The Toronto Maple Leafs led by GM Brad Treliving continue to gauge the trade market in pursuit of more offensive support to add to their arsenal in the post Mitch Marner era.
The Vegas Golden Knights, on the other hand, have the opposite need of the Leafs. They could use further support on the backend to help make up for the loss of their top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo due to injury.
Cole Shelton of Heavy Sports has a trade idea that would see both teams address their respective needs in a 1 for 1 swap between forward and defenseman.
Toronto acquires: Brett Howden
Vegas acquires: Brandon Carlo
Why would both sides make this deal?
For Toronto, they add a 40 point producer in Brett Howden who adds some needed offensive strength near the top of the lineup. Howden is a center that can be moved to the wing to play with any combination of Matthews, Nylander, Tavares, Knies, etc… With Howden added to the fold of the Leafs other forward additions (Maccelli, Joshua and Roy), suddenly the Marner-less Leafs are looking quite alright on offense.
For Vegas, they add a reliable top 4 defenseman in Brandon Carlo. Carlo is not a player who will wow on the Golden Knights ice, but he provides them with increased defensive responsibility the team lacks at the moment. With Carlo in the equation, the Vegas D core looks significantly stronger with a top 4 looking like Theodore-McNabb and Hanifin-Carlo. Like the Howden-Marner situation, Carlo would not solely make up for the loss of Pietrangelo. But, he would be a massive help.
Overall, this trade pitch appears to make sense with both parties of opposing conferences helping each other out with items they crave on the open market.
