RedLeaf said:
I think a lot of us are already pencilling in McDonagh as our next top pairing defenseman. There is apparently a lot of interest from other teams for his services. Fingers crossed, but I'm not as positive as some that it will happen.
Is there another available D-man (a consolation prize) that would still appease this crowd? Or is it McDonagh or bust tomorrow?
Just speaking personally I don't particularly think McDonagh is a sure thing or even likely, just that he's the type of defenseman the team needs and the Rangers are clearly in sell mode. Obviously there's no way to know who's available on a given day but outside of Karlsson, who the Leafs don't have the assets for and couldn't get even if they did, no other similar defensemen are rumoured to be available.
I don't think the Leafs need to make a move tomorrow for a defenseman and they shouldn't be thinking short term so I don't need a consolation prize. Any assets they'd be spending on someone who isn't of McDonagh's quality should probably be saved to see if they can make a similar trade in the off-season.