Suggested blockbuster package trade involving Mitch Marner and Shane Wright

Trade talks aren’t brewing anymore: they’re boiling over when it comes to Mitch Marner and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Several scenarios have emerged on where Marner could land before the start of the 2024-25 season, and while some pundits point to Nashville, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay, Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star has come up with a new destination that could make a potential trade quite interesting for Maple Leafs’ fans.

McGran suggests that general manager Brad Treliving sends Marner to the Seattle Kraken in return promising center Shane Wright and veteran defenseman Adam Larsson.

Marner could be immediate help in Seattle to boost the team’s top six, while Toronto would get a reliable right-shot defenseman. Wright hasn’t had the start in the NHL everyone expected for the fourth overall pick, but could benefit from the system in Toronto. Here is how McGran puts it:

“Wright is the fourth overall pick in 2022 who captained Canada to world junior gold that year, but hasn’t gotten much traction at the NHL level. The Leafs could be more patient with the Burlington native.

Larsson is a right-handed D with size at six-foot-three and at 30 has some good years left in him. He has one year left at $4 million, so an extension would probably have to be part of the deal.”

There is a sense that Kraken general manager Ron Francis will look to acquire help up front on the market and look to add on an established scorer. Marner could be the answer, if he agrees to waive his no-movement clause and be shipped out West.

Giving up on Wright might be hard for Francis, but he could be convinced to part with him for a significant return like Marner.

Do you like the trade?