The end of the off season is approaching fast. Training camps are just over a month away and the Maple Leafs roster still needs some work.
They could use a 3rd line centre and a top 6 forward to bump Bobby McMann down the line up.
The only way to acquire such players are through trade. The best pending UFA at the moment is James Van Riemsdyk and although a reunion with Toronto would be interesting to see, he is not the player the Maple Leafs need.
The Maple Leafs need a third line centre who can create offence while also being responsible in his own end and is on a fairly cheap contract.
A player who checks all the boxes and was offered in a recent trade is Cole Perfetti.
Perfetti has played 140 games over the last 3 NHL seasons and was a regular in the Winnipeg Jets lineup in 2023-24.
He was recently offered in a trade to the Carolina Hurricanes alongside highly touted prospect Rutger McGroarty and draft picks for Martin Necas.
Necas's career high in points came two seasons ago in 2022-23 where he scored 71 points (28 goals and 43 assists) in 82 games.
He is a offense first, skilled forward who has played RW and C in the NHL. Necas recently signed a 2 year $6.5 million AAV extension with the Hurricanes.
So if the Hurricanes were offered Perfetti, McGroarty and draft picks for Necas, what would the return be on Mitch Marner, who has blown Necas' numbers out of the water every season that they have both been in the league.
Mitch Marner's Estimated Value
If we continue to use Winnipeg as an example in this mock trade, the Maple Leafs would need a top 6 winger back to play in Marner's role in order to remain competitive.
A Jets player who has been in many trade rumours recently is Nikolaj Ehlers.
Ehlers is a 60 point winger who has been a staple of Winnipeg's top 6 over the last number of years.
Through nine seasons in the league, Ehlers has scored 20 or more goals seven times. The two seasons he did not score 20 plus goals were his first season in 2015-16 and in 2022-23, when he missed nearly half a season due to injury.
Ehlers, Perfetti, McGroarty, first round pick in 2025 and a conditional 1st round pick in 2026 based off Marner resigning in Winnipeg or a Jets playoff run is a deal that I could get behind.
The Maple Leafs would be acquiring a two middle-six forwards, in Ehlers and Perfetti, one of whom has team control, top end prospect in McGroarty, who will most likely sign following the 2024-25 NCAA season, and two draft picks that they could use to restock the farm system or flip at the trade deadline to upgrade the team.
If Winnipeg were open to a similar package for Necas, I don't see why they would not consider this for Mitch Marner.
This would also free up around $5 million worth of cap space for the Maple Leafs, which they could then spend elsewhere.
On the Jets side of things, it gives them one of the best playmakers in the world to play alongside one of the better snipers, Kyle Connor.
Marner and Connor would make for a great duo on the wings for captain Mark Scheifele, creating one of the scariest lines in the NHL.
Ultimately, a deal between the Maple Leafs and Jets is a longshot but should be explored as it will improve both teams.