• Moderators, please send me a PM if you are unable to access mod permissions. Thanks, Habsy.

2025-2026 Off Season Thread - The Rehappening

Leafs can afford to be tough with Tavares. He wants to stay and he’s wealthy enough. He’s not going to leave $5m here to take $7m somewhere else. He’s super motivated, so any “far apart” right now is posturing with over a week left. Leafs are offering $3.8m or whatever and they’ll end up $4.5m to $5.5m. No worries there.
 
MindzEye said:
Tavares is going to sign somewhere else for 7 million and LoF is going to be telling us it's all part of the plan to demand a trade back to Toronto at the deadline.
Click to expand...
Nah. He’ll sign with us and you’ll all forget how much of a slam dunk I said it was.

But I do know this. Losing Marner is disastrous enough if we don’t replace him with Panthers. Losing Marner and Tavares, and none of the Panthers coming over, trust me, we do not want to see how that $22m gets spent. It will disgust us and probably jam up the roster with junk that’ll lose us a shot at McDavid, who’ll see no cap space for him here and probably reup in Edmonton then. Meanwhile, we may miss the playoffs and it all goes to hell from there.
 
LeafOfFaith said:
Leafs can afford to be tough with Tavares. He wants to stay and he’s wealthy enough. He’s not going to leave $5m here to take $7m somewhere else. He’s super motivated, so any “far apart” right now is posturing with over a week left. Leafs are offering $3.8m or whatever and they’ll end up $4.5m to $5.5m. No worries there.
Click to expand...
I genuinely believe they dont want to move off their number, at least not by 50% or whatever. What i can see is the years being raised, but keeping the cap hit at 3.8-4.
 
LeafOfFaith said:
Nah. He’ll sign with us and you’ll all forget how much of a slam dunk I said it was.

But I do know this. Losing Marner is disastrous enough if we don’t replace him with Panthers. Losing Marner and Tavares, and none of the Panthers coming over, trust me, we do not want to see how that $22m gets spent. It will disgust us and probably jam up the roster with junk that’ll lose us a shot at McDavid, who’ll see no cap space for him here and probably reup in Edmonton then. Meanwhile, we may miss the playoffs and it all goes to hell from there.
Click to expand...
You live on the weirdest possible island.

I also think that Tre knows that optics are on his side here. I can only think of one Leaf fan that will be pissed of Tavares walks. Most want him gone, some want him back at a very specific number
 
MyNameIsJonas said:
I genuinely believe they dont want to move off their number, at least not by 50% or whatever. What i can see is the years being raised, but keeping the cap hit at 3.8-4.
Click to expand...
Could be. And honestly it’s the right move. Leafs should stay firm on the AAV. He’ll buckle, if as you say he gets an extra year or something.
 
MyNameIsJonas said:
You live on the weirdest possible island.

I also think that Tre knows that optics are on his side here. I can only think of one Leaf fan that will be pissed of Tavares walks. Most want him gone, some want him back at a very specific number
Click to expand...
Most are dumb. I want him at a specific number too, not because he’s not worth more, but because let’s use our leverage for once in our lives.
 
I also struggle with the following

McDavid leaving in general, but sure, it is Edmonton, and it looks like the lack of annonymity has killed him

Choosing to go to a Canadian market, and a worse one at that from a privacy POV
 
LeafOfFaith said:
Could be. And honestly it’s the right move. Leafs should stay firm on the AAV. He’ll buckle, if as you say he gets an extra year or something.
Click to expand...
I mean i think you need to be prepared for the idea that John doesn't want Toronto as much as you think he does.

This is his last time to get another bag, and he might see 3/21 as better than 6/24, and honestly, he'd be within his rights to do so
 
MyNameIsJonas said:
I also struggle with the following

McDavid leaving in general, but sure, it is Edmonton, and it looks like the lack of annonymity has killed him

Choosing to go to a Canadian market, and a worse one at that from a privacy POV
Click to expand...
Take McDavid at his word. Winning is all that matters to him. Toronto love helps. But in the end, is an Edmonton with McDavid better or is a Toronto with McDavid better. I think the Leafs will get him if they don’t close the door by filling up the roster with long term cap hits.
 
MyNameIsJonas said:
I mean i think you need to be prepared for the idea that John doesn't want Toronto as much as you think he does.

This is his last time to get another bag, and he might see 3/21 as better than 6/24, and honestly, he'd be within his rights to do so
Click to expand...
How many more bags does he need? It’s his last few years. He’s on his dream team with a young family all settled in, and the team is competitive. He’s not going anywhere unless they’re absolutely ridiculous with the negotiations and don’t give a little to not make it embarrassing. $3.8m is embarrassing. $5m x 4 isn’t.
 
LeafOfFaith said:
Take McDavid at his word. Winning is all that matters to him. Toronto love helps. But in the end, is an Edmonton with McDavid better or is a Toronto with McDavid better. I think the Leafs will get him if they don’t close the door by filling up the roster with long term cap hits.
Click to expand...
Your suggesting winning is the most important thing to him, and that he leaves a situation where he has been to back to back cups for a the biggest group of underachievers in the sport, all the while completely ignoring the major markets in the U.S. that can offer some peace and fucking quiet, a great quality of life and the same possibility for winning.
 
The only thing I'll say re: McDavid is that there is a non zero chance he looks around the league and if we're coming off of an ECF with Auston + Willy and thinks he can be the final piece here.
 
LeafOfFaith said:
How many more bags does he need? It’s his last few years. He’s on his dream team with a young family all settled in, and the team is competitive. He’s not going anywhere unless they’re absolutely ridiculous with the negotiations and don’t give a little to not make it embarrassing. $3.8m is embarrassing. $5m x 4 isn’t.
Click to expand...
I mean maybe, possibly even probably. I really want to see the Leafs dig in deep and see how this plays out.

It is very much possible though that playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs ( or anyone else specifically) doesn't mean much of a damn thing anymore. Tavares took a haircut once, but still got megapaid. Is he willing to take a massive haircut? Im fascinated to find out
 
The only other thing I'll say re: winning is that losing Marner (and Tavares) is obviously not a real impediment to winning in the playoffs. They've been impediments to winning in the playoffs, walking away from them will make the team better, not worse, even if it doesn't look like that on a January wednesday night in Utah.
 
MindzEye said:
The only thing I'll say re: McDavid is that there is a non zero chance he looks around the league and if we're coming off of an ECF with Auston + Willy and thinks he can be the final piece here.
Click to expand...
Get to the ECF and lets chat.

In the meanwhile you can take any of the no state tax teams that win like Florida, Tampa, Vegas and Dallas and let them move out money to figure it out. Or the same huge market and quality of life without the personal headache like New York or LA, or him just deciding to stay in Edmonton.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top