Maple Leafs Need to Follow in Stars’ Footsteps In Trade With Kraken – The Hockey Writers Toronto Maple Leafs Latest News, Analysis & More

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a good spot as the NHL breaks for the 4-Nations Face-Off tournament. They are second in the Atlantic Division, only three points back of the Florida Panthers. Overall, this season they have played well under new head coach Craig Berube. However, one glaring issue needs to be fixed ahead of the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline. They will likely target someone who can help get more production from their blue line. However, at the deadline, that can be rather difficult, so they may pivot to just another defender. They could also use an extra forward who can help provide the team with secondary scoring—someone who can play in the middle six and make an impact. In a perfect world, they would be able to get both from one team and give up fewer assets for both areas of need.

If Maple Leafs general manager (GM) Brad Treliving is looking to fix this issue at the trade deadline, he should use the framework from the Dallas Stars trade with the San Jose Sharks. The Stars were able to acquire both Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci from the Sharks for a first-round pick and a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. If the Maple Leafs can copy that style of trade while only giving up a pick or two, it’ll be ideal. It shouldn’t go without mention that they may also need to send someone out the door to clear a bit of cap space to make the trade work, depending on who they are looking at acquiring.

So, let’s look at a trade that could work that follows the same framework as the Stars and Sharks trade.

Maple Leafs Need to Target Seattle

The Seattle Kraken are a team that seems to be looking for a bit of a change within their roster. As the NHL Trade Deadline approaches, there are a few big-name Kraken players that are thought to be hitting the market. For the Maple Leafs, although it would be awesome for them to get Oliver Bjorkstrand, it doesn’t make sense with what they would need to give up. So, there are two forward names that stand out on Seattle for Toronto to target. The first one is Yanni Gourde, who—aside from Brayden Schenn of the St. Louis Blues—may be the most ideal target for the Maple Leafs. The other forward is Brandon Tanev, who is the brother of Chris Tanev.

Gourde could solve a few different issues on the roster. Yes, he hasn’t been very productive in the point department this season, and he’s out with an injury at this time. However, he can play both the wing and down the middle. He can play anywhere in that top nine, and if he is the third-line winger, it makes the center depth much better. As for Tanev, he can score 30 points per season, but he plays with a lot of intensity. He is more of a defensive forward who could mesh well on the team’s third line. He loves to throw his body and create energy for his teammates.

Related: Maple Leafs’ Should Make a Deal for Canadiens’ Jake Evans

As for the defenseman that would be involved in this trade, it is Jamie Oleksiak. A few things to note about him: he is a big-bodied, left-handed shot who blocks a ton of shots. He would make the defensive combinations a bit better. He can play the right side if he needs to, which may open things up for him to be Morgan Rielly’s partner. If not, Tanev could reunite with Rielly, and Oleksiak could pair with Jake McCabe as another shutdown pairing.

How Would This Trade Work?

Oleksiak is signed for this season and next at $4.6 million. If the Maple Leafs can get Seattle to retain half, his cap hit would be $2.3 million. Both Gourde and Tanev are pending UFAs, which may make the Kraken more willing to retain on their contracts, especially if it is Gourde who gets moved—his cap hit is $5.1 million.

In order to make this deal work, the Maple Leafs will need to do some roster juggling. It would look something like the following:

Gourde Trade Proposal:

Maple Leafs Receive: Jamie Oleksiak (50% retained) & Yanni Gourde (35% retained)

Kraken Receive: Nicholas Robertson, 2025 second-round pick & 2027 first-round pick

Other roster moves: Send Pontus Holmberg and Conor Timmins to the AHL

This is likely the only way this deal will work unless the Maple Leafs trade David Kämpf, who has a larger cap hit. However, trading Robertson would give him a fresh start, similar to how Kaapo Kakko got one in Seattle. Holmberg and Timmins would need to go down to the AHL until the playoffs start, when they can be recalled. The Kraken would need to retain 35% of Gourde’s salary to make it work, but that would only be until the end of the season, as he is a pending UFA. The Maple Leafs would have Ryan Reaves as their 13th forward and Philippe Myers as their seventh defenseman.

Tanev Trade Proposal:

Maple Leafs Receive: Jamie Oleksiak (50% retained) & Brandon Tanev (15% retained)

Kraken Receive: Nicholas Robertson, 2025 second-round pick & 2027 second-round pick

Other roster moves: Send Pontus Holmberg and Conor Timmins to the AHL

The only difference between these two trades is that Tanev’s retention would only need to be 15%, which would give the Maple Leafs $476,563 in cap space. Because of this, Toronto may only need to part with two second-round picks rather than a first in 2027. Again, Robertson’s time with the organization could be coming to an end, and Seattle would be a good destination. Holmberg and Timmins would need to go down to the AHL until the playoffs start, when they can be recalled. The Maple Leafs would have Ryan Reaves as their 13th forward and Philippe Myers as their seventh defenseman.

Trades and Transactions were done using Capwages.com