Love Marner or hate him, there is one constant that needs to be addressed. His salary Cap hit. The Leafs were having Cap problems before he left. Something similar is about to fall on the heads of the Anaheim Ducks. Too many players, with no playoff pedigree looking for top dollar. Young, talented, but unproven. The Leafs went through 10 years of this core and they couldn’t reach the 3rd round. Something had to give. Marner was the last one up, after Matthews and Nylander signed. Would it have made a difference if Marner was a Center? Probably. Wingers shouldn’t be considered the most important position on the team. Hence, they should be paid less than a Center. Unfortunately for Marner, he wanted Matthews money and it wasn’t going to happen. The Leafs couldn’t find a way to pay three, in their prime forwards max money. So he had to go. I can see this being an issue for the Ducks and eventually, the Sharks. Their astounding rebuilds will be cut to shreds with offer sheets. I guess the new NHL is about to devolve into the NBA with players having all of the power in negotiations. The second and third tier players are about to get a haircut. Sad, but it’s come to that. Grabbing players on expiring contracts will be the way to win in the playoffs.