William Nylander – Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs need to figure something out. How can they finally get past the first round of the playoffs? There’s no shame in losing to the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning, but it’s hard not to feel offended as a Leafs fan after years of failure in the first round. Obviously, a young Devils team with no playoff experience doesn’t exactly entice the Leafs to finally get to the next step. However, the Leafs aren’t just going to make one trade this offseason. Making an earth-shattering deal comes with reactions, and the Leafs would need to keep the moves rolling to keep the wolves at bay.
So, the Devils dangling the second-overall pick for William Nylander would then come with another deal. The second-overall pick could easily get the Leafs a great asset who could help them in the playoffs. It might even get them the best goalie on the market. It also takes close to $7 million off its salary cap. This could be a win-win for the Maple Leafs.
Well, as much as losing a player like Nylander can be considered a “win”. The Devils have the assets to make a team consider moving a superstar, especially if those assets can be flipped to make teams move their own star players.
The Leafs would need to have another deal in place before making this move, but the Devils would be happy to take on Nylander in a trade for the second-overall pick. He still has two years left on his deal making just under $7 million, and he’s just 26 years old. He can still grow with this Devils team, and even if it came in heartbreak, he brings valuable playoff experience to a young roster that needs it from a star.