Leafs might get 1 Stanley Cup out of this team, does show how impressive the Hawks core was in their prime!! The Hawks won 3 and should have won 4 if they would have beat LA in game 7. The Hawks also had to gut their team in 2010, cannot see the Leafs able to do that with their cap situation!!

I really don’t get the cap hell? What’s going to happen?

When Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Nylander all on on the team next year and the year after, and both those years the Leafs are a top 3 team in the East what are people going to say?

Must be hell.
- Blazed

The hell comes when you realize that you’re wasting the prime years of their careers with a team good enough to make the playoffs every year, but not good enough to win it all because you can’t afford quality depth to round out the roster. Meanwhile you’re too good to get the kind of top draft picks you need to restock the cupboards with high end entry level contracts.

I still don't see Toronto getting out of the division let alone the conference
- LAHawk

This current playoff format has made it tough for sure. No easy first round matchups.

There are no guarantees in hockey, all Toronto can is get into the dance as many times as they can, in the best shape they can and see what happens.

Best playoffs in sports.

How did we as a board, reach the conclusion that Perlini is awful, but Koekkoek, and Dahlstrom are NHL caliber defensemen?

The hell comes when you realize that you’re wasting the prime years of their careers with a team good enough to make the playoffs every year, but not good enough to win it all because you can’t afford quality depth to round out the roster. Meanwhile you’re too good to get the kind of top draft picks you need to restock the cupboards with high end entry level contracts.
- Ogilthorpe2

Do you truly believe the Leafs will be a tweener team at any point in the next 5 years?

I really do not at all.

I can pretty much gaurantee Kapanen won’t go to the Hawks.

Kapanen is close to their best trade chip, he’s not untouchable, but if he goes it’s with the intention of acquiring a very good defenseman.
- Blazed

Again maybe more wishful thinking than practical. If he is traded for a very good defenseman - that very good defenseman is either going to have a cap hit equal or more than what it would take for the Leafs to sign Kapanen OR it is a very good defensemen on his ELC and for as nice a player as Kapanen is - a very good defenseman on an ELC is going to be more valuable than a top-6 winger making $5M-$6M.

No one is as awful as Jack Edwards for the Bruins.....
- nickmo2699

He is brutal. I listened to a number of his games before seeing him this year and figured the way he talked he was some big tough guy. He's a wimpy dude with yellow teeth!

Another annoying play by play guy is Rick Jeanneret of the Buffalo Sabres.

This current playoff format has made it tough for sure. No easy first round matchups.

There are no guarantees in hockey, all Toronto can is get into the dance as many times as they can, in the best shape they can and see what happens.

Best playoffs in sports.
- Blazed

That I agree with you, best playoff in sports.

As a Hawks fan I've been down this road a lot over the past bunch of years - I get it - it sux for the fans of the team looking at what probably needs to happen because of the Cap.

If you haven't already - go the the CapFriendly site and look down the 2019/20 column. You will see the Leafs have 8 forwards under contract for 2019/20 (Tavares, Nylander, Marleau, Kadri, Hyman, Brown, Matthews, and Gauthier) and their total cap hit is $45.3M. Then look at the d-men where there are 5 players under contract for 2019/20 (Reilly, Zaitsev, Muzzin, Dermott, Holl) and their total cap hit is $15M. Andersen's cap hit is $5M and Horton's is $5.3M.

That totals up to $70.6M. Even if you fill out the d-corps with a couple ELC guys the total will be at least $72M. The high end estimate for the 2019/20 cap is $83M - that leave $11M to resign Marner, Kapanen, Johnsson and a couple "cheapie" forwards to fill out the 22-man roster.

I posted somewhere that maybe Marleau retires if the Leafs win the Cup - that would free up $6.2M - probably still not enough but a big help.
- EbonyRaptor

^^^^^ This makes complete sense. Why can't Leaf fans address this

Leafs might get 1 Stanley Cup out of this team, does show how impressive the Hawks core was in their prime!! The Hawks won 3 and should have won 4 if they would have beat LA in game 7. The Hawks also had to gut their team in 2010, cannot see the Leafs able to do that with their cap situation!!
- ChicagoHope

So some credit for the GM who retooled for the 2015-16-17 runs - and the coach who led those runs - after the disappointments of 2011-12 caused by those sell-offs.

^^^^^ This makes complete sense. Why can't Leaf fans address this

- RedRevenge

They are in the stage the Hawk fans were in when we believed that Kane and Toews would take a home town discount for the good of the team.

^^^^^ This makes complete sense. Why can't Leaf fans address this

- RedRevenge

Why do you care so much what leaf fans think?

They are in the stage the Hawk fans were in when we believed that Kane and Toews would take a home town discount for the good of the team.
- LAHawk

I guess so. That Leafs poster didn't even read Ebonyraptor's post.. Like the math says otherwise.

Maybe he hopes that some team is going to magically take Zaitsev's contract, or give up a fortune for Kapanen (a player the Leafs can't even sign).

I'm still rooting for the Leafs, but their fans just seem so clueless

Do you truly believe the Leafs will be a tweener team at any point in the next 5 years?

I really do not at all.
- Blazed

I posted this trade proposal a day of two ago:

To Toronto: 2020 1st and Gustafsson ($1.2M through 2019/20)
To Chicago: Kapanen and Horton's contract

For Toronto, you get cap relief (Horton's $5.3M and whatever you would have to pay to resign Kapanen) plus a very good offensive d-man at a very reasonable cap hit to get you to 2020/21 when the cap becomes more manageable. Gustafsson? - think Gardiner - good offense but not so good defense.

For Chicago, there is cap space available in 2019/20 and in effect Kapanen becomes our 2020 1st round pick a year early. Gustafsson is probably not in the long range plans because he will need a raise after 2019/20 and the Hawks have a bunch or d-prospects coming online over the next 2-3 years.

Why do you care so much what leaf fans think?
- GPHawksfan

I just like being right .

He is brutal. I listened to a number of his games before seeing him this year and figured the way he talked he was some big tough guy. He's a wimpy dude with yellow teeth!

Another annoying play by play guy is Rick Jeanneret of the Buffalo Sabres.
- paulr

I used to not care for him but Ken Daniels who does the Wings games isn't bad. He's particularly good when he does non - Wing games.

^^^^^ This makes complete sense. Why can't Leaf fans address this

- RedRevenge

I’ve addressed it, the issues are overblown. There are errors in his own assessment, including how the Leafs front office allocates Hortons cap to LTIR in the off-season as well.

Even if Johnsson and Kapanen had to be fired directly into the sun for no compensation next season just to appease the cap hell gods, Toronto would still easily have a top 5 team in the East.

Do you truly believe the Leafs will be a tweener team at any point in the next 5 years?

I really do not at all.
- Blazed

I think they’re a tweener right now. Defense wins in the playoffs. The Leaves don’t have a championship Calibre blue line.

I’ve addressed it, the issues are overblown. There are errors in his own assessment, including how the Leafs front office allocates Hortons cap to LTIR in the off-season as well.

Even if Johnsson and Kapanen had to be fired directly into the sun for no compensation next season just to appease the cap hell gods, Toronto would still easily have a top 5 team in the East.
- Blazed

I don't understand. Do you see the numbers? 10 million to fill out the roster..

From what I believe, you can't put Horton on LTIR until day 1 of the season. Therefore you need to be under the cap limit with him on your roster.

This is why the Hawks had to move Hossa (if I remember correctly).

Yes, but the team will probably be worst than they are now... Hopefully, your stars pull the team through.

I posted this trade proposal a day of two ago:

To Toronto: 2020 1st and Gustafsson ($1.2M through 2019/20)
To Chicago: Kapanen and Horton's contract

For Toronto, you get cap relief (Horton's $5.3M and whatever you would have to pay to resign Kapanen) plus a very good offensive d-man at a very reasonable cap hit to get you to 2020/21 when the cap becomes more manageable. Gustafsson? - think Gardiner - good offense but not so good defense.

For Chicago, there is cap space available in 2019/20 and in effect Kapanen becomes our 2020 1st round pick a year early. Gustafsson is probably not in the long range plans because he will need a raise after 2019/20 and the Hawks have a bunch or d-prospects coming online over the next 2-3 years.
- EbonyRaptor

Hortons cap hot doesn’t affect Toronto, more or less.

How did we as a board, reach the conclusion that Perlini is awful, but Koekkoek, and Dahlstrom are NHL caliber defensemen?
- Trammelt

The evidence available would indicate he is awful, but to your point it is way too soon to completely write him off. He has decent size and skates well so he deserves more time bit I would prefer he get the time in Rockford. If we can keep Fortin on Rockford's roster as an undrafted guy who has only shown he can skate fast to this point - why not keep a 1st rounder from a few years ago on Rockford's roster and see if something develops.

I posted this trade proposal a day of two ago:

To Toronto: 2020 1st and Gustafsson ($1.2M through 2019/20)
To Chicago: Kapanen and Horton's contract

For Toronto, you get cap relief (Horton's $5.3M and whatever you would have to pay to resign Kapanen) plus a very good offensive d-man at a very reasonable cap hit to get you to 2020/21 when the cap becomes more manageable. Gustafsson? - think Gardiner - good offense but not so good defense.

For Chicago, there is cap space available in 2019/20 and in effect Kapanen becomes our 2020 1st round pick a year early. Gustafsson is probably not in the long range plans because he will need a raise after 2019/20 and the Hawks have a bunch or d-prospects coming online over the next 2-3 years.
- EbonyRaptor

Not sure why the Hawks need to give up a 1st if they are also taking on Horton's money.

Not sure why the Hawks need to give up a 1st if they are also taking on Horton's money.
- HawkintheD

Maybe a second? If we offer sheet him for 4 million we give up a second. So a second + Gus/Forsling may be a solid trade (Toronto avoids the offersheet problem).

Hortons cap hot doesn’t affect Toronto, more or less.
- Blazed

Horton's cap hit can be used based on LTIR rules after the season starts - so unless Kapanen or Marner agrees to hold out until after the season starts when Horton's LTIR money becomes available - it does matter.

I posted this trade proposal a day of two ago:

To Toronto: 2020 1st and Gustafsson ($1.2M through 2019/20)
To Chicago: Kapanen and Horton's contract

For Toronto, you get cap relief (Horton's $5.3M and whatever you would have to pay to resign Kapanen) plus a very good offensive d-man at a very reasonable cap hit to get you to 2020/21 when the cap becomes more manageable. Gustafsson? - think Gardiner - good offense but not so good defense.

For Chicago, there is cap space available in 2019/20 and in effect Kapanen becomes our 2020 1st round pick a year early. Gustafsson is probably not in the long range plans because he will need a raise after 2019/20 and the Hawks have a bunch or d-prospects coming online over the next 2-3 years.
- EbonyRaptor

I like your thinking i would do that maybe maybe not toronto would do that