Trade Pitch Has Maple Leafs Dealing $65 Million Forward to Islanders in Blockbuster

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner has been the subject of trade rumors and one trade pitch has him being sent to the New York Islanders.

Marner is entering the final year of his six-year $65.41 million deal and with the skilled winger in the final year, he has been the subject of trade rumors. The website PuckPedia has a new tool called PuckGM that lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Maple Leafs deal Marner to the New York Islanders in a blockbuster.

Maple Leafs get:

• Brock Nelson
• Ryan Pulock

Islanders get:

• Mitch Marner
• Timothy Liljegren
• 2026 third-round pick.

The proposed trade would be a blockbuster and would shake up both teams. Toronto would deal Marner and former first-round pick defenseman Timothy Liljegren as well as a third-rounder for Brock Nelson and Ryan Pulock.

Nelson isn’t quite as good as Marner, but Pulock is an upgrade over Liljegren, so Toronto would continue to improve its defense. Nelson is entering the final year of his six-year $36 million deal while Pulock is entering the third year of a $49.2 million deal.

The trade does make sense for both teams as Toronto gets off of Marner’s deal while getting his replacement in Nelson, and also improving on defense. New York, meanwhile, trades from an area of strength in defense to get a better forward in Marner who can help out their offense while getting Liljegren can help replace the loss of Pulock.

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Nelson Mentioned as Trade Candidate

NHL insider Arthur Staple of The Athletic mentioned Nelson as a trade candidate in his mailbag column on August 1.

With Nelson in the final year of his deal, Staple says if the Islanders aren’t in a playoff spot come the trade deadline, the insider expects Nelson to be dealt.

“A lot of the Nelson discourse could be settled by how the season goes. If the Islanders are securely in a playoff spot then Lamoriello is going to add at the deadline; if they’re well out of it, Nelson immediately rises to the top of the list of Isles who could fetch a sizable return,” Staple wrote…

“Nelson has been the team’s most consistent player the last five years, so I’m not firmly in the trade camp here. A lot rides on this season — unless Lamoriello decides to extend Nelson before this year begins,” Staple added.

Nelson has been with the Islanders since being drafted 30th overall in the 2012 NHL draft. He has skated in 840 NHL games recording 275 goals and 256 assists for 531 points.

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Marner Wants to Remain With The Maple Leafs

Despite all the trade rumors, Marner has made it clear he wants to remain with his hometown Maple Leafs.

After Toronto was eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoff, Marner spoke to the media and was adamant he wanted to be in Toronto long-term.

“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 has skated in 576 games recording 194 goals and 445 assists for 639 points.

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