The Toronto Maple Leafs are highly unlikely to be involved in a trade for Matthew Tkachuk.
Given his age, current contract and acquisition cost, Matthew Tkachuk is not a realistic target for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In the NHL, there are about four true power-forwards – Brad Marchand, Evander Kane, Matthew Tkachuk and his brother Brady.
Realistically, two of those four players could be in play this summer, and while Tkachuk isn’t an option, the Leafs could and should pursue Evander Kane.
Toronto Maple Leafs and Evander Kane
Evander Kane is going to be 30 when the NHL starts next season. He is expensive, and most likely in decline.
Kane has been better than 71% of forwards over the last three years, by WAR. That is a large sample size, but it’s highly skewed by the fact that in 2018-19 Kane was one of the best players in the NHL when he scored 30 goals and had 156 penalty minutes. (stats naturalstatrick.com., WAR info from @Jfresh).
This season he played in every game and finished with 22 goals and 49 points on a bad Sharks team. Unfortunately, despite good totals, poor defense and too many penalties hurt his value.
Kane makes $7 million for the next three seasons. He is in decline and will likely have trouble being worth that much money for the remainder of his deal. He also plays for a team that is not competitive and has too much money dumped into veteran players. They also have no real prospects, having traded most of their recent top picks to assemble their veteran heavy team.
It’s really the perfect storm for a team like the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Leafs should want to add a player like Kane because the dynamic of their team would be greatly improved with a power-forward. Since power-forwards are rare, they are valuable.
If the Leafs could get the Sharks to retain half of Kane’s contract, they could overpay with picks and prospects and get themselves a nice little deal. The key to acquiring Kane would be creativity.
The Leafs could replace Hyman with a significantly better player who makes them tougher and harder to play against. Kane, on a good team where his flaws can be hidden by the fact he doesn’t have to be a top player, could be a sneaky-good acquisition.
There is pretty much no downside to the Leafs getting Kane, other than the cost in picks and prospects. The Leafs are a in a great position though – they’re contenders who have a top farm system, and the Sharks should be motivated sellers.
A retained salary deal for Kane would be an incredible acquisition for the Toronto Maple Leafs.