Potential Trades the Toronto Maple Leafs Could Make to Move Mitch Marner
The Toronto Maple Leafs season is over and as we head into the off-season the two biggest questions are who will be the new coach, and what will happen with Mitch Marner?
Fairly or unfairly, Marner has been the whipping boy over the last few seasons by Toronto Maple Leafs fans and there are many in the media saying they think it is time that the "Core Four" get split up. It is evident that there is only one player in that group of four that realistically makes sense to move and that is the hometown kid.
John Tavares has an unmovable contract, while William Nylander and Auston Matthews both just signed extensions, which leaves Marner to be dealt.
If general manager Brad Treliving does decide to make a trade he needs to be smart about it and either get a top rated defenseman back or get prospects that could jump into the line-up, leaving the team with a lot of cap room.
He are three potential trade options:
Columbus Blue Jackets
To Columbus: Mitch Marner
To Toronto: Adam Fantilli and David Jiricek
It is no secret that the Columbus Blue Jackets have had a lot of interest in acquiring Marner ever since he became an restricted free agent back in 2019. When Marner was without a contract, there were reports that two teams had presented him with offer sheets, but he decided not to sign either of them.
Former NHL forward and now TV analyst Matthew Barnaby reported that the Blue Jackets were one of those two teams that offered him a contract, however Marner did not signing one of the sheets.
From what I was told a while ago the 2 offer sheets to Marner were Minny and Columbus....Wanted to be a Leaf
— Matthew Barnaby (@MattBarnaby3636) September 16, 2019
As everyone is aware, Marner has a full no movement clause meaning he would have to accept an offer to Columbus, but you would have to expect he would have some sort of interest. It is unlikely that the Blue Jackets would have gotten to the point that they presented him with an offer sheet if there wasn't mutual interest.
The two players that Treliving could target would be Adam Fantilli and David Jiricek.
Fantilli was the third overall selection in last summer's NHL Entry Draft and had a productive rookie season collecting 27-points in 49 games until a calf injury ended his season in late January. Prior to the injury he was learning the NHL game and even averaged nearly a point per game in December.
The Nobleton, Ontario native would give the Leafs a potentially elite player on an entry-level deal.
The second part of the trade would be 6'4" right handed shot defenseman David Jiricek who was drafted sixth overall in 2022. This would be a second player the Leafs could insert into their lineup who basically doesn't have a cap hit.
This past season Jiricek bounced back and forth between Columbus and Cleveland throughout the entire season playing 43 games in the NHL and 29 games in the AHL combining for 29-points between the two leagues. The Czech defenseman projects as a top four pairing defender and could potentially become a top pairing blue liner.
Acquiring recent third and sixth overall selections may be a tall ask from the Columbus Blue Jackets and something the Maple Leafs would have to entice the Blue Jackets with. One option would be waiting until July 2 to make the trade as once July 1 arrives Marner will receive a $7.25 Million bonus which leaves him with just 775K left to pay him for the remainder of the season. The Blue Jackets could get one of the top players in the league with nearly no money owed to him for an entire season.
Minnesota Wild
To Minnesota: Mitch Marner
To Toronto: Brock Faber and 2025 first round pick
Just like the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Minnesota Wild had expressed interest in the past with acquiring Marner as Barnaby reported that they had presented the winger with an offer sheet back in 2019.
When you add in that Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerein and Brad Treliving have already swapped players recently when the Maple Leafs acquired Connor Dewar at this past trade deadline and you have a pair that could put together another trade.
The main piece the Maple Leafs would go after Brock Faber who was the main piece acquired from the Los Angeles Kings two summers ago from the Los Angeles Kings that sent Kevin Fiala to California.
Drafted in the second round of the 2020 draft, Faber is proving to be an excellent pick that should have gone much higher in the draft. Did we mention that he was college teammates with Matthew Knies at the University of Minnesota for two seasons.
Faber is a 6'1" right handed shot defenseman that is not overly physical, but has a lot of attributes that the Maple Leafs are missing on the back end. A legit top four defenseman, shoots from the right, can move the puck, quarterback a powerplay and also play on the penalty kill.
The Minnesota native averaged just under 25-minutes a night this past year which was his rookie season while leading the blue line in powerplay time and being on the second penalty kill unit. He would finish with 47-points on the season, with 16 of those coming with the man advantage.
Not only can he move the puck, Faber can get in lanes and finished second on his team in blocked shots with 150.
With Marner, the Wild will be able to have a dynamic duo on the wings and can pair him with Kirill Kaprizov in an attempt to create the same offence he had with Auston Matthews.
Philadelphia Flyers
To Philadelphia: Mitch Marner
To Toronto: Travis Konecny and Jamie Drysdale
In a situation where the Maple Leafs and Flyers would come together for a trade, Marner would have to think long and hard whether or not he wanted to play for John Tortorella. He may very well want to play for one of the hardest coaches to ever be in the NHL, but my inclination is that Marner likely would like to avoid that situation.
However, if Marner were to waive his no movement clause the team could target a player I felt for a long time would be a very good fit on the team and that is Travis Konecny. The feisty right winger is coming off of consecutive 30-goal seasons and like Marner is heading into the final year of his contract before hitting unrestricted free agency.
A deal could be worked out and it would likely come in a lot less than what Marner will be seeking, while adding a lot to the team that they don't have. I would think that Konecny could be locked in between $7-$8 Million on a long term deal, while the current Maple Leafs right winger is likely looking of upwards of $12 Million.
Konecny brings a lot of similarities that the team had in Tyler Bertuzzi this past season, except he is stronger and more skilled, while also adding in that he is an elite penalty killer. This past season season he led all NHL players with six short handed goals while also scoring three more down a man the season before.
Adding into the trade would be 2020 sixth overall selection Jamie Drysdale who is already on his second team after being acquired half way through this past season. The downside of the 5'11" defenseman is he is known of being more of an offensive defender than looking after his own end. However, Drysdale would help improve the powerplay which if you looked at the primary reason the team bowed out in the first round this season was because of the non existence of a powerplay quarterback.
At five on five, Drysdale could be paired with a Jake McCabe to have a steady veteran prescience with him while allowing him to work the puck up ice.
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In each of these trade proposals, the Toronto Maple Leafs get both players that can fill holes on the roster while also adding cap space.