This Latest Mitch Marner Trade Rumor Will Get Leafs Fans Excited

The 2023-24 NHL season is over, which means the trade rumors involving Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Mitch Marner are heating up, and the newest one is wild.

Let's not waste anytime with this Toronto Maple Leafs trade rumor and get right into it. The Leafs would require Nazem Kadri and Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Mitch Marner. Thank you to Sportsnet's Justin Bourne and Sam McKee for this one, because this is spicy!

Kadri makes $7M until 2029, while Andersson makes $4.5M until 2026, so for the same price as Marner, the Leafs could acquire a top-six winger/centre and top-four defenseman. Although Kadri's past history with the Leafs is a troubled-one, I kind of love this trade and here's why.

Say what you want about Marner's talent but his time with the Leafs is over. You can yell and scream about how amazing he is and that the Leafs should run it back again, but they need a change. They not only need a change on the ice, but they need a change in the room and Marner staying with the team will be a distraction all year, especially if the doesn't sign an extension.

Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Rumor Brings Kadri Back Home

Is this trade the best possible return that the Leafs can get? I am not too sure, but I think it makes this team better.

Nobody is going to replace Marner's point totals in the regular season, but Kadri could help. Even when Kadri was getting suspended in the playoffs during his tenure in Toronto, he was a difference-maker. He was someone who teams hated playing against and his amazing skillset finally showed during his Stanley Cup season with Colorado.

With seven goals and 18 points in 15 playoff games, Kadri was a huge reason why the Avalanche won a Stanley Cup. Not only did he score, but he was a pest to play against and gave his team everything he could. He showed the rest of the league that he was worth a long-term contract, but he's not going to be effective in Calgary, which is why Toronto should pounce on him.

Kadri isn't a player you want to rebuild around, but instead is someone who can help get a team to the next level, like Toronto. Kadri loved playing in Toronto and didn't want to leave, but he worked out for him as he won a championship. With a different head coach and GM in charge, I'm sure he'd love a return to his hometown and there's nothing more he'd love to do than get a second-chance at a championship in Toronto.

Not only would Kadri be a welcomed addition, but Andersson would help the Leafs blue-line and give them a power-play specialist that they're missing. As crazy as this trade sounds, there's a ton of good that it would bring Toronto, as well as Calgary, as they look to rebuild that franchise.