Trade Pitch Has Red Wings Acquiring Maple Leafs Star $65 Million Forward

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner has been the subject of trade rumors and one trade pitch has him being sent to the Detroit Red Wings.

Marner is entering the final year of his six-year $65.4 million deal. With Marner in the final year of his deal, he has been a popular trade target due to the Maple Leafs’ lack of playoff success. The website PuckPedia has a new tool called PuckGM that lets users create their own trades, and one user proposed a deal that would see the Red Wings acquire Marner in a blockbuster deal.

Red Wings get:

• Mitch Marner

Maple Leafs get:

• Lucas Raymond
• Jonatan Berggren
• William Wallinder
• 2025 second-round pick

The proposed trade would be a blockbuster, but it does make some sense for both teams. Detroit would get a bonafide superstar forward in Marner who can come in and help out the Red Wings young core to try and make the playoffs.

Toronto, meanwhile, would get Lucas Raymond who is just 22 and was drafted fourth overall by the Red Wings in 2020. However, the Swede is an RFA and hasn’t been able to come to terms on a contract extension with Raymond.

Along with Raymond, Toronto would add Jonatan Berggren who is 24 and is a fringe NHL player and could be a bottom-six forward for the Maple Leafs. William Wallinder, meanwhile, was a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL draft, and the defenseman projects as a second or third-pairing in the NHL.

Then, the Maple Leafs would get a second-round pick to complete the haul for Marner. But, in order for Detroit to do this proposed deal, they likely would need Marner to sign an extension to guarantee he is a member of the Red Wings for the foreseeable future.

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The Red Wings Have Yet to Sign Raymond

Detroit has yet to sign RFA Raymond to an extension, which is causing some fans to be worried.

However, Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said he isn’t worried about the deal not being done.

“I’m not worried,” Lalonde said. “It’s all part of it. I’ve had a little experience with this in the past with RFAs. It’s all part of the process.”

Last season, Raymond skated in 82 games recording 31 goals and 41 assists for 72 points. It was a great year for Raymond, who Lalonde says completely changed his game.

“He found something in his offseason last year, he came back and he just looked like a different athlete,” Lalonde said. “A little of that was just him maturing — he’s still a very young player and naturally his body matured a little bit. But just keep building on what he did last year.”

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Marner Hopeful to be in Toronto Long-Term

Marner was drafted by his hometown Maple Leafs with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft.

Given that Marner is playing for his hometown team, he has made it clear he would like to sign an extension with the Maple Leafs.

“That’d be a goal. I’ve expressed my love for this place, this city. Obviously, I’ve grown up here. We’ll start thinking about that now and trying to figure something out… It means the world to me,” Marner told the media on May 6.

Marner recorded 26 goals and 59 assists for 85 points in 69 games last season.

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