RedLeaf said:
I don't think there's any question about whether or not the cap is affecting players contracts and whether or not players are being moved to fit teams under it.
But that's why a discussion of a contract of this magnitude needs to be done from that perspective. Is Bolland worth it if it means the team has to cut Reimer loose and go cheap on backup goaltending? Is he worth it if it means that the team, more or less, has to move forward with the defense as-is? Or take a position on Kadri's extension that could be detrimental to the team?
If the Leafs take the sort of approach you're talking about, where they make a below market offer and just hope that he takes it, think about what they're risking by not having decisions in place by the deadline or the draft, which are traditionally the best times to move pieces for good returns. Think about the uncertainty it creates with negotiating with their other RFAs.
I think Dave Bolland is a good player but I really think we should look at how Chicago looked at him and what he brought and what he would cost and decided that they wanted to turn him into other, cheaper assets. It wasn't that they didn't like him or didn't think he could help them win, he just scored a cup winning goal for them, it's that they know how to strike while the iron's hot. I don't know about you but if there's a team out there I'd like the Leafs to resemble, it's the Blackhawks.