Trade Pitch Has Maple Leafs Acquiring Star $57 Million Defenseman in Blockbuster

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a legit Stanley Cup contender and one trade pitch has them acquiring a star defenseman in a blockbuster.

The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Maple Leafs acquiring Zach Werenski from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Maple Leafs acquire:

• Zach Werenski ($2.4 million retained)
• Zach Aston-Reese
• Kevin LaBanc

Blue Jackets acquire:

• Timothy Liljegren
• Calle Jarnkrok
• David Kampf
• 2025 second-round pick (Florida’s)
• 2026 first-round pick

The proposed deal would be a blockbuster as Toronto would acquire Werenski and two depth NHL forwards for three NHL players and two draft picks.

Werenski is the centerpiece of this deal as he’s in the third year of his six-year $57.5 million deal. The defenseman is a two-time NHL All-Star and one of the best defensemen in the NHL. Last season, he recorded 11 goals and 46 assists for 57 points in 70 games.

Aston-Reese and Labanc are both on one-year deals and would be depth forwards for the Maple Leafs. The two could replace Kampf and Jarnkrok and add some scoring to the bottom six.

The big part of the return for Columbus would be the two draft picks and Liljegren. The Swede is a former first-round pick and could replace Werenski on the blue line. Liljegren is in the first year of his two-year $6 million deal.

Kamps and Jarnkrok, meanwhile, can be shutdown players in Columbus while adding more offense than Aston-Reese and Labanc are bringing the Blue Jackets.

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Maples Leafs Looking to Move Liljegren

Liljegren’s name has come up in trade talks as the Swede has been a healthy scratch and is without a role on the Maple Leafs.

Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said Toronto is looking to deal Liljegren as both sides are open to a move.

“Sounds like Toronto is working to find a landing spot for Timothy Liljegren. He’s down the depth chart, not a situation anyone is happy with,” Friedman wrote in his 32 Thoughts article.

The news comes after Liljegren was a healthy scratch to begin the season, and was called out by coach Craig Berube in training camp.

“Lily’s gotta do things quicker. He’s got to be a little bit heavier in his battles, moving pucks quicker and simplify his game,” Berube said. “He’s obviously battling. He wants to be a guy in the lineup every night, and that’s great. But sometimes you put too much on your plate. Simplify the game a little bit more. And do your job as a defenceman killing plays and being heavy.”

Liljegren was selected 17th overall in the 2017 NHL draft.

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Werenski Off to Hot Start With Blue Jackets

To begin the 2024-25 NHL season, Werenski has 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in 7 games.

The defenseman has been a key part of the Blue Jackets’ success, and Werenski says the system allows him to chip in offensively.

“It feels really good,” Werenski said to the team’s website. “I think our system allows that obviously. He wants us to be aggressive. I think we’ve been really good defensively as a team. Myself, we’ve done well in our end, so it allows us to play offense. We’ve closed down plays quickly, we’ve broken the puck out really clean. That just allows you to jump and play offense. I think starting in the D-zone to the neutral zone to the offensive zone, it’s going well right now, so it’s easy for me.”

Werenski is 27 and was selected 8th overall in the 2015 NHL draft.

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