As the Maple Leafs look to continue to fill the void of offense lost with Mitch Marner, Cole Shelton of Heavy Sports has presented a trade pitch that would provide the Leafs with some much needed scoring punch up front.
The trade would take place with the Vegas Golden Knights, a fellow contending squad that faces a much different need that could be added into their lineup. In this deal, the Leafs and Knights swap pieces that each team is in need of as they look to stay in contention this year.
Maple Leafs acquire: Ivan Barbashev
Golden Knights acquire: Bobby McMann, Morgan Rielly
Why would the Leafs make this trade?
In this trade, the Leafs add Ivan Barbashev into the fold offensively. The 29 year old Russian would be a solid piece to compliment the Leafs top 6 forward core. He is coming off of a 23 goal, 28 assist season last year in Vegas and can help make up some scoring for a Toronto team that could use it.
For Vegas, the addition of Morgan Rielly makes sense for their injured defensive core that has been depleted with the loss of veteran stalwart Alex Pietrangelo due to career ending injuries. Rielly would slot right into a top pair defensive role, effectively replacing Pietrangelo. McMann would also replace the offensive production of Barbashev.
We’ll see what the Maple Leafs decide to do on this front as the season ever approaches. They will be an interesting team to watch this year as they navigate life without Mitch Marner.
