The Toronto Maple Leafs supposedly had the best trade package for Mikko Rantanen, according to Nick Kypreos. but the Carolina Hurricanes said "no" sparking one of the biggest what-if's in team history.
What if Bill Buckner stopped that ball in the 1986 World Series? What if Brett Hull's goal in 1999 was called back? What if the Montreal Expo's stayed in Montreal?
These are just a few of the thousands of what-if's in professional sports that could have changed the course of history. The same thing now applies with the Mikko Rantanen "what-if" trade, as the Leafs supposedly offered the Hurricanes Easton Cowan, Fraser Minten and two first-round picks for his services. Plus, they were ready to lock him up to an eight-year contract worth $13M AAV.
As much as I criticized the team for not going "all-in" with the acquisitions of Brandon Carlo and Scott Laughton, it looks like I was wrong, as Treliving seemingly did everything he could to improve this roster with a superstar player. Unfortunately, the other team has to agree to the trade to make it work and in this case, the Hurricanes were unwilling to do so, as they were scared that they may face each other in the playoffs, thus the reason why they flipped him to the Western Conference.
If the Leafs acquire Rantanen, then they probably don't acquire Carlo or Laughton, so would you rather have a third-line centre and top-four defenseman, or a first-line winger for the next eight years? As much as Laughton and Carlo are good additions, you're taking Rantanen everyday of the week, because he's a way better player, plus you're getting him for eight years.
Rantanen is a former 50-goal scorer, with over 100 career playoff points and would be an instant replacement for Marner next year and/or Tavares if they couldn't come to an agreement. There is still a world where the Leafs could have signed both Rantanen and Marner next year, although it wouldn't really be necessary. I'd save that money for a second-line centre, instead of having Rantanen, Marner and Nylander locked in at right-wing.
The Leafs Almost Traded for Mikko Rantanen
If you're looking at the Leafs roster with Rantanen for the short-term, I can see the argument of wanting Laughton and Carlo for this season, because acquiring Rantanen probably would have meant that the team couldn't have improved their defense. However, I'm not sure if that's neccesarily true because the Rantanen trade could have sparked a few other big trades, resulting in this Leafs team looking very different.
If the Leafs acquired Rantanen this year, it's quite possible that they try and flip Marner. The Leafs are clearly having contract issues with him, so it's possible that the team could have moved Marner to the NY Islanders, for example, and got Noah Dobson, who was the number-one target this year, or they still could have got Brandon Carlo..
I mean the Panthers recieved Brad Marchand, just for a conditional second-round pick, so you don't think the Leafs could have got Marchand and Carlo for Marner? In a series of moves, there's a world where Toronto could have replaced Marner with Rantanen, then also upgraded their defense with Carlo and improve their depth with Marchand.
If Matthew Tkachuk never gets injured, Florida may never have traded for Seth Jones or Marchand, so that "what-if" alone should really drive you nuts if you're a Leafs fan. Sure, Team Canada beat Team USA but at what cost? This was supposed to be the year where Toronto finally wins the Atlantic Division, but based on the Panthers and Lightning's moves, they'll probably end up finishing third.
This year's NHL Trade Deadline was amazing and it showed us that big hockey trades are back. It's just unfrortunate that the Leafs weren't involved with any major ones, as a Rantanen deal could have changed the course of history with this organization.