No. 3: The LA Trade
The Trade:
- Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: Dustin Brown (25% retained)
- LA Kings acquire: Alex Kerfoot, Ondrej Kase and 2023 4th Round Pick
This is a win-now type of trade and who knows if it would even be enough to get it done, however it’s fun to discuss.
Dustin Brown is a winner and although he’s 36-years-old, he probably has 1-2 really good years left in the tank. Brown can still score 20-goals a season and would look very good beside John Tavares and William Nylander.
Brown is a leader and as a two-time Stanley Cup champion, he would demand respect in the dressing room and could be an influential piece in getting this team over the edge. Brown is different than the Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds and Jason Spezza type’s who Toronto has brought in, in the past, because he’s a former captain of a team that actually won and can still play at a high-level.
Brown’s $5.8M AAV is tough for one season, but with Kerfoot and Kase going the other way, it’s possible to make the money work. Also, if LA retained 25% of this deal, then it would definitely work.
It’s possible that Brown would want to stay in LA and finish his career there, after having so much success, but it’s also possible that he would want one more run at a Stanley Cup in a great hockey market. With his old teammates Jack Campbell and Jake Muzzin already in Toronto, that may be enough to sway him to join them and take one last crack at a ring.