''Here's the easiest round of ‘Would you rather' you'll ever play:
Tanev & Ekman-Larsson = $8m AAV
or
Lyubushkin & Edmundson = $7.15m AAV''<\q>
There's no question that Tanev and OEL are a much better duo than Lyubushkin and Edmundson, who are both nothing more than 3rd pairing defensemen.
Leafs GM Brad Treliving made some intelligent decisions on day 1 of free agency, opting for smart salary allocation as opposed to overpaying to keep certain players in the organization.
Whether or not Tanev and/or OEL pan out is yet to be determined, but there's no arguing that the Leafs will get a better bang for their buck with Tanev and Ekman-Larsson than they would have gotten by paying Edmundson and Lyubushkin a combined $7.15M.
The Source for Tanev's contract details: PuckPedia
Chris Tanev contract