Maple Leafs among four teams linked to Robert Thomas; how Toronto could make it work
Photo credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been named by David Pagnotta as a team interested in Blues forward Robert Thomas and here's how they might be able to get it done.
As the Maple Leafs look to come out of their Olympic break on a strong note, they are going to have only limited time to decide whether or not to be buyers or sellers considering the trade deadline is less than two weeks away.
Players like Bobby McMann and Oliver Ekman-Larsson have been named as guys who could be on the way out, but it really becomes a question then of who is going to come in and be that next big piece that pushes Toronto over the top.
Some might argue it's Dougie Hamilton, as he gives the team much more offense on the back end, or it could be Jordan Kyrou, a high-effort and physical winger who could give Auston Matthews the perfect supplemental piece.
Robert Thomas getting a lot of attention as Maple Leafs quite interested
But there is one name who is drawing a lot of attention, and the Maple Leafs are in the thick of the mix.
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that the Maple Leafs are one of four teams interested in the St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas, a list which also includes Detroit, Montreal, and the New York Islanders:
The Blues have made it clear they are open to calls on Thomas, but don't waste their time. It's going to take a massive package to pry Thomas out of St. Louis and while several teams have expressed interest, there are no guarantees the Blues make a move.
TEAMS REPORTEDLY LINKED:
Detroit, Montreal, Toronto, NY Islanders
TEAMS REPORTEDLY LINKED:
Detroit, Montreal, Toronto, NY Islanders
Now, for the Maple Leafs that's a lot easier said than done, however there are a couple ways the team can go about it.
Toronto could go money in, money out on top of a prized package
If the Maple Leafs were concerned about money, and they should as Thomas makes $8.125-million, then it'll have to take a few names that make money to be gone.
First and foremost, Matias Maccelli and Nic Roy are likely candidates as the former gives the Blues a young playmaking winger and the former is a two-way star who is just a bit older than Thomas but also has a lot of veteran leadership.
That right there is $6.425-million off the books, then if the team decides to move off Calle Jarnkrok and Brandon Carlo -- suddenly you have a lot more room to fit him in.
Here's how a potential deal could go down with the Maple Leafs going the money route:
To Toronto:
(C) Robert Thomas
To St. Louis:
(F) Matias Maccelli
(C) Nic Roy
(F) Miroslav Holinka
2027 Fourth-Round Pick
(C) Nic Roy
(F) Miroslav Holinka
2027 Fourth-Round Pick
Toronto brings in their new 2C, allowing John Tavares to move down to the 3C where he would take over Roy's spot and also give him less responsibility especially as he gets older.
Losing Holinka is a bit of a bummer considering how much hype there is around him but he isn't guaranteed to bring that to the NHL and it's better to sell on his hype -- besides you don't lose Easton Cowan.
But if that isn't feasible, then the Maple Leafs do have another way to go about acquiring Thomas.
The three-team proposal
The Maple Leafs could also see if there is a third team interested in taking on some of Thomas' salary as long as there's an incentive for them to do so.
Thomas could be traded to a team like Columbus, who has a lot of cap space to work with, get retained there, then traded to Toronto almost in the same vein as Mikko Rantanen was dealt.
Sure there are going to be tons of moving pieces and there are other teams like Detroit and Chicago who could make things work as well.
This becomes a lot harder because Toronto needs to ensure they give St. Louis the pieces they want, while also sweetening the pot for the third wheel team who is graciously taking on quite a bit of salary.
It would be a little easier to swallow a much more simple trade for Thomas as it prevents any other teams from coming in and squeezing Toronto for more but it's definitely a way to make the money work.
Thomas, 26, has 33 points in 42 games this season and is currently on the IR. But for his career he has 429 points in 508 games (118 goals, 311 assists) while adding a plus-43 and winning 51.6% of his face-offs.
If Toronto wanted a better puck distributor for William Nylander, than Thomas is the guy and them being locked up simultaneously long-term means they have tons of time to find that chemistry.
But it won't be easy for the Maple Leafs to get it done, but if they somehow pulled it off then it would potentially bypass any retooling phase and put them back in the thick of the playoff race.
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