The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to have more eyes on them than normal. While The Centre of the Hockey Universe has its normal amount of heightened attention, the Leafs are heading into a 2026-27 season where really anything can happen and either we're all overjoyed that they're good again, or they're miserable to watch, again.
With all that being said, Elliotte Friedman recently predicted on an episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, that the Leafs are going to trade for Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman and future Hall-of-Famer Erik Karlsson at some point this upcoming season.
It's a bold prediction -- because it is supposed to be -- not only because it would be someone who is beloved in Ottawa now joining the "dark side" in Toronto so that an entire fan base can feel gross looking back at the former captain's time as a Senator, but because so much would need to happen for this to be possible.
Maple Leafs would need to be on a playoff trajectory to land Karlsson
First off, the Leafs would need to be actually good for all of this to even be a possibility. For them to be in a position where general manager John Chayka feels comfortable to spend some premium assets, send them over to Pittsburgh, and to then get the 36-year-old blueliner in return.
It would be a big-time move to really go out and get a player like this, as some sort of stamp on the season. What would it even take? Would the Leafs need to be winning the division, comfortably in first place and a strangehold on a playoff position, for the fan base to be comfortable with this? What if it does cost someone like Easton Cowan in the process? Or another very good young player?
A whole lot of wins would have to be on the board.
What about Darren Raddysh?
Maybe more than whether or not the Leafs would be good, is wondering about Darren Raddysh's situation in all of this. If the Leafs are going out there targeting Karlsson and getting the right-handed offensive blueliner, then that must mean that Raddysh was a complete flop.
Since the 30-year-old free agent signing is supposed to be exactly what Karlsson would provide -- quarterbacking the No. 1 power-play unit, and being a stable force on the right side of the top four -- then if Toronto is trying to pry Karlsson away from Pittsburgh, then are we in more of a nightmare scenario where Raddysh has failed?
And if Raddysh has been a disaster, then how are the Leafs even good enough to warrant this trade? It's a situation where it feels impossible to truly make work. Toronto is either good and Raddysh is excelling so they don't necessarily need Karlsson. Or, the Leafs are terrible, so why are they going after Karlsson as a rental in the first place?
It's a hockey podcast in August so takes have to be shared, but after a couple seconds of thought about what it would mean for the Leafs to be in this scenario, it clearly does not make any sense. Sure, there is an abundance of Swedes on the team now, but that's as loose a connection you will find.
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