Tuesday trade talks: Two possible trades the Leaf's could make in the next Week

 Simon B

The NHL trade deadline is exactly one week away. With the Leaf's goaltending in a critical state, it's clear that a netminder is of top priority for Kyle Dubas and his team. Jack Campbell is still more than a week away from returning from a rib injury and he's still a huge question mark. On the other hand, Petr Mrazek has been extremely unreliable of late.

As many people have said, Toronto is still a top-tier team in the NHL and they haven't gotten Big League goaltending since the end of November. We can only sit and imagine where they'd be if they had gotten a save or two when it mattered.

That said, here are a few trade propositions I believe the Leafs could possibly make in the upcoming days.

Semyon Varlamov

This one is complicated on many levels. First off, Dubas will have a very tough negotiator on the other side in Lou Lamoriello and it's going to be difficult for him not to give up many future assets to get Varlamov. The good thing here though is that the Islanders are a team in the basement of the Eastern conference so winning isn't a big priority for them.

Going the other way, it's crucial that Toronto don't give up their first-round pick as we all saw the 2021 first-rounder go down the drain in the Nick Foligno deal just under a year ago. Toronto will also have to watch the salary as Varlamov makes 2 million more than Mrazek over the next two years. All that said, here's the proposed trade:

To Toronto: Semyon Varlamov (G), 2023 thrid round pick

To New York: Petr Mrazek (G), 2023 second-round pick

I was hesitating to throw a prospect into this trade but honestly, I couldn't find anyone that the Leafs could afford losing in this situation and at the same time, would've suited the Islanders. The Leafs are essentially moving down a spot in the draft in two years' time in exchange for some goaltending that could get them through a deep playoff run in the next two seasons.

Brayden Holtby

This is a trade that could potentially go really well or really bad for the Leafs'. Brayden Holtby backstopped the Capitals to their championship season back in 2018, so we know he can win in the playoffs. The thing is, this needs to be the right fit for him. He didn't quite fit in Vancouver and he's not exactly himself in Dallas either which is leading to poor performances now and then. The great part about all of this is that the stars have a man the Leafs might want to get on defense as well in John Klingberg. I'll try and see if I can figure out a scenario where the Leafs could get Klingberg and Holtby in the same deal

The difficulty with this trade is that the Stars are in a playoff race of their own in the western conference so Dubas might have to sweeten the deal, but the same can be said if Stars GM Jim Nill decides that he also wants to make this trade. I think prospects will need to be moved around in this trade:

To Toronto: G - Brayden Holtby, D - John Klingberg

To Dallas: G - Petr Mrazek, D - Justin Holl, Prospect - Matthew Knies, 2022 second-round pick***

**Condition: Dallas acquire the rights to this pick if the Leafs resign John Klingberg

The Wrap

I know. That last one sounds a bit crazy and it's hard to see a world where it could ever happen but it certainly is fun to speculate about it. This is Kyle Dubas' biggest trade deadline ever. Most believe that this is the best iteration of the Leafs in a long long time and I am no different, but the goalie situation needs to be solved ASAP. Only time will tell what the trades may be...

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