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The Toronto Maple Leafs finally won a playoff series this season, their first since 2004. Fans and the team alike buzzed with anticipation for the deep run to come. However, that run never came.
The Maple Leafs were pushed aside by the Florida Panthers. Florida nearly swept the Maple Leafs, but dominated throughout nonetheless. In the aftermath, changes were made in Toronto.
The Maple Leafs moved on from general manager Kyle Dubas. In his place is former Calgary Flames decision-maker Brad Treliving. And as with any front office change, questions about the roster inevitably surfaced.
For the Maple Leafs specifically, those questions surround their “core four.” Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander all make big money despite the team's lack of playoff success.
Most trade speculation revolves around Marner, who carries a $10.9 million cap hit. The Maple Leafs maintain that they want to keep this core intact, but this is the offseason, and anything is possible.
So, let's do a little bit of speculating. If Marner were to be made available, which teams could be interested? Here are the three best trade destinations for Mitch Marner this summer.
3) Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets desperately need to shake up their locker room. Winnipeg has found little playoff success since advancing to the Western Conference Finals in 2018. And there's the matter of the public tit-for-tat between Jets players and head coach Rick Bowness.
What the Jets don't really need to do is completely rebuild their team. The makings of a good team are there, it's the combination of players that isn't working. Is there a better way for the Jets to proverbially kill two birds with one stone?
The Jets trade a package centered around, say 40-goal scorer Mark Scheifele, to the Maple Leafs. In return, Winnipeg adds a surefire superstar that allows the team to remain highly competitive.
2) Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the best teams in the National Hockey League. However, there is one area on the ice the team could use a little bit of help, and that's on offense.
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The Hurricanes had difficulties scoring against the Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Adding Marner could help alleviate those scoring issues, especially if Carolina is without major stars like Andrei Svechnikov like they were against Florida.
Carolina has around $24 million in cap space to work with this offseason, so they could add money. However, they do have a few players they need to re-sign, especially on defense.
If Carolina fails to re-sign one of those players, perhaps the Hurricanes include them in a trade for Mitch Marner. It'd obviously take more, but it's a potential starting point nonetheless.
1) Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche struggled with injuries throughout the season. And they failed to make it past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in their attempt to defend their title.
Colorado is already at a slight disadvantage, as Gabriel Landeskog will miss the 2023-24 season. Landeskog, the team's captain, is a major piece to the puzzle that Colorado certainly misses.
Acquiring Marner could offset that loss in a major way. The Avalanche have dynamic offensive performers in Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen. Outside of that, however, there's more to be desired.
The Avalanche have the assets needed to pull off a trade for Mitch Marner. With Landeskog certain to hit long-term injured reserve, they should have the salary cap flexibility to pull it off as well.
