The Toronto Maple Leafs have yet to address their forward group this offseason, but one trade pitch has Toronto acquiring two forwards from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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 Maple Leafs acquire two forwards and a draft pick from the Penguins.
Maple Leafs get:
- Lars Eller
- Matt Nieto
- 2027 third-round pick
Penguins get:
The proposed deal would see Toronto and Pittsburgh both deal two forwards, but the Maple Leafs would get a draft pick.
The Penguins would acqurie Nick Robertson who is an RFA and has told the Maple Leafs he has no plans to re-sign with the team. Last season with Toronto, Robertson recorded 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in 56 games.
Holnberg, meanwhile, skated in 54 games recording 7 goals and 10 assists for 17 points with the Maple Leafs last season. Robertson and Holmberg would project as middle-six forwards for the Penguins.
As for the Maple Leafs return, Toronto would get Eller who won the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018. The centreman has one year left on his two-year $4.9 million deal. He would project to be Maple Leafs third-line center, while last season, he recorded 15 goals and 16 assists for 31 points in 82 games.
Matt Nieto, meanwhile, would be a fourth-line left winger or a scratch in Toronto but adds some veteran presence to the lineup. Nieto has skated in 673 NHL games and last season, he recorded 1 goal and 3 assists for 4 points in 22 games.
Robertson has Asked for Trade From Maple Leafs
The main player in the proposed deal is Robertson who is just 22-years-old and was drafted 53rd overall by the Maple Leafs in 2020.
Although Robertson has shown flashes of being a solid NHL player, he hasn’t been given a chance to be an everyday player so he has asked for a trade as he has no plans to re-sign with the Maple Leafs.
Sources say that RFA Nick Robertson has no plans to re-sign with the #leafs this summer and has informed the team that he would like to be traded.
Although Robertson has requested a trade, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving has said the team still thinks the forward can have an important role in Toronto.
“I have certainly known that there was some frustration with Nick, but we look at Nick as an excellent player,” Treliving said to the media on July 1. “There is great opportunity for Nick here. We need him to be a good player for us. I am not going to get into any speculation or public back-and-forth. We will just leave it at that and continue to move forward.”
Robertson has skated in 87 NHL games recording 17 goals and 17 assists for 34 points.
Penguins GM Drafted Robertson & Holmberg
Kyle Dubas is the current general manager of the Penguins and he previously was the GM of the Maple Leafs.
Dubas was the Maple Leafs GM from 2018 until 2023, so he was part of the front office that selected Holmberg in 2018 and Robertson in 2020.
Given Dubas’ familarity with both Holmberg and Robertson, he would get them back in his system, while also getting younger, which was a goal for Dubas.
“That is what anchors our decision-making, how can we be competitive now but also be ensuring that we aren’t just layering quick fix on top of quick fix and then that leaves the Penguins in bad shape for the long run. That’s been the full objective,” Dubas said.
The Penguins failed to make the playoffs in the 2023-24 NHL season going 38-32-12.
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Trade Pitch Sees Maple Leafs Acquire Stanley Cup Champion in Multi-Player Deal