There’s plenty of trade chatter surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. That’s nothing new. That’s par for the course in the NHL’s busiest media market.
But every now and then, a hair-brained rumor gets an undue share of attention. The latest such rumor involves trading William Nylander.
Now, the issue is not necessarily speculating about a Nylander trade. The issue lies with the suggested outcome of said trade.
In the January 7 episode of Kyper and Bourne, commentator Nick Kypreos discussed how the Maple Leafs could pull off a trade with the Seattle Kraken involving William Nylander.
All right, so what?
In particular, Kypreos hinted that the return could be blueliners Jamie Oleksiak and Brandon Montour. That’s about as bananas as it can get. William Nylander is one of the best players in the NHL at the moment. The Maple Leafs’ star is a top-10 player at his position when he’s on fire. While he’s on the shelf right now, it does little to diminish his trade value.
But moving Nylander for an underwhelming, overpaid blueliner and a depth defenseman? There had better be more coming than just that.
The fact of the matter is that Nylander, if traded, could land a substantial haul. That’s a certainty. But that haul had better address the Maple Leafs’ actual needs.
Maple Leafs Could Do Much Better than Montour
Brandon Montour cashed in on two good seasons. He had been somewhat of a journeyman until finding his groove with the Florida Panthers during the 2022-23 season. He scored 16 goals and 73 points as the Panthers went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final that year. That postseason, the Panthers eliminated the Maple Leafs in the second round.
The following season, Montour scored less than half of the previous year’s point total, but won a Stanley Cup. That was enough to convince the Kraken to give him a seven-year, $50 million deal.
In its second season, that deal has aged pretty badly. While the 31-year-old has six goals and 16 points in 27 games this season, he’s nowhere near the 73-point defenseman he was three seasons ago.
In short, Montour is not the blueline upgrade the Maple Leafs have sought. Of course, it’s silly to think that a team would trade Quinn Hughes or Cale Makar for William Nylander. But one has to think that a better option could be available for such a talented player.
Nylander Trade Better as Offseason Conversation
Unless the Maple Leafs can land a true top-pairing blueliner or a lights-out package for Nylander at the deadline, the best course of action is to have this conversation during the offseason.
General managers tend to succumb to pressure leading up to the deadline. As such, they make moves for the sake of making them. Needless to say, that’s a recipe for disaster. That’s the pitfall that Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving must avoid.
Yes, there is certainly plenty of pressure on the team to make a move right now. But making one for the sake of making a move is hardly a good business practice. If anything, major moves should come in the offseason.
Having a calm, rational mind is always better than hastily making moves when an angry mob is ready to storm the castle.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Latest Maple Leafs Rumor Is Just Bananas appeared first on Heavy Sports.