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The Toronto Maple Leafs have yet to add anyone to their forward group but one trade pitch has them fixing that.
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 Mikael Backlund from the Calgary Flames in a multi-player deal.
Maple Leafs get:
Flames get:
- Timothy Liljegren
- David Kampf
- 2025 second-round pick
The proposed deal does make sense as the Maple Leafs get a veteran forward who can shore up the middle-six while dealing Liljegren who may not have a role in Toronto, as well as Kampf who has been mentioned as a trade candidate.
Backlund is the Flames captain and has spent his entire NHL career in Calgary. The 35-year-old is entering the first year of a two-year $9 million deal with the Flames. The Swede could project as Toronto’s third-line center and can add some scoring to the bottom of the lineup.
Last season, Backlund skated in 82 games recording 15 goals and 24 assists for 39 points. In his NHL career, Backlund has skated in 990 NHL games recording 200 goals and 331 assists for 531 points.
The big part of the return for the Flames is the second-round pick and Liljegren who is a former first-round pick. Liljegren signed a two-year $6 million extension with the Maple Leafs this offseason but has failed to be an everyday defenseman in the NHL.
Last season, Liljegren skated in 55 games recording 3 goals and 20 assists for 23 points.
Backlund Named Captain of Flames Ahead of 2023 Season
Ahead of the 2023-24 NHL season, Backlund signed the two-year extension as he was entering the final year of his deal. He was also named the captain of the Flames.
“It’s surreal. It’s a very proud moment,” Backlund said. “I don’t think I’ve really realized its happening. There’s been a lot of talk about it, but it’s just a very exciting time. I’m very proud to wear it. It’s hard to really take it in. I think we’ll have to take a few days and maybe wear it in a game to really realize it’s there. Special moment for me and my family and something I’m very proud and honored to wear. It’s very special to be captain in a Canadian city and I’m very happy to be here and that we’re staying.”
Backlund has been the face of the Flames for years as he’s spent his entire NHL career with the team.
“Mikael Backlund is our captain,” Flames general manager Craig Conroy said. “He has been our captain for some time. Today we are excited to extend Mikael for two more seasons and officially add the captaincy to his jersey. We look forward to his continued leadership on the ice, in the locker room and in our community.”
Calgary will open its 2024-25 NHL season on the road on Oct. 9 against the Vancouver Canucks.
Maple Leafs Not Done With Moves
The Maple Leafs have had a rather quiet offseason, as Toronto signed Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson to bolster their defense and added Anthony Stolarz to form a goalie tandem with Joseph Woll.
Since then, Toronto hasn’t added any more players, but with training camps set to open up in September, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving isn’t ruling out the team making some moves before the season.
“To me, we’ve still got five weeks or so till camp. And, you know, we’re not set yet. We continue to look at ways to make our team better,” Treliving said on OverDrive on TSN 1050. “I said at the end of the year we’re going to look at everything. Sometimes people fall in love with ‘ ‘let’s make a big change just to make a big change’. At the end of the day, you can go out and make big changes. If they’re not making your team better, to me it doesn’t make any sense to just make a change just to stand up and say ‘look at it, we made this big change.'”
The Maple Leafs have yet to make an addition to their forward group which seems likely to be a spot Toronto can add to.
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