Toronto Maple Leafs Should Pull Off Blockbuster Trade With Unexpected Partner
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a few trade partners they could do business with, but there's one particular struggling team who has several key pieces they need.
Linked to huge names like Brock Nelson, Brayden Schenn, Dylan Cozens, Mikko Rantanen and basically everyone else on the trade block, Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs are going to make some type of deal to fix some holes in their roster.
But one team could be the one to pull off a massive blockbuster with the Leafs, giving them multiple pieces they need and providing them the exact players to give them an edge.
The Utah Hockey Club is a struggling one, and could be looking to move on from some veteran names. What could a potential deal look like?
Toronto And Utah Need To Come Together To Make Blockbuster Deal
With Utah not sniffing the playoffs, and Toronto desperately needing some key pieces; it's a perfect match.
Nick Bjugstad would fill their 3C needs, Lawson Crouse is a perfect sidekick to John Tavares and William Nylander as bruising power forward coming off three straight 20-goal seasons.
Michael Kesselring is a younger player but offers a lot of things Craig Berube loves. He throws hits, loves to block shots, eats minutes, and is able to play solid shutdown third pairing defense and is a vast improvement over Conor Timmins and Philippe Myers.
Owner Ryan Smith wants to make a big swing and the Maple Leafs have some very interesting assets.
Easton Cowan could be their future offensive stud, Fraser Minten can lock down the 2C/3C lines, Ben Danford could be a future shutdown defender, and they have a few picks to dangle as well.
If Toronto truly wants to improve their needs, it's going to take a lot. But here's what it could potentially look like:
Toronto Receives:
(C) Nick Bjugstad
(F) Lawson Crouse (UTA retains 25% salary)
(D) Michael Kesselring
2025 4th Round Pick (UTA)
Utah Receives:
(F) Easton Cowan
(D) Ben Danford
(D) Topi Niemala
(C) David Kampf
2025 3rd Round Pick (EDM)
Toronto can then waive Ryan Reaves and Conor Timmins, transfer Jani Hakanpaa to the LTIR, and perhaps need a third team for any salary retention, however without it might need to change that 3rd Rounder into a 2nd or a 2026 1st.
It's a wild trade that makes a sweeping change for both teams. Ryan Smith gets younger but adds a ton of intriguing prospects with Cowan, Danford, and Niemala.
Kampf can be the NHL-ready player they need and can replace Bjugstad down the middle and is there to also make some money work.
Toronto gets incredibly balanced now, and a potential lineup could look like this:
Knies - Matthews - Marner
Crouse - Tavares - Nylander
Robertson - Bjugstad - Domi
Lorentz - Jarnkrok - Holmberg
McCabe - Tanev
Rielly - OEL
Benoit - Kesselring
The Top 9 gets incredibly balanced with extra size, scoring, and defense. the fourth line becomes a solid true shutdown line and Janrkrok can replace Kampf as the defensive mastermind of the group.
Toronto's Top 4 isn't going to change much, but Kesselring can give Simon Benoit the playmaking defender he needs beside him while offering a better alternative defensively than Timmins or Myers.
It hurts losing Danford and Cowan, but the ability to add players with term, who fill in the holes they need and can provide a win-now mentality is too important to pass up.
Combined, the trio of Utah players have 20 goals and 51 points, which while not an incredibly high number, still brings enough offense to give Toronto the help they need.
It's a long shot trade, and there's a lot of work to be done. But for Brad Treliving, a man known for not making many blockbusters; could find himself in the middle of one in 2025 with the NHL's newest team.
