No. 5: Ryan O'Reilly
I can hear Scotiabank Arena playing "Welcome Back, Cotter" as I write this. "Welcome back, welcome back, welcome backkkkk."
Having O'Reilly return to the Leafs would be the greatest comeback since Doug Gilmour as it would be a return for not only this season, but years to come. The Leafs best chance at winning a Stanley Cup came the year they acquired him and if it wasn't for the greatest goaltending performance from the Florida Panthers and a few unlucky breaks, we may be looking back at that Leafs team like how we look back at the 2019 Toronto Raptors or 1992/1993 Toronto Blue Jays.
The 2024-25 Nashville Predators season is improving but it's far from what they expected. After a ton of offseason acquisitions, many looked at this team as Stanley Cup favourites, but it's much more likely they're in the NHL Draft Lottery. Although it's been a struggle, O'Reilly has still performed and has a lot left in the tank.
It's not like he didn't enjoy his time in Toronto, but he did prefer less time in the spotlight, which is why he went back to Nashville. However, maybe he'd be willing to come back because I'm sure he'd love that spotlight back if it meant winning a Stanley Cup in Toronto.
No. 6: Mikael Granlund
Since Granlund plays for the San Jose Sharks and has an expiring contract, he's naturally going to get named in trade rumors, which makes sense. The 33-year-old is on-pace for a 20-goal season this year and has been one of the Sharks best players, leading his team in points.
With a cap-hit of $5M, Granlund's contract is personally a little rich for me, but the Sharks do have the luxury of being able to retain salary. Also, after gifting the Sharks Timothy Liljegren earlier this year, maybe the Sharks would do the team a favour and retain the full 50% and only make him a $2.5M player?
I do appreciate Granlund's skill, but I personally wouldn't add him on this Leafs team. There are plenty of other teams that could use this type of skill, but I think the Leafs have more than enough that they don't neccesarily need this type of player.
Granlund's 5-foot-10, 185 pound frame isn't one that I'd want to add at this point, but would instead prefer someone with a little bit of bite, over just speed and skill.