Really hard to find a fit for a good Marner trade considering:
- The NMC - where would he want to go?
- 1 year left @ 10.9m
- How does he fit their cap structure & culture?
- Who's he coming in to supplement?
- Where he slots on the receiving teams Powerplay?
And then what are the Leafs getting that they're not just getting obliterated in this trade?
Tampa has attractive pieces (Hagel, Cirelli, Cernak, Stamkos pending UFA) but I really don't see a team like them targeting a guy like Marner... Kucherov is already the guy that stirs the drink there too. Maybe if Stamkos contract talks sour...?
Same could be said for Florida, although I think there's a potential fit here. Biggest question would be, do they think he'd buy into their brand of hockey? Maybe Tkachuk would know, there's the London Knights connection. As much as I'd want Bennett as part of that deal, I'd guess the pieces could be along the lines of Knight & Lundell; Montour too should be a sought after UFA target for the Leafs if available.
Dougie Hamilton from New Jersey could make sense with Luke Hughes emerging for them, but they've already got Hughes & Bratt; doubt there's a great fit for Marner there.
From St. Louis you could look some combination from Parayko, Kyrou, Buchnevich, Hofer, futures. Parayko has rebounded & we know he'd fit well with Rielly at least.
Nashville makes a ton of sense with a deal around Saros or Askarov. They've got lots of picks & they're flooded with good young NHL or close to NHL ready players. They're retooling & starving for offensive punch, relying way too much on Josi & Forsberg to drive their offense.
Utah makes a ton of sense as well, maybe the most, with Crouse, Durzi, Ingram & the boatload of draft capital & cap space they have to make the move. That's as fresh a start as you could get for Marner, & it sounds like their new owner Ryan Smith is going to be aggressive this offseason.
If I'm Treliving, I'm looking to sell Marner on Utah, then offering Marner (with extension) & Liljegren for:
- Crouse LW/RW (3 years @ 4.3m)
- Ingram G (2 years @ 1.95m)
- Lamoureux RHD (3 years ELC @ <1m)
- 2024 2nd
- 2x 2025 2nd
Then Crouse, Robertson (RFA), 2x 2025 2nd for:
- Dougie Hamilton RHD (5 years @ 9m)
New Jersey can use picks/futures to get Markstrom or another goalie finally.