If the Toronto Maple Leafs want to shake things up this offseason, they should make a trade with their Canadian counterpart, Winnipeg Jets.
Over the past few years, the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs have gone through a similar path. Both team’s have been Stanley Cup favorites, yet they haven’t been able to reach the promised land.
The Jets have at least advanced past the first round on multiple occasions, including a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2018, but they’ve also underachieved more than Toronto, missing the playoffs in 2022.
After missing the playoffs, then losing in the first round again this season, there’s a lot of uncertainty in Winnipeg. They’ve built a strong core, but similar to Toronto, that core has yet to get it done in the playoffs. When you continue to fall in the biggest moments, something has to give, so this may be the time that the Jets shake things up.
Players such as Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck, who are still under contract, have said that they don’t want to re-sign in Winnipeg, so the Jets are essentially sitting-ducks. Although these players can help them win next year, if they’re not going to re-sign with the team, they could be better off trading them to bring in some new blood, who may want to stay long-term.
Toronto Maple Leafs and Jets Should Make a Trade
Both Scheifele ($6.125M) and Hellebuyck ($6.16M) have one year remaining on their contract and make a combined $12.285M.
Scheifele is an eight-time 20-goal scorer, while Hellebuyck is a former Vezina Trophy winner, so as a result, the Leafs should target both players for one magical run in the 2023-24 season.
Money will get tight after this season, but screw it let’s get crazy.
- Winnipeg Jets acquire: Mitch Marner and William Nylander and 2023 First Round Pick
- Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck
Marner is the best right-winger in hockey, while Nylander is a 40-goal scorer like Scheifele. By making this trade, the Leafs will save $5M in cap-space, which could help them re-sign Ryan O’Reilly or someone else.
If you think the Leafs get worse with this trade, you’re crazy. The team will be just as good, if not better and will be in a better situation. I know this is some type of fantasy hockey trade, but hear me out. The Jets would be getting fair value for two players who don’t want to play there anymore and they’ll still be competitive.
The combination of Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mark Scheifele and re-signing O’Reilly is more than enough offense up-front, plus with the emergence of Matthew Knies, the team’s top-six will still be very good.
Hockey trades like this don’t happen because the NHL is most boring sport in the world for this type of stuff, but if there was ever a way to make both parties happy in an uncomfortable position, this is it.
Marner and Nylander are amazing players but let’s try something new. It’s time to shake things up and this trade could make both organizations very happy.