Trade Pitch Sees Maple Leafs Acquiring Star $25.5 Million Defenseman

The Toronto Maple Leafs have one of the top teams in the NHL and they will only add to it before the playoffs.

The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Maple Leafs acquiring Rasmus Ristolainen from the Philadelphia Flyers.

Maple Leafs acquire:

• Rasmus Ristolainen

Flyers acquire:

• David Kampf
• 2027 second-round pick

The proposed deal does make sense for both sides as Toronto bolsters its blue line, while Philadelphia gets a draft pick and a veteran forward.

Ristolainen is in the third year of a five-year $25.5 million deal. The defenseman would add some offense to the Maple Leafs blue line and could help the struggling power play. Ristolainen has recorded 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points in 17 games this season with the Flyers.

In return, the Maple Leafs would deal a second-round pick which would be a big part of the return. But, Toronto would also deal with David Kampf who’s in the second year of a four-year $9.6 million. Kampf is a fourth-line center who is a great penalty-killer and defensive forward.

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Maple Leafs Captain Dealing With Injury

Toronto is dealing with the injury bug as captain Auston Matthews, Max Pacioretty, and Calle Jarnkrok are all out with injuries.

Matthews is the biggest name and Toronto announced he still won’t play on November 16. The hope was he would have been back in the lineup on November 12. Despite him still not playing, Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said there hasn’t been a setback.

“I mean, no setbacks, just we are doing what we can,” Berube said on November 15. “We’ve got two games in a long stretch of time so we’re just letting him recover. I think the whole thing is, we want to get him 100 percent. We want to get it behind us so he can move forward and we can move forward here. But it does help, we play two games here in I don’t know how many days.”

Matthews has recorded 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points in 13 games. It’s uncertain when Matthews will be able to return to game action.

“Everybody is different and all injuries and things are different,” Berube said. “Would I like him back? Yeah, for sure, but it is what it is.”

The Maple Leafs return to the ice on November 16 at home against the Edmonton Oilers.

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Ristolainen is a Trade Chip For the Flyers

Ristolainen’s name has come up in trade talks despite having two more years after this one on his contract.

The Flyers took calls on Ristolainen last season but didn’t end up moving him. But, Anthony Di Marco of DailyFaceoff.com claims the Maple Leafs were among the teams interested in him.

“I had heard the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks as potential suitors last season. An injury to Ristolainen in February sidelined him for the season, ending any potential sweepstakes for the Finnish blueliner,” Di Marco wrote.

Now that Ristolainen is healthy again, his name will once again be mentioned in trade talks leading up to the deadline.

The defenseman was selected eighth overall in the 2013 NHL draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

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