6-Foot-3 Center Emerges As Trade Candidate For Maple Leafs After Elliotte Friedman's Latest Report
A new report from Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman reveals one player who will likely soon be moved out from his current team and could help Toronto.
Friedman revealed some possible future trade news in his most recent '32 Thoughts' article, says that the Nashville Predators, after moving on from Dante Fabbro and Philip Tomasino, could have their next target in center Juuso Parssinen.
Friedman says it "looks like we're headed to that point" in terms of Nasvhille moving Parssinen.
How Can Juuso Parssinen Help Toronto?
A 7th round pick of Nashville in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Parssinen showed flashes of his maturity with 7 SM-Liiga games in his draft year.
Usually a player with pro experience and size get much hype in the draft, but Parssinen managed to fall through the cracks.
Quickly, Parssinen showed his game wasn't a fluke, having been a full-time player the next season, and in 2020-21, finishing second in points for TPS Turku with 42 points in 55 games played.
Parssinen made his NHL debut in 2022, scoring a goal in his first career game, finishing the year with six goals and 25 points in 45 games. In 2023-24, Parssinen had eight goals and 12 points in 44 games for Nashville.
Parssinen, still only 23 years old, has 2 goals and 5 points in 15 games for the Nashville Predators this season.
Despite big budget signings for the Predators in the offseason including Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, as well as re-signing star goaltender Juuse Saros and trading away top prospect Yaroslav Askarov, the Predators have found themselves no closer to playoff contention.
The team sits second last in the NHL with 22 points and a 8-16-6 record.
Parssinen could be a big, young center option for Toronto if they wish to go down that route and his 6'3, 212-pound frame works perfectly in Brad Treliving's new vision for the Leafs.
He's a productive offensive player who's dropped off since his rookie year, but is still capable enough to fill a bottom-six role as a depth option.
According to PuckPedia, Parssinen is making just $775k this season, a good project for any team wanting a tall, offensively capable forward who at worse can be rotational depth.
Friedman didn't reveal when Parssinen would be moved, but it seems a deal may be imminent as the Nashville Predators are undergoing a major selling off.
