so the leafs downgrade on both players for a 2nd?

Brodie is too slow and not physical. Larsson is at least a big stay at home body.
Nylander has priced himself out and Yanni Gourde is a winner. Can play hard mins and is tough to play against. 61 points at that too.
That trade gives them more of a winning team.

Granted, Nylander is better than Gourde, but Larsson is easily superior to Brodie. Brodie may play on the right out of necessity, but Larsson is a natural RHD that's blossomed into a top pairing guy. He provides shutdown defense that is at least equivalent to Brodie's while chipping in more offensively. Not to mention Larsson is younger and signed for longer at a lower cap hit. In my opinion Larsson would be impossible for the Kraken to adequately replace, so trading him for Nylander, who although talented, is a rental until proven otherwise, is a nonstarter.