Let's face it, folks. As much as we want to think we're experts when it comes to what's going on in the corner offices, we're all just guessing, and there's probably little to nothing we know that the folks in those offices don't want us to know.
But that doesn't mean we can't figure some things out.
Here are a few things that seem clear: The Maple Leafs are top-heavy when it comes to salaries. They're also in need of a culture change (or shock, if you prefer) after several years of underperformance with that high-priced roster. And if Marner is indeed on the block, it's going to take a team with cap room and assets to make real sense as a trading partner.
The Nashville Predators are that team.
GM Barry Trotz took the job last summer with a declaration that the team, long known as smothering over scintillating, would become a more entertaining product on the ice.
Swedish-born winger Filip Forsberg helped trigger the transformation in 2023-24, registering career-highs in goals (48) and points (94) while climbing into the league's upper echelon in both categories and ultimately finishing sixth in the former and 13th in the latter.
And if he reached those heights playing with Ryan O'Reilly—a respected veteran but not a play-making virtuoso—at center, it's no stretch to predict an even-higher spike with an add like Marner, whose 445 assists since 2016-17 are sixth-best in the league.
Trotz made a necessary move when he dumped Ryan McDonagh and his $6.75 million cap hit back to Tampa Bay last month, adding a pair of draft picks in return and leaving better than $26 million in available space on the Nashville books to accommodate a bigger splash.
Marner, regardless of who heads north (goalie Juuse Saros, perhaps), is that bigger splash.
And given the absence of state income tax in Tennessee, a city like Nashville can't help but be attractive to a 27-year-old millionaire with the power to decide where he winds up.
From Smashville to Flashville...now that's entertainment.
— Lyle Fitzsimmons
