Make Toronto Great

Team: 2020-21 Toronto Maple Leafs

Initial Creation Date: Aug. 19, 2020

Published: Aug. 19, 2020

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Something I was thinking about.

With San Jose, Toronto gets their superstar defenseman for spare parts (even if he is getting up there in age, this whole narrative that he is circling the drain is bonkers. His contract is certainly far better than Muzzin's. It might start to stink in 3-4 years, but Toronto's window is open NOW) as well as an unspectacular young forward who fits the team well. For San Jose, the return might seem small, but Kapanen fits a major need (and mildly outperforms his contract) while Liljegren hasn't been given a fair shake (IMO) in Toronto. Gregor is decent, but the Sharks are loaded with bottom-6 prospects. Biggest stumbling block for this trade could be SJ's insistence on a first-round-pick and Dubas's slavish devotion to generalized age curves.

With Nashville, Toronto exchanges some skill and offensive productive for truculence and defensive prowess. Don't get me wrong, Nashville gets the best player in this deal hands down, and Andersen is probably better than Saros. But Fabbro fills a gigantic need (and is cheap), Toronto trades away a goaltender who has constantly failed them, and they get depth players who can modify the team's identity a bit. Plus, they get a mid-round first-round-pick. Nashville is loathe to give up that pick, Fabbro, and those contributing depth players, but they get a bona-fide high-end talent back. Biggest stumbling block for this trade could be Nashville's unwillingness to take on that much salary and trading the first round pick, and Dubas's slavish devotion to analytics or unwillingness to change the identity of the team. I could also see a version of this trade where Toronto takes Rinne @50% instead of Saros, or where Nylander is traded instead of Marner for a lesser package.

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