The Toronto Maple Leafs remain a team with some significant upside. They haven’t quite fallen into the decline phase that all contending teams eventually face.
That said, the Maple Leafs could be looking to find the next crop of players to prop up their window of contention. As such, looking around the league for value in overlooked places is a crucial component of that approach.
In particular, a thought comes to mind: What if the Maple Leafs could be a place where beleaguered Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson could thrive?
That’s the idea that insider Darren Dreger communicated during the January 13 edition of TSN’s Insider Trading. During the discussion, Dreger pointed out that Canucks are not necessarily looking to move Pettersson. But they would, amid their incipient rebuild, consider moving Pettersson.
Dreger offered the following insight:
“The Vancouver Canucks are listening and will listen to interest in Pettersson despite believing that, if he gets a change of scenery and new start somewhere else, he’s going to thrive in a new environment.”
Now, that’s an interesting point of view. If Pettersson could get a fresh start in a contending team like, say, the Maple Leafs, he could rediscover his game. While it might be wishful thinking that Pettersson could return to his 100-point form, he could, nonetheless, bounce back into roughly a point-per-game territory.
Pettersson trade wrought with pitfalls for Maple Leafs
While the idea of adding Pettersson as the Maple Leafs' second-line center sounds good on paper, making it happen would be wrought with pitfalls.
The most obvious situation is his cap hit. Pettersson’s contract is essentially untradable. It carries an $11.6 million cap hit for the next six seasons. Given the contract’s remaining years, it’s unlikely the Canucks would want to retain anything on it.
So, if the Maple Leafs were to trade for Pettersson, they would have to take on his full cap hit. That’s a huge risk for Toronto to take on. While taking on the full cap hit would significantly reduce Vancouver’s asking price, it wouldn’t be wise to take on such a massive cap hit on a question mark.
There’s also the question of Pettersson’s full no-movement clause. He might be compelled to move it to go to Toronto. But then again, Toronto is a market with just as much pressure as Vancouver. That situation might not make Toronto quite the appealing destination.
Playing with William Nylander could be an attractive prospect for Pettersson. But then again, he’s not the Berube-type player we have come to know. Pettersson is not a grinder, and he’s not particularly defensively responsible. That’s why there would be serious questions about his ultimate fit in Toronto.
Ultimately, the idea of adding Elias Pettersson would be great on paper. But in practicality, it might not be the best move, especially when factoring in his massive cap hit. That said, a Pettersson trade could be a proposition better explored in the offseason.