The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially traded Mitch Marner and will now have the difficult task of trying to replace his offense.
Heavy.com proposed a deal that would see the Maple Leafs acquire two-time Stanley Cup champion Bryan Rust from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Maple Leafs acquire:
Penguins acquire:
- Max Domi
- Nick Robertson
- 2028 first-round pick
- 2026 third-round pick
Toronto doesn’t have a ton of assets in terms of draft picks or prospects, so instead, it trades two NHL forwards but has to give up a first and a third-round pick in the deal. The Maple Leafs would get off of Domi’s contract, and get a star forward who can play on the top line and help replace Marner.
Toronto would acquire Rust, who has three years left on his six-year, $30.75 million deal. Rust is a right winger who could play on the top line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. The 33-year-old recorded 31 goals and 34 assists for 65 points in 71 games last season. He helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017.
A big part of the return for the Penguins would be the two draft picks. But, Pittsburgh would also acquire Domi from the Maple Leafs. Domi would be a middle-six forward for the Penguins who could also be used as a trade chip at the deadline. He has three years left on his four-year, $15 million deal. Domi recorded 8 goals and 25 assists for 33 points in 74 games last season.
The Maple Leafs would also trade Robertson, who’s a pending RFA. Robertson was drafted by Kyle Dubas, who is the GM of the Penguins, and would be given more playing time in Pittsburgh. Robertson recorded 15 goals and 7 assists for 22 points in 69 games last season.
Maple Leafs GM Figuring Out How to Replace Marner
The Maple Leafs will have a much different-looking team next season with Marner off to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Marner is one of the best players in the NHL, and Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving knows replacing him won’t be easy to do.
“You’re trying to make your team better and you’ve got the potential there to lose a really good player,” Treliving said on June 28. “So there’s lots of challenges. But we try to look at it as using those opportunities as well, right? That’s the job.
“Everybody’s focused on July 1, and I get it. We don’t play on July 2. So you can use the time on July 1 to try to make your team better,” Trelivin added. “And that may come on July 1. It may come Aug. 1, Sept. 1. You’re not sure. So you continue to work the market. But certainly some challenges. Really good player. And I think I’ve said this before too. There’s not a Mitch Marner tree you go to and just replace him. If that indeed happens, we will continue to look at ways that we can help ourselves.”
The Maple Leafs did trade for Mattias Maccelli to add some offense to the lineup.
Penguins Expect a High Price for Rust
Although Pittsburgh is likely to be a rebuilding team, Dubas says that acquiring Rust will be a high price to pay.
Rust is still an impactful player in the NHL, and Dubas says the price is high to acquire him.
“It means a lot to the team. (Rust) has been a part of the team for 15 years since he was drafted. So unless it’s something that blows us away in terms of what it returns–that it can very easily be looked at to help us return to contention–that would be a tough one,” said Dubas. “But we’ve gotten lots of calls on him. He’s a great player, he’s signed, but he’s also a massive member of the Penguins. We’ll continue to be open for business, but the price will be very high.”
Rust has spent his entire career with the Penguins after being taken 80th overall in 2010.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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