Trade Pitch Has Maple Leafs Acquiring Former 4th-Overall Pick in Intriguing Deal

The Toronto Maple Leafs are likely to make a trade due to their salary cap and extra players on the roster. But one trade pitch has them acquiring a former top prospect.

The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Maple Leafs acquire Shane Wright from the Seattle Kraken.

Maple Leafs acquire:

• Shane Wright

Kraken acquire:

• Pontus Holmberg
• 2027 second-round pick

The proposed deal would be an intriguing one as Toronto would acquire Wright in exchange for Holmberg and a second-round pick. Holmberg is likely the better NHL player right now but Wright’s ceiling is higher.

The Maple Leafs would acquire Wright who was selected fourth overall in the 2022 NHL draft. Wright entered the draft as the presumed first overall pick but he slipped to fourth. The 20-year-old centerman has had a hard time making the NHL as he’s skated in just 17 career games. He could be the Maple Leafs’ third-line center and eventually become the team’s second-line center if John Tavares leaves in free agency.

In exchange, the Maple Leafs would deal Holmberg who is the team’s third-line center right now, and a second-round pick. Holmberg is in the second year of his two-year $1.6 million deal. Last season, the 25-year-old skated in 54 games recording 7 goals and 10 assists for 17 points.

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Maple Leafs Could Extend John Tavares

Toronto could need a centerman come the offseason, but TSN’s NHL insider Pierre LeBrun reported on October 8 that the Maple Leafs have begun extension talks with Tavares.

“There’s something happening from the point of view that there have been contract talks,” LeBrun said on Insider Trading. “There’s been back-and-forth between Tavares’ camp, led by agent Pat Brisson and the Leafs front office just to get the ball rolling. I don’t think anything is imminent. Although I do hear that that dialogue is supposed to pick up again in the near future.

“I don’t know if there’s a huge rush from the team perspective,” LeBrun continued. “I mean, listen, there’s a mutual desire between the team and John Tavares to get something done at some point. John Tavares, of course, calls Toronto home, was raising a family in Toronto. But I think from the Leafs perspective, yeah, something they want to get done. I don’t know if they’re in a rush to do it.”

Tavares is in the final year of his seven-year $77 million deal he signed with Toronto in 2018. Since becoming a Maple Leaf, Tavares has skated in 440 games recording 184 goals and 235 assists for 419 points.

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Kraken Name Jordan Eberle Captain

Seattle named Jordan Eberle the second captain in franchise history ahead of its season opener on October 8.

https://twitter.com/SeattleKraken/status/1843750392615542964

“I was pretty honored,” Eberle said. “To be a captain in this league is special. I’d like to think our group, we have a lot of good leaders. We’ve had a lot of guys who have Cups, guys who have playoff experience. To be a part of this group is special and to be named [captain], I mean, my family and I love this city, we love the culture here, and it’s a big part of why we wanted to be here.”

Eberle was selected by the Kraken in the 2021 expansion draft. The veteran forward signed a two-year $9.5 million extension with Seattle in March. In his NHL career, Eberle has skated in 1019 games recording 299 goals and 404 assists for 703 points.

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