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San Jose would be a really interesting one. I don't think they have official roles with the team but IIRC Thornton and Marleau are still semi-involved with the team at least in an informal sense. Both players are obviously big influences on Marner as he grew up in the NHL (maybe not for the...

I'm still betting on LA.

I forgot this was a thing.

Niemela's of course been rumored to do the same. Man that trade sure did blow up in our face after all the fanbase's gloating. Not that I think Kleven's anything special but still a NHLer.

I think Vezina+Hart combos should be reserved for truly exceptional goalie performances. Carey Price's 2014-15 year being a good example where his stats were significantly better than any other goalies close to him in wins. I'm not fully convinced that was the case here. Hellebuyck dominated in...

It's a little crazy that the two best players of the most recent eras (Crosby and McDavid) each had another centre behind them who at times was as good as any other player in the league (Draisaitl a little more than Malkin but still). As just a fan of the game in both cases I would loved to...

I did wonder about something like a Domi/McMann-Laughton-Giroux scrappy/two-way 3rd line yeah. Have a new speedy 2C move Tavares to 2LW (which is maybe the obvious answer to the 'Tavares is too good for 3C but too slow for 2C' problem): Knies-Matthews-Domi Tavares-Karlsson/Zibanejad-Nylander...

I think Giroux often doesn't get talked about a lot as a free agent target because many assume he's definitely returning to Ottawa. But if that's not the case he's definitely fairly high on my wish list.

I'm sure Oilers fans weren't happy with that performance but 52 goals and 140 points in 94 playoff games now. Having one bad round isn't the same as consistently having one bad round every year.

It was the full cap hit and the Canes also had to pay the $3mil signing bonus: Was a 1st rounder too much? Maybe. But I also don't think there has ever really been a comparable to this. Acquiring LTIR deals is completely different than just taking on a full $6.25mil in dead cap space that...

It's certainly one of the many depressing "what if's" of this era. At the time the Leafs largely needed the Marleau space to be able to re-sign RFAs Kapanen and Johnsson, two players who almost everyone thought would have been key members of this teams middle-6 forward group for years to come...

It's not even that. Marleau only waived his NMC to go to Carolina on the condition that they would be buying him out. He only wanted to play for Toronto or San Jose at the time, and he ended up signing with the Sharks afterward. Carolina never had any intention of having him on their roster.

I can't believe that the Rangers were able to dump both Trouba and Kreider, and in both cases not only did they not have to retain anything or attach a sweetener they were even able to get some (albeit small) value back. And both went to the same team! Pat Verbeek what are you doing?

Technically the Leafs "abused" the rule too this season with Pacioretty coming off LTIR in the playoffs when he couldn't have during the regular season. Think it's happened with us once or twice more as well over the years, although obviously all with significantly less impactful players than a...

If he's really retiring I'm not sure using Pietrangelo's cap space on Marner is really the best idea. Their only other RHD is Zach Whitecloud. IIRC Theodore often plays the right side but then you still have a 34-year old Brayden McNabb as your #3 behind him and Hanifin. Feels like going after...

The biggest thing I wonder about in a post-Marner world is how the elite level match-ups work. For all the deserved criticism Marner got he typically was a big part of that role, even in the playoffs when he wasn't producing (2024 being a good example). Can Matthews keep holding those minutes...

But I think his PPG numbers are somewhat masking his decline though. He had career highs in shooting percentage and on-ice shooting percentage this season. And significant career high too in personal shooting percentage at 19%. That beats his previous career high of 17.28% during the 48-game...

1. Danault: I've wondered if the Kings would look to shop Danault as well. New GM, Byfield's game/role/responsibility is increasing, and they might need to clear cap space for a big swing (Marner). With that said I couldn't possibly imagine the Leafs have the trade assets to make this deal...

Karlsson would be an interesting one to revisit this offseason. Coming off a down year, Knights might want to move him for cheap just to clear cap space. Heck maybe even reunite him with one or both of the original Misfits line with Marchessault and/or Reilly Smith.

To a certain extent I'm sure all teams have stuff like this but yeah it's kind of stunning looking back and thinking about all these little mistakes. Like Mike Amadio gets waived by the Leafs a month into the season in 21/22 where he played just 3 games for the team. Next season he's winning...