17 Dec 2018 16:26:52
To St. Louis:
Brown, 4th, 7th
To Leafs:
Sanford, 6th

Basically this trade is made by Toronto to clear cap space.

Both guys have the same amount of points and are the same age, but Brown has played more games, so the leafs give up a 4th and a 7th while the 6th from St. Louis is to balance the trade.

I think St. Louis would be ok with this because of the scrap Sanford and Bortuzzo just had. They just locked up Bortuzzo for 3 more years and Sanford just doesn't seem to like it there, I think there is a move coming, and this could be it.

Sanford could also be a cheap LW to play with Matthews or Tavares in the near future, which would also help the leafs current cap situation.

1.) 17 Dec 2018
17 Dec 2018 17:33:03
I doubt Brown is the guy Leafs target if they need to make a trade to clear up cap space.

2.) 17 Dec 2018
17 Dec 2018 18:23:19
@Unsport
Well who else then?
Hyman? -No, he is on a great contract
Kadri? -No, again great contract
Gardiner? -Very Unlikely, he will walk
Hainsey? -Unlikely, he will walk
Marleau? -Unlikely with his NMC
Zaitsev? -I wish, but what team would take him unless the leafs overcompensate?
And the leafs aren’t trading Kapanen or Johnsson this year, they will go all-in and they won’t use them as trade bait to do it

With all their depth, Brown is expendable. He can be replaced by young cheap guys like Bracco, Moore, Grundstrom, Marchement, or possibly even Engvall.

3.) 17 Dec 2018
17 Dec 2018 19:09:40
Well if you're going to trade somebody to free up cap space you would probably want to trade a guy who eats up a lot of it. Brown at $2.1 mln next year for a guy who can play up and down the lineup and kill penalties is not where I would start. You're going to trade him to add Sanford to save, what, maybe a million next year? That doesn't really move the needle. You also state that Hyman is on a "great contract" and thereby he won't be traded; not sure how that argument does not apply to Brown as he has nearly identical career numbers and will make a little less than Hyman is due next year.

As for who would be a better candidate to trade to free up space next year, Marleau is an interesting possibility, given his contract structure. He's set to make only a million in actual salary after he collects his bonus this summer yet carries a $6.25 mln cap hit; as several have speculated already that may have been premeditated to allow him to voluntarily hang 'em up and only walk away from a million. Or he could be willing to waive his NMC if traded to a team of his liking.

Nylander is another obvious candidate, given his sizable cap hit, the emergence of Kapanen and the Leafs need to add some quality players on the blue line.

This is all assuming the Leafs are in such a cap bind that they will need to trade someone, which is not yet necessarily the case with the cap increasing materially (will ultimately depend on what Marner and Matthews sign for which remains to be seen) .

My 2c.

4.) 17 Dec 2018
17 Dec 2018 19:37:28
Yeah i don't see the blues taking on more cap if indeed a rebuild is coming. I don't see the blues trading sanford for a guy who has played 10 more games and has same amount of points and makes 1.3 million more. LOL you are delusional. Good luck with that line of thinking.

If the blues are rebuilding (big if) . wouldn't it make sense to cut cap. Trade out veterans bring in young talent and high value draft picks. Not trade foe a lesser player with higher cap hip for a 4th and 6th. Sorry that's just bad. Just like trying to say zaitsev is a serviceable player at 4.5 million.

5.) 19 Dec 2018
19 Dec 2018 00:26:40
You keep saying that but rebuilding teams take on players with term left all the time. Guys to play while they develop their next core. That’s the essence of a rebuild and has been for the entire salary cap era. You would think a guy who acts like he’s the real GM of the team would have recognized that trend over the last 15 seasons, no?!