The Toronto Maple Leafs will look to make some major changes this offseason as they look to finally get over the hump.
Toronto has star forwards Mitch Marner and John Tavares as pending free agents, but the Maple Leafs are also expected to be involved in trade talks. NHL insider Frank Seravalli of DailyFaceoff believes Toronto should look to acquire Pittsburgh Penguins star Erik Karlsson.
“I actually do think they need an power play quarterback, because they have elite offensive talents and Morgan Rielly is not a QB,” Seravalli said on DailyFaceoff Live. “The question is, who do you pair him with? Do you put him with Jake McCabe? Do you put him with Simon Benoit? Simon Benoit could be the guy. I don’t think Toronto is outlandish, I really don’t.”
The Maple Leafs removed Rielly from the power play and had five forwards on it. With that, Seravalli believes Toronto should take a run at trading for Karlsson.
Karlsson is an elite offensive defenseman, which is missing from the Maple Leafs’ roster. Karlsson recorded 11 goals and 42 assists for 53 points in 82 games. Just three seasons ago, he had 101 points in 82 games.
Insider Shares Mock Maple Leafs Trade for Karlsson
Not only does Seravalli think Toronto should trade for Karlsson, but he also shared a trade idea.
Seravalli thinks a logical trade is dealing Karlsson for Morgan Rielly in a one-for-one blockbuster.
“I would. I would get off of Rielly’s contract in the worst way,” Seravalli said. “There is a significant disparity in terms and dollars remaining, and I think a lot of Karlsson’s deal was front-loaded and paid in real cash. I think that is the case, you would probably need to take on the deal in full to make it happen.”
Karlsson has two years left on his eight-year, $92 million deal with the Penguins and is owed $11.5 million per season.
Rielly, meanwhile, has four years left on his eight-year, $60 million deal with the Maple Leafs, and his name has come up in trade talks. Rielly, however, has a full no-movement clause, so if he doesn’t want to be traded, he won’t. He was asked about a potential move at the locker clean-out day, which he shot down.
“That’s not what I’m thinking about right now,” Rielly said at locker cleanout day on May 20.
Rielly recorded 7 goals and 34 assists for 41 points in 82 games.
Maple Leafs GM Says DNA Has to Change
Toronto had another early playoff exit, and the Maple Leafs are likely to make some major changes this summer.
Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving spoke to the media on May 29 and claimed the team has a DNA change.
“There’s some DNA that has to change in our team,” Treliving said. “If you keep getting to the same result, there’s some DNA that needs to change. That’s on me going forward. We’ve now started the planning, and it’s early, for putting a team together for 2025-26.”
The Maple Leafs could look much different with Marner and Tavares as pending free agents. Toronto has $25.7 million in cap space.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Insider Urges Maple Leafs to Acquire $92M Star Defenseman in 1-for-1 Swap appeared first on Heavy Sports.