Zaitsev and Brown traded to Ottawa

[Frycer14]

I doubt the Leafs traded for Ceci with the intention of walking away from him. He's going to play for the Leafs next year as unfortunate as that sounds. Or maybe he'll be traded.

Ha! I liked how you covered all the bases at the end . Although alien abduction is also a possibility.

[Bill_Berg]

I doubt the Leafs traded for Ceci with the intention of walking away from him. He's going to play for the Leafs next year as unfortunate as that sounds. Or maybe he'll be traded.

Ha! I liked how you covered all the bases at the end . Although alien abduction is also a possibility.

Lol I mean to say the talk that the intention is to trade for him to not play is crazy. Maybe at some point the trade him because something comes along, but they traded for him to play him. At least for a little while.

[cabber24]

I don’t what the plan is on D this year but I can’t pencil together a decent 6 with what they have. I want to get better, feels like we’re getting worse. $CAD improving and tv deal on the horizon Zaitsev might be a complete steal.

[Nik]

I don’t what the plan is on D this year but I can’t pencil together a decent 6 with what they have. I want to get better, feels like we’re getting worse.

Realistically, they were always going to get worse this off-season. That's just a function of the cap. Muzzin is replacing Gardiner, effectively, and beyond that they don't really have the cap room for anything else.

The Leafs right now have, or will have, just under 11 million dollars in cap space. Most of that, it's fair to say, is going to go to Marner. Trading Zaitsev and perhaps Brown is how Dubas is hoping to free up enough money to make some low cost additions to the back end and fill out the roster. If that's successful the Leafs still aren't going to be bringing in major pieces who'll drastically alter the team's capabilities but rather hopefully some good value Hainsey-esque veterans(in terms of cost, rather than ability).
 
I get that we want a continuous upward trajectory but were people expecting the Leafs to sign Tavares and then Nylander-Matthews-Marner and turn around and have 25 million dollars to throw at free agent defensemen? That's not how the league works.

[Deebo]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/just-exactly-marc-bergevin-sleeve/

This link that Carlton posted in the free agency thread also mentions Brown being in the Zaitsev deal.

[CarltonTheBear]

Is Connor Brown now Ottawa's 2nd best forward?

[herman]

Zaitsev has officially waived his no trade clause to clear the way for completion of the Leafs trade tomorrow.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 1, 2019

Paul coming through with the goods.

[Deebo]

The OTT-TOR trade that will send Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Brown to the Sens for Cody Ceci should be consummated tomorrow morning once TOR pays Zaitsev’s $3M signing bonus. At least six pieces (players or picks) included but the primaries are Zaitsev, Brown and Ceci. https://t.co/Rwx0hoF8fs

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 1, 2019

6 pieces!!

[CarltonTheBear]

So still a big chunk of the trade that we don't know about. I wonder if the Leafs try to use one of their many LHD (say Borgman) to try and pry out DeMelo as well.

[Bullfrog]

I'm on the side that doesn't think Zaitsev's contract is really all that terrible. But, it is/was so surprising that it included a NTC.

On that note, I really don't believe it's fair that a player permanently waives a no trade clause. It should follow them to the new team.

[Peter D.]

I’ll reserve complete judgement until seeing what other pieces are involved and what the cap space is used for. Because even with his contract, I’d much rather have Zaitsev over Ceci. Ceci’s terrible.

[Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate]

The OTT-TOR trade that will send Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Brown to the Sens for Cody Ceci should be consummated tomorrow morning once TOR pays Zaitsev’s $3M signing bonus. At least six pieces (players or picks) included but the primaries are Zaitsev, Brown and Ceci. https://t.co/Rwx0hoF8fs

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 1, 2019

6 pieces!!

At *least* 6.  This thing could escalate into a buh-lock buster.

[Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate]

I’ll reserve complete judgement until seeing what other pieces are involved and what the cap space is used for. Because even with his contract, I’d much rather have Zaitsev over Ceci. Ceci’s terrible.

I'm with you there.

BTW, and I hope you all will take this observation from a Yank in the spirit in which it was intended, but I think it was really short-sighted for Canada to schedule a big national holiday on the same day free agency opens.  Like, duh.

[Nik]

I’ll reserve complete judgement until seeing what other pieces are involved and what the cap space is used for. Because even with his contract, I’d much rather have Zaitsev over Ceci. Ceci’s terrible.

I'm with you there.

BTW, and I hope you all will take this observation from a Yank in the spirit in which it was intended, but I think it was really short-sighted for Canada to schedule a big national holiday on the same day free agency opens.  Like, duh.

I will have you know, sir, that our first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald himself specifically chose this day so that we could all get drunk before noon.

[princedpw]

hmmm ... I just read the leafs are sending the sens a 1st rnd pick.  That does not make me happy.  i hope that turns out to be wrong.