The Toronto Maple Leafs are likely to hang onto Mitch Marner. Still, there’s speculation that the franchise could be keeping an eye on possible trade opportunities. Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Jets have complicated contract issues to work out with some of their own talent, the franchise seeking trades and otherwise being quiet this offseason. Could there be a fit between these two teams?
It’s a long shot, but let’s explore the odds that Winnipeg and Toronto could come together and produce this offseason’s biggest blockbuster deal. What else is there to do in the dog days of the NHL offseason?
The Key Trade Pieces: Marner, Ehlers and McGroarty
The three centerpieces of the deal would be Mitch Marner leaving Toronto and going to Winnipeg. On the other side, Nikolaj Ehlers and Rutger McGroarty would be the pieces coming back to Toronto. This would not be a two-for-one, but the core parts of a bigger trade that would see both sides finding a way to even things out, potentially including contract talks and extensions worked out before any deal would be finalized.
As for why these pieces; some of that is obvious. In Toronto, the Leafs need a change. Removing a part of their Core Four and rearranging how their forward mix is set up is a strategic move that has been long overdue. In Winnipeg, the Jets have an unhappy McGrorarty on their hands and there is speculation that Ehlers could be a trade piece leaving the organization. Winnipeg makes the big splash they’ve been unable to make this offseason and gets an elite right-winger, keeping them competitive as their team goes through some serious changes. The Leafs get cheaper on their salary cap, while adding a future right-wing star and a top-six left-winger.
The Jets have the cap space to make this work. Meanwhile, the Leafs might like the idea of an NHL-ready prospect and a top-six winger who scored 25 goals last season coming over in the same trade.
The Problems With This Proposed Trade… And There are Many
The first issue with a deal like this is that Marner may not want to go to Winnipeg. If he’s hesitant, it would take major convincing and a huge contract offer, likely one that is better than anything thrown at him by the Maple Leafs. Marner wants to stay in Toronto. If he can’t, the Jets might not be among his backup options.
The Jets will want to know that Marner is on board and prepared to sign. Sure, they’re having their own issues with Ehlers and McGroarty, but that’s not a reason to throw those two assets away for one year of Marner in a Jets uniform.
The second issue is that Ehlers is also a pending UFA at the end of the season. He’s finishing up a $6 million contract and may be looking to test the market. What Toronto doesn’t want to do is give up Marner in a deal that would see one of the big assets coming back bolt at the end of the season.
The third issue is rumors of McGroarty’s attitude. Unwilling to sign in Winnipeg, reports have surfaced that he’s demanding a certain amount of NHL ice time and power-play opportunities. With Marner gone, the Leafs would have the ability to give him what he wants, but as talented as McGroarty projects to be, do the Leafs want to take on a player who is already building a reputation for being selfish and prepared to make life difficult when he doesn’t get what he wants? Maybe things change in Toronto and his attitude is different. Maybe not.
A Toronto trade with Winnipeg has the potential to be a huge blockbuster, but it’s certainly anything but a given these two teams could make it work and shuffle all the pieces together to make everyone happy. There are elements of this type of deal that make sense on the surface, but underneath, there are so many moving parts, that it’s hard to imagine how it’s a deal that could ever get done.
