Subban-like trade coming to Toronto with one of 4 potential partners?!

Core four. Core four. Say that five times without stumbling. But that’s most of what you’ve been hearing out of Toronto lately, ever since the Maple Leafs were eliminated from the postseason and speculation emerged that one of the four superstar forwards need to be traded.

Luke Fox believes it will come down to Mitch Marner or William Nylander with captain John Tavares and Auston Matthews staying put. But the Maple Leafs need an identity-altering deal like the one pulled by the Montreal Canadiens back in the summer of 2016.

“The Preds traded long-serving captain and perennial Norris-conversation defenceman Shea Weber to Montreal for the younger P.K. Subban — and spring-boarded themselves to the franchise’s only Stanley Cup Final the next season.”

Fox believes the Maple Leafs could go out and trade “an asset like Marner or Nylander for a bona fide top-pair defenceman and/or a different type of top-six forward that can help in the immediate future, be it through a direct deal or freeing up cap space to get more creative in free agency.”

The reporters points to four potential trade partners if the Maple Leafs go that route, starting with the Colorado Avalanche, who will likely be desperate for offense without captain Gabriel Landeskog and could be willing to move young defencemen Samuel Girard and Bowen Byram.

If not, there are the Washington Capitals resetting and the interest in Tom Wilson.

Or the Leafs interested in Philadelphia’s Travis Konecny or Calgary’s Elias Lindholm, Arizona’s Nick Schmaltz, and New York’s Filip Chytil that would “add to Toronto’s centre depth”.

These are good options and ones that might be evaluated as we speak. I bet Marner and Nylander’s ears are ringing as the next GM's plate is getting fuller by the minute. 

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