Editor In Leaf
Fansided

Toronto Maple Leafs Hypothetical Trade Of The Day: Kris Letang

By Stephen Nixon

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 23: Kris Letang #58 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on February 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 23: Kris Letang #58 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on February 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The joy of being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan comes from discussing hypothetical trades we would all love to see.

The Toronto Maple Leafs need to acquire a right-handed defenseman via free agency or trade because they’re not going to be able to do it in-house.

The Leafs already made one trade with Pittsburgh sending Kasperi Kapanen back to the team he was drafted too, but there’s more deals to be had.

So let’s get started.

Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Kris Letang

The trade:

  • Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: Kris Letang ($7.25M)
  • Pittsburgh Penguins acquire: Travis Dermott (RFA), Andreas Johnsson ($3.4M) and 2nd Round Pick and Conditional 1st Round Pick (*If Leafs reach Stanley Cup Finals)

Just like in Toronto, the core players (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang) would like to stay together in Pittsburgh, but Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford isn’t afraid of making a big splash.

According to an article in The Athletic by Rob Rossi and Josh Yohe, it was reported that “rival executives expect him to explore a Letang trade, for multiple reasons.”

If Toronto called Pittsburgh and offered them this trade package, it would solve a lost of issues for both teams. Letang is currently making $7.25 million per season and the Penguins only have $10 million of cap-space to sign 10 pending RFA or UFA’s this off-season.

By trading Letang to Toronto in this deal, the Penguins would be getting a defenseman to replace Letang and secondary-scoring help at a reasonable price. For the cost of one player (Letang), they would be getting two players that could jump into the Penguins lineup immediately and the team could still have money leftover to sign their free agents.

The Penguins need money to sign Tristan Jarry or Matt Murray because both are RFA’s this off-season and they’re not going to be cheap. Last season, Cody Ceci and Tyson Barrie made a combined $7.25 million and with them off the books this year, that money can go straight to Letang.

In order for the team to fit under the salary-cap, they would still have to trade one more contract (most likely Kerfoot) for everything to fit, if they still wanted to keep the core-four intact.

dark. Next. Hypothetical Trade: Andersen For Rask

The Leafs need another elite defenseman to become a Stanley Cup contender, so they need to make a trade like this. Who knows if Pittsburgh would be willing to give up their best defenseman for a package like this, but it’s definitely worth exploring.

Home/Editorials