I was thinking about something like this as well. Problem is, Minny has minimal cap space. The Leafs would either have to retain a sizeable ammount or take on a sizeable contract.

They could never make the money work for Marner. You would need to wait another year and you do not have that option with Marner set to hit free agency if that happens

Rossi and Gustavsson for Knies and a 2nd, if you want them. Minnesota isn't trading for Marner. It doesn't work and he isn't the right type of player.

Ah yes, a team in need of cheap effective centers that has expensive wingers would trade away their cheap effective center for another expensive winger that they can't afford.

Source on Rossi being available?

Michael Russo has previously mentioned that Rossi could be available this summer because Guerin would be looking for a better "fit" (which for Guerin means bigger and more aggressive). It was discovered that Rossi was floated around for Cutter Gauthier before he was traded to Anaheim, to give you an idea of the type of deal it would be.

It's not a situation where they're definitely trading Rossi, and it's not a situation where they want to give him away to the highest bidder just to be rid of him. He's not being traded because he sucks or because he has no value. They will trade him if they can find a piece they like more.

Did I miss a Friedman thought?

When did Rossi become available? 🤔

Russo is certainly connected to Minny.

But it sounds like speculation/opinion to me.

Someone did this but with Brodin in the deal as well, if he waives his NMC then they could fit Marner, but what are the chances that Marner and him want to swap teams?

Whatever you want to call it, there is a realistic possibility that Rossi is traded, but it's not a foregone conclusion. It's worth discussing trade returns for him, but that doesn't mean what most people on this site think it means. It's still going to take a good piece to get him, and it'll likely be a 1 for 1 for a similar aged player that fits Guerin's vision better.

From Toronto that player is Matthew Knies and that's it. That's the only piece worth discussing with Toronto.

I think you are closer with:

Toronto Receiving: Rossi, Brodin, Gus and a third

Minny Receiving: Marner and Knies

I would say Knies has more value than Brodin but Brodin is certainly not a cap dump

I'm not a Leafs fan (far from it) but if you think the Leafs are going to trade Knies for Rossi then you're completely delusional. 🙄

I never said the Leafs would do it, I said that's the only discussion to be had with the Leafs. I've already stated in another thread today that the Leafs wouldn't want Rossi.

I don't know why we're acting like Knies has significantly more value than Rossi though. You'd have to be completely delusional to think that.

Michael Russo is an idiot. He just talks to hear the sound of his own voice. I don't care about the awards and the fancy contracts with papers like the Athletic. He knows Jack.

Michael Russo is an idiot. He just talks to hear the sound of his own voice. I don't care about the awards and the fancy contracts with papers like the Athletic. He knows Jack.

No way the Leafs trade Knies in a Marner trade or at all probably. They will already be trading Marner at a reduced rate, they won't add one of their top assets to the deal. It would have to be someone else. If they add Robertson and Liljegren, I think those two for Gustavsson would be fair with the year he had, neither guy has a contract though so maybe a pick would make more sense. Then it would be Rossi+Brodin for Marner. Minnesota is probably not going to be trading for Marner without him being willing to sign an extension sooner rather than later or one being in place beforehand. I don't think Rossi + Gus + a 3rd is going to cut it even if Marner was traded as a rental. Mainly because goaltending because goaltending isn't a major need and having Rossi instead of Marner would be a huge downgrade to the top 6. Brodin actually fills a need without hoping that some big ticket UFA D will sign with the Leafs.

With this transaction, Minnesota would be over an $87.7 million cap with 19 players on the roster (12 forwards, 6 defensemen and 1 goaltender).

I'm not happy about the thought of trading Rossi either, but that doesn't mean it's not a realistic possibility. Russo isn't a good analyst, but he is a good reporter. When he reports that Rossi could be traded, it means Rossi could be traded.

If anything, Rossi should get shipped to somewhere we can get multiple good, cheap prospects. Nashville if they weren't in our division would be sweet. Something like

NSH Recieves:
-Marco Rossi
-2026 3rd Round (TOR)

MIN Recieves:
-Liam Foudy (A nice center prospect)
-Zach L'Heureux (Nashville's No. 3 in the pipeline)
-Juuso Parsisnen (Another solid Wing Prospect (Though much older))
-Adam Wilsby (D-Man with a finnesse game like Brodin)

That's a hard pass. The Wild have plenty of average lower-middle of the lineup prospects. The last thing they need to do is trade Rossi for 3-4 more.

The Zach L'Heureux experience is something that can't be missed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A-auQ5x0PE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scwBaTAlQ-c

Takes the tough angle shots, and is not afraid to get fancy. Loves making some noise. Just a more offensive minded and offensively talented Moose.

Spurgeon for 1 year of Marner. Take it or leave it.

I think it's close Wild would need to send a couple more assets to get Leafs to retain this season or involve a 3rd team to get a deal done. The season after that should have a lot of cap space to work with. As far as the arguments on here that I've seen , not yours, that Marner isn't a fit for a Guerin player I don't know of any GM that doesn't have room for a good hockey player. That all said, I'm going to double down that by some vudu magic, Vegas finds trade bait and clears cap space to land Marner, don’t ask me how.

Done

Sweet.