The Toronto Maple Leafs could follow the Colorado Avalanche by pulling off a massive trade on an impending free agent forward, but they won't.
On Friday night, the Avalanche finalized a deal that sent free-agent-to-be Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes. The deal has sent a huge ripple effect throughout the league, and justifiably so.
So, how does the deal affect the Toronto Maple Leafs?
I thought you’d never ask. Trading Rantanen was a painful, yet necessary business on the Avalanche’s part. They knew they weren’t going to be able to re-sign him given the distance between the two parties.
The Avs avoided losing their best winger for nothing, but to do so they had to take a massive loss on the trade. Is this something the Leafs or their fans can stomach?
This massive blockbuster is the first shoe to drop in a stalemate involving high-profile free agents. With the Leafs seeing the return Colorado got for Rantanen, they will likely redouble their efforts to sign Marner.
If the Leafs are convinced they won’t be able to re-sign Marner, they could be forced into doing what the Avs just did, but if this is all you get for Rantanen, there's really no point in exploring what Marner will bring back.
Why Toronto Maple Leafs Won’t Move Mitch Marner
Let’s now look at the opposite side of the equation. There’s plenty of reason for the Leafs to hold onto Marner. The biggest reason is that Marner is an all-round player who is just as elte without the puck as he is with it. He is one of the best players in the NHL, and one of the best players to ever where the Leafs uniform.
So, trading Marner could decimate the Toronto Maple Leafs. You simply cannot replace a two-way forward who plays in all situations and is challanging for the Hart, Art Ross and Selke Trophies.
In my estimation, the only way the Leafs move Mitch Marner is if they get a player of equal value in return, which the Avalanche just more or less proved is never going to happen.
Otherwise, the Leafs should hold on to Marner and hope the increase in the salary cap could offset the pay raise for Marner. I’m confident that will be the case, especially if it means sacrificing John Tavares to make room to keep Marner.
One last word of caution: Chatter should pick up regarding a trade involving Marner. But much of that could just be riding the hype of the Rantanen trade. Stay tuned because it’s going to get very interesting in the coming weeks.