The Toronto Maple Leafs have yet to add a forward in the offseason, but one trade pitch has them adding a middle-six forward from a divisional rival.
The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Maple Leafs acquire Christian Dvorak from the Montreal Canadiens.
Maple Leafs acquire:
- Christian Dvorak ($2.2 million retained)
Canadiens acquire:
- Fraser Minten
- Conor Timmins
- 2026 third-round pick
The proposed deal would see Toronto acquire Dvorak, with $2.2 million of his $4.5 million salary retained. In exchange, the Canadiens acquire a prospect, a depth NHL defenseman, and a draft pick.
Dvorak is entering the final year of his six-year $26.7 million deal. The forward adds some much-needed depth to the left wing for the Maple Leafs which is an area of concern, since losing Tyler Bertuzzi in free agency.
Dvorak could be Toronto’s second or third-line left-winger and add some depth scoring to the lineup. The veteran forward skated in 30 games recording 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points. In his NHL career, Dvorak has skated in 452 games recording 93 goals and 123 assists for 216 points.
As for the return, Montreal would acquire Minten who projects to be a bottom-six centerman in the NHL. Minten was selected in the second round of the 2022 NHL draft and played in 4 NHL games in the 2023-24 season.
Timmins, meanwhile, is a sixth or seventh defenseman in the NHL. He has one year left on his two-year $2.2 million deal, but he doesn’t project to have a major role with Toronto this season.
Maple Leafs Re-Sign Nick Robertson
Toronto’s contract stalemate with RFA forward Nick Robertson came to an end on September 10.
Robertson had requested a trade and had no plans to re-sign as he was frustrated with his role. However, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that Robertson and the Maple Leafs have agreed to a one-year $875,000 deal.
Officially 1 x $875K
Robertson was selected in the second round of the 2019 NHL draft by the Maple Leafs. In his career, he’s skated in 87 games recording 17 goals and 17 assists for 34 points.
Robertson now projects to be the Maple Leafs’ second-line left-winger as general manager Brad Treliving envisioned a big role for the forward.
“I have certainly known that there was some frustration with Nick, but we look at Nick as an excellent player,” Treliving said on July 1. “There is a 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.”
Toronto opens up its 2024-25 NHL season on the road on October 10 against the Canadiens.
Canadiens GM Believes He’s Building Something Special
Montreal is nearing the end of their rebuild and general manager Kent Hughes likes what the team is looking like.
Although the Canadiens didn’t make any big free agent splashes, Montreal did acquire Patrik Laine in a trade. With that, Hughes believes he can turn Montreal is a top destination for free agents.
“So if you can build an environment and a culture that people want to be a part of, where there’s a sense of ownership, belonging, communication and all the rest of it and a shared vision that they feel part of,” Hughes said on July 1. “Because we’ve been in a rebuilding process we haven’t had to really dive into the deep end on free agency. But, listen, I sit here and knowing what I know about Montreal, if I were a player I’d want to be in Montreal and I’m confident we can do that. That part of it doesn’t scare me. That’s on me to be able to share the vision and get them to buy into it and want to be part of it.”
The Canadiens have missed the playoffs in the last three seasons.
Comments
Trade Pitch Has Maple Leafs Acquiring $26 Million Forward From Rival