Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Get Risky in Erik Karlsson Trade

The Erik Karlsson trade drama has continued on and the Toronto Maple Leafs have been rumoured to be one of the teams that are still in contention for the Norris Trophy winner.

The problem in bringing Karlsson to the Toronto Maple Leafs is cap restraints the club currently has.  Many believe to bring in the future hall of fame defenseman it would cost William Nylander; but what if they could find another way around it.

A key player that could make this trade work for both teams is John Tavares and it could be a win-win for both organizations.

To make this deal, Tavares would have to waive his no movement clause and be willing to move on from being the Captain of his hometown team.  That same hometown team he took a discount to come play for, which is a huge “if” and more than likely not happen.

Why would Tavares want to move on from a Stanley Cup contender to go to a rebuilding San Jose Sharks team?

He could depart for one of two reasons, the first is the Sharks were rumoured to be the second team in contention to sign Tavares when he was a free agent and he could like to live in sunny California.

The second part would be that the Sharks would be just a stop over on his way to a new Stanley Cup contender.

Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Get Risky in Erik Karlsson Trade

To Toronto Maple Leafs: Erik Karlsson ($2 Million retained)

To San Jose Sharks: John Tavares and T.J. Brodie

At first glance, you may wonder why the San Jose Sharks would want to acquire two aging veterans?

First, the money owing is limited for the current Maple Leafs captain as Tavares has just $8.86M owing to him over the next two seasons, however, TJ Brodie still has $7.5M left (credit: capfriendly.com).

Second, San Jose could immediately work out a deal where they move Tavares, while retaining up to 50% of his contract to a contending team.  By retaining his contract, they would only need to hold a portion of his salary for two years.  When trading Tavares at a $5.5M cap hit, they would likely get a good haul in return.  Acquiring a veteran leader who can score 30-35 goals with just two years on his contract would likely land the Sharks a first-round pick and a good prospect.

Third, in most rumoured deals, the Sharks are being forced to retain 26-50% of his remaining contract and with still four more years left.  In this deal, the Sharks are only retaining 17.4% of his contract.

At this point, the Sharks would be retaining a portion of Tavares and Karlsson’s contracts, along with Brett Burns.  Unfortunately, because of the NHL rules an organization can only have three retained contracts, so the Sharks could not retain any of Brodie’s contract.

While still being owed $7.5M on his contract, Brodie only carries a $5M cap hit.  A financial stable franchise may be inclined to add Brodie to their team for a second and fourth round pick.

In trading Karlsson for Brodie and Tavares, they get get out from their defenseman’s contract while obtaining future assets.

If the Maple Leafs did this deal similar, it would relieve all their cap troubles this season and also allow the team to go above what they want to offer William Nylander.  The part that is a cause for concern is the club is left with a sizeable vacancy in the second line center position.