The idea of trading Marner for Theodore is insane, as there are names in the free agency that are on the same level and age as puck moving defencemen, for free (if you don't count cap space as a cost):
- Brady Skjei
- Brandon Montour
To a lesser extent even Shayne Gostisbehere, and Filip Hronek as an RFA (lower cost than Marner).
Shea Theodore makes Morgan Rielly look like an enforcer, and people already hate how "soft" Rielly is, which he is not.
As it is most likely, that the "ideal trade" will not happen, which would be something like:
NYI: Dobson+Pageau
DET: Seider+Copp
We would be better off to try and grab someone like Montour/Skjei to be paired with McCabe, or if you'd like to get a younger D, ask Vancouver about Hronek, and then run Rielly with Roy/Tanev, whichever you'd get.
As a base, the package for Marner would be a TOP6 forward + a high pick (top 10 in 2024) - which pretty much leaves only Seattle and Utah as options, unless Anaheim or Chicago would like to make a huge splash.
We shall see, I am very intrigued by the opportunity that the Leafs have here to make a huge mark and massively improve the team. I just hope that they don't fudge this up (run it back).