Honestly I could see it, not that trade specifically but would it surprise me if a trade between the Leafs andBlues happen that saw Buch, Parayko and Marner involved?
No I think Toronto is going to make some BIG changes and there were rumours of Parayko, and Buch being moved at the deadline, and one of the teams mentioned, at least for Parayko was Toronto.
A Leafs/Blues blockbuster wouldn't be totally surprising
This is the issue. Toronto is not even 24 hours out of the playoffs and the board is inundated with one-sided deals to solve Toronto's issue and no one else's.
Why would the Blues blow up their cap and their defense for a winger who is due to make another big deal while being the first choice to jettison by all of Leaf land? Which is not to say that Marner's past playoff performance dictates his future playoff performance. We did the same thing with Oshie. He was a franchise guy, was terrible in the playoffs, got a change of scenery, and was a beast in the playoffs for Washington and got a Cup. He went from 9 points, -12 in 30 playoff games in his Blues run to 43 points, +9 in 49 games his first 3 playoffs with the Caps. But we also traded him low and his return wasn't great.
The Blues are in a spot where:
1. The front office doesn't want a complete tear-down (which some of us do want, but are realistic about the chances.)
2. Our cap is in a good spot. Scandella is out. After this coming season Krug, Faulk, and Saad are down to modified NTCs and become easier to move. Adding the type of money that Marner is going to be looking for kind of throws a wrench in that.
3. The deepest position on our pro roster and prospect pool is winger. A lot of our fans want Kyrou gone, who plays a similar game as Marner. But I think he'll be here a lot longer than people expect. DA committed to him, and he rarely changes his mind so fast. Neighbours had a very good year. Bolduc seems ready. Buchnevic is still on the table. A lot of us want to move him because he didn't cost anything to acquire and could get us some premium assets closer to our window, but he fits the team so if the market doesn't want to pay up (like last deadline) his most value to us may end up bejng staying put. Snuggerud is maybe only a season away from being ready. Stenberg is maybe only a season away from being ready. Schenn is likely to end up on winger in the longer-term. Everyone is ecstatic with Pecarcik.
4. RD is bone dry in the prospect pool. The only reason we have any depth at the pro level at RD is because of Parayko, and he's the only top pairing quality defenseman we have. Faulk trying to carry a partner would be a lot like the situation you're dealing with now in Reilly.
Doesn't make any sense for us, and only opens up more problems.