The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to add a top-six winger, and one trade idea has them acquiring a young forward who could play on the top line.
Heavy.com proposed a deal that would see the Maple Leafs acquire Alex Laferriere from the Los Angeles Kings in an intriguing move.
Maple Leafs acquire:
Kings acquire:
- Bobby McMann
- Nick Robertson
- 2028 first-round pick
The proposed deal would be an intriguing one as Toronto would acquire a young forward for two NHL players and a first-round pick. Laferriere is an RFA and would come with a contract extension.
The Maple Leafs would acquire Laferriere, who could help replace Marner and play on Toronto’s top line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. Laferriere is coming off a career-high recording 19 goals and 23 assists for 42 points in 77 games. He’s only played in two NHL seasons, recording 31 goals and 34 assists for 65 points in 158 games.
In return, Toronto would give up a first-round pick and McMann, who is a middle-six forward. McMann has one year left on his two-year, $2.7 million deal with the Maple Leafs. He can be a good scoring third-line winger for the Kings. He recorded 20 goals and 14 assists for 34 points in 74 games last season.
The Kings would also acquire Robertson, who, like Laferriere, is a pending RFA. Robertson is a middle-six scoring winger who hasn’t been given much playing time in Toronto. He had 15 goals and 7 assists for 22 points in 69 games.
The Maple Leafs would also deal its 2028 first-round pick, as Toronto is going all-in, and Laferriere helps make the Maple Leafs that much better of a team.
Maple Leafs Looking to Add Top-6 Winger
After Toronto dealt Mitch Marner in a sign-and-trade, the Maple Leafs have a clear need to add a top-six winger.
The Fourth Period reported that Toronto is looking to add a top-line winger who can play alongside Matthews.
“The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins were among the teams interested in Andrew Mangiapane, who inked a two-year deal with Edmonton,” the article read. “Also on the Leafs, they will continue to peruse the trade market for a top-six winger. Preferably someone who can slot on the right side of Auston Matthews.”
Meanwhile, after trading Marner, Maple Leafs general manager, Brad Treliving, made it clear that the team is looking to add a top-line winger.
“When a player of Mitch’s magnitude moves away, that’s never a fun day,” Treliving said. “But we were able to recoup a player who I think can really help us. And in a situation where a player was walking away this morning for nothing, we were able to recoup a player that fits a need for us… Mitch was a top-six forward, and we haven’t replaced that hole. That’s really where our focus is.”
Toronto did acquire Mattias Maccelli, and right now projects to be the first-line right winger.
Maple Leafs Betting on Maccelli
The Maple Leafs did acquire one possible top-six winger by trading for Maccelli.
After the deal, Treliving said Maccelli is a dynamic playmaker who they are betting on to have success.
“He’s a dynamic playmaker. When you look at some of the areas that we need to address, playmaking ability was one of them,” Treliving said. “There’s a bet here on a player that we think can rebound from the season he had and with some of the players that we have. Ultimately, it will come down to the fits and where they all go. We just felt, at the price that it cost us, that this was a chance for a young player who has some dynamic skill and ability, it was worth the bet.”
Maccelli recorded 8 goals and 10 assists for 18 points in 55 games. The year before, he had 17 goals and 40 assists for 57 points.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Trade Pitch Sees Maple Leafs Acquiring 42-Point Winger to Help Replace Marner appeared first on Heavy Sports.