3 Trades That Could Land the Toronto Maple Leafs Erik Karlsson

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Erik Karlsson – Trade 2

There has been talk about dangling rookie Matthew Knies for a trade.

Mike Grier, the general manager of the Sharks would love to get his hands on Knies.

If there was a one-to-one deal with the possibility of acquiring Knies, Grier would be all over it. The Leafs on the other hand wouldn’t be as interested in giving up their top prospect.

Additionally, for all those wondering about the possibility of using Knies as trade bait, there’s a big reason (apart from his talent and on-ice value) why he isn’t going to be traded, his contract.

Karlsson takes up a lot of cap space, while Knies makes just $925,000. To get the big defenseman, the Leafs would still need to shed money, which means trading away a highly paid player anyway.

Once again, the most obvious player to include in an exchange would be Nylander. Since we know that he alone isn’t going to move the needle enough to make Grier sign off on the trade, he’ll be sent along to San Jose with a teammate.

Toronto Maple Leafs receive: Erik Karlsson

San Jose Sharks receive: William Nylander and TJ Brodie

The right question to ask is, “why is Nylander included here again?” The answer is simple. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares can’t be traded without their consent. Each of the three of them hold no-movement clauses in their contracts. If they don’t want to play for the Sharks they won’t.

Nylander’s contract only has a modified no-trade clause. That means, he’s submitted a list of ten teams where the Leafs cannot trade him without his approval. If the Sharks aren’t on Nylander’s list, Treliving can ship him there without even speaking to Nylander first.