Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Possible William Nylander Trade Destinations

May 12, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (88) celebrates after scoring against the Florida Panthers in the third period in game five of the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
May 12, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (88) celebrates after scoring against the Florida Panthers in the third period in game five of the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
TEMPE, ARIZONA – MARCH 07: Torey Krug #47 of the St. Louis Blues makes a pass against the Arizona Coyotes during the first period at Mullett Arena on March 07, 2023 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Zac BonDurant/Getty Images) /

No. 3: St. Louis Blues

Torey Krug’s name has been in the news a lot lately and the Leafs need a top-two defenseman so a Nylander trade to St. Louis could make some sense.

The 32-year-old just denied a trade to the Flyers, but could be open to a move to Toronto, since they’re clearly a much better organization.

The Toronto Maple Leafs likely wouldn’t make an aging and declining defenseman the centre-piece of a trade, but Krug would help on a win-now team like the Leafs, and the Blues could always add more to the deal.

Krug averages over 20 minutes of ice-time per night and would be a solid defenseman on the Leafs if the team made a deal for him.

In 523 career games, Krug has 337 points, so not only could he eat up a lot of minutes but he would be big help on the power-play, as the team saw very little offensive output from their defenseman last season.

The Blues just recently turned the page with Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly, so adding a younger player in Nylander could really help their team.

They have an abundance of good defensemen, who all have some sort of a No-Trade-Clause, so it may be harder to make it work, but if one of them is willing to waive that clause, a Blues/Leafs trade makes a lot of sense.

Next. Leafs Player Grades. dark

As much as it pains me to see Nylander moved, his price-tag is going to be too much next summer, so if the team can get somewhat equal value for his services, I think a deal has to be made.