Trade emerges sending Matt Murray for potential top six forward

To say Matt Murray's most recent season was bad would be an understatement. Posting a 3.01 GAA and a .903 sv% on a very strong Leafs team is alarming. With a massive cap hit of over $4.5 million, the Leafs are already looking to move on from him.

There is a chance that despite his depleted trade value, he is able to fetch a top-six forward in return.

Acquiring Mikael Granlund would be quite an intriguing opportunity for Toronto. Granlund has historically been a middle-six player but has shown a top-six upside before. At 31 years old, Granlund just had one of his worst seasons where he scored only 41 points in 79 games.

While 41 points is not bad in and of itself, it is concerning considering Granlund makes $5 million a year. The Penguins are rumored to be considering buying out his contract. While he scored only 41 points last year, he had 64 a year prior which is far more respectable.

Pittsburgh is able to acquire a former star goalie who could replace Tristan Jarry and potentially find his magic again with the Penguins. The Penguins also cut their salary next year by just over a quarter million dollars. Murray also has one less year on his contract having it expire next offseason.

Granlund is a project. If he can find his mojo, he is a great 2nd line player for the Leafs and could score upwards of 70 points for them. However, if he does not, they have prolonged the Murray situation with an older and more expensive player for an additional year.

This is a high-risk-high-reward move that could help the Leafs replace players who could leave in free agency like Michael Bunting and Alex Kerfoot. Granlund is nearly a lock for 40 points with the Leafs but if he is able to tap into his offensive abilities, it could be a worthy gamble for Brad Treliving and the Leafs front office.