Maple Leafs fans stunned by John Tavares rumoured multi-player trade scenario

All summer, speculations emerged on what would happened to winger Mitch Marner and the fact that he could be the odd-man out of Toronto’s “Core Four” of forward talent, while others suggested that captain John Tavares could also land on the trade block and be asked to waive his no-move clause.

One user of the PuckPedia website has focused on the latter as a trade bait, and proposed that he’d be moved to the Seattle Kraken in a multi-player deal using the new tool called PuckGM. He suggests sending Tavares out West in return for Yanni Gourde, Jaden Schwartz and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

The transaction does make sense for the Kraken, who’d get an experienced veteran and leader on board. With just a year left on his massive seven-year $77 million deal he signed as a free agent in 2018 in Toronto, Seattle would get to see how he does in his new environment before possibly re-signing him on a shorter contract as a free agent.

The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, would get Gourde who is a perfect third-line center, which would definitely get that much-needed depth up front in Toronto. Schwartz could be used as a good bottom-six forward for more depth to their roster.

When it comes to the added round pick in the mix, I believe it should be going Seattle’s way seeing that Tavares has a huge $11 million cap hit, and could be the sweetener the Kraken needs to accept taking on the full amount.

Following the Maple Leafs’ elimination from the postseason back in May, Tavares, just like Marner, expressed interest in re-signing with the Maple Leafs once his deal expires. The proposal does not mention Tavares’ no-movement clause that he could refuse to waive in a trade to Seattle.

It all depends on what happens next for Tavares in Toronto. Reports recently indicated that he could be stripped on his captaincy, which could eventually lead to the veteran wanting out of Toronto.

The Maple Leafs will open its 2024-25 NHL season on the road against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct,9 and a lot can still happen until then.