Quoting: KingExLeafs
Trades are like this are a gamble for both sides, but high picks do often get traded. Usually it's one for one, like Laine for Dubois, or Drouin for Sergachev. Since the Leafs don't have an equivalent prospect to Byfield they will have to overpay with multiple prospects and/or picks.
Obviously this trade won't happen, but I just wanted to remind people that crazy trades can still happen. Not everyone who will move at the deadline will be UFA or RFA.
Laine and Dubois were both disgruntled (reason for trade) and both had several seasons under their belt, so even if they hadn't reached their peaks and still have potential, what they are was know.
As for Drouin, he was a headache for TB (reason) and Montreal wanted him because he was a local kid and was hopefully going to be the goal scorer that they needed.
My issue with the trade proposal isn't that it is crazy, but I just don't see any sense in it for either team even if you ignore the risk factors. LA and Toronto are both looking to compete, and Toronto is in a win-now mode, so neither team is going to just do prospect swaps for fun. In terms of needs, both teams are trading away a player that would be hopefully filling a need for them in the next few years if not sooner for a position of strength. So, I don't see any motivation for either team to do this trade.
Something that would be out there but unlikely would be Byfield for Meier in a 1 for 1. No one would anticipate that because it doesn't make too much sense, but at least one team is doing something. Or if you said Byfield for Lafreniere if you wanted it to be a swap of young players.