's not Marner, but he gives you great value for a $4,975.000 cap hit until 2029. He has plenty of room to grow and may reach another level with Matthews. Chabot is another great skating, offensive, puck-carrying defender that we need to help out Rielly and to balance out the team (I'd keep Edmonson, Boosh, and Benoit).
The cap hit is very similar going in and out. Ottawa takes less money in next year, but we benefit when Marner needs a raise the year after.
The Marners live in Markham. That's less than a 4 hour drive to Ottawa. Overbearing Paul gets to drive over to watch all of the games - enjoying many Timmys stops on the way.