Rumours are hard to come by at the moment, but two that have been whispered around the water cooler are that the Leafs want a talent-for-talent deal if they’re to trade Mitch Marner and that they have interest in Seth Jones of the Chicago Blackhawks.
You can see where I’m going with this, so lets just get to it.
To CHI: Mitch Marner, Nicholas Robertson, Timothy Liljegren, Alex Steeves
To TOR: Seth Jones, Ethan Del Mastro, 1st (2024, Tampa Bay, #20 overall), 2nd (2025, DAL)
Why this works for Chicago: The Blackhawks have approached their rebuild as most teams do. Yes, they all but cleared house and focused on drafting and development, but they also kept and obtained a nucleus of veterans to help guide the kids along their way. Players such as Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson and Tyler Johnson were traded for, while they kept skaters such as Connor Murphy and Seth Jones. This veteran group, unlike the Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau group that helped lead the Leafs to nowhere, appears to have done a terrific job in Chicago. They’re a grittier group and have given the Hawks a different feel than this iteration of the Leafs have ever had. They already feel like a group that wants to win at all costs.
So, while they also managed to draft and develop Connor Bedard, Kevin Kochinski, Philip Kurashev, Alex Vlasic, the player they’ll select 2nd overall in June (as the standouts) and will continue to develop a host of other very good prospects, they may be interested in adding a top end offensive player with the hope that the culture they’re building will change his post season efforts for the better.
On top of adding a 90pt player that will surely boost Bedard’s goal totals (or whoever he plays with), they would add a young player that needs a full time NHL spot and was on pace for over 20 goals this year, a depth forward and a right shot defender that could play 20 minutes a night. Nicholas Robertson has a bright future in the NHL in my opinion, I’m just not sure if that will be in Toronto. Chicago could afford him the opportunity to play without worrying about making a mistake, which can also be said for Timothy Liljegren. Meanwhile, Alex Steeves has learned everything he can at the AHL level and is at the age where he needs a chance to play in the NHL if he’s ever going to make a career of it. Once again, the Hawks could grant him that opportunity while accepting the bumps and bruises along the way. He may be a diamond in the rough for Chicago, but at the very least he’s a warm body that can give some of their prospects time to marinate in the minors.
Why this works for Toronto: Up to this point I have avoided throwing out the names of players that hold full trade protection. Again, it’s well known that players aren’t high on playing in Canada and the idea of coming to a team that continually falters in the 1st round of the playoffs can’t be all that enticing. At the end of the day the reason that Jones waives for Toronto would have to be for a chance to win, after all. He’ll turn 30 years old at the beginning of next season and has to know that you only get so many opportunities to win. He has never had a legitimate shot at it and it may be just a little too long of a wait for Chicago to become a contender (please don’t tell Mitch that). My hope is, if approached, he’d reach out to Matthews and the best goal scorer in the game today could convince him that Toronto is a good place to land.
| Year | TOI/GP | PPTOI/GP | SHTOI/GP | NHL Rank (TOI/GP) |
| 2018/19 | 25:49 | 2:20 | 2:17 | 4th |
| 2019/20 | 25:17 | 2:34 | 2:25 | 7th |
| 2020/21 | 25:14 | 2:00 | 1:58 | 5th |
| 2021/22 | 26:13 | 3:24 | 1:53 | 1st |
| 2022/23 | 24:27 | 3:18 | 1:55 | 12th |
| 2023/24 | 25:29 | 3:12 | 2:11 | 4th |
I know some will simply dismiss this point, but what the Leafs need on their blueline is a player that can QB their PP to give it a different look, has a big shot, can help the penalty kill, can add size and can play against the other teams best. A skater that consistently plays over 25 minutes a night in all situations and stands at 6’4″ 210lbs is exactly what the doctor ordered. Defenders need to be able to get the puck to the forwards and thats something that Jones can bring in spades, but he brings so much more. While the immediate reaction might be to compare him to Morgan Rielly, I believe he’s more of a Pietrangelo type of defender than the pure offensive defenseman that Rielly is. That is to say that yes, offense is his calling card, but his size, positioning and ability to draw in on the 2nd PK unit at the very least would be invaluable to a contending team.
It’s also worth noting that I only went back 6 years (because I’m lazy), but this graph contains 3 years from Columbus under John Tortorella and 3 from his time in Chicago. You don’t get to play 25 minutes a night under Tortorella based on reputation. If you’re not doing your job he’ll let you know and if you continue to come up short he’ll bench you. It’s that simple with Tortorella.
Further to that point, you don’t lead the NHL in TOI/GP (28:32/GP) in the playoffs and make the 2nd round in 2019 and repeat that feat, ranking 1st in the NHL in TOI/GP (32:40/GP!!) in the playoffs and make the 2nd round in 2020 based on luck.
Make no mistake, Seth Jones isn’t as bad as the advanced stats crowd would have you believe and I’m a little shocked at how they’ve managed to muddy his name so well, especially considering the fact that they acted as if the sky was falling when Simon Benoit was signed last summer.
With all of that said, I do believe that his $9.5M contract that spans for 6 more seasons is a tough one to handle and he’s a little older than Mitch Marner. There’s risk to every deal, but the more I dig into Seth Jones, the more I believe the risk lies in years 4-6 of his contract. For the next few years I’d have faith that they would be adding one of the leagues better defenders.
The extra assets are for cap logistics and asset management from Toronto’s perspective. Timothy Liljegren and Nicholas Robertson could use a change of scenery, as I said previous, but they will also get raises this summer that could be used elsewhere on more valuable pieces. Re-signing Joel Edmundson or bringing in a free agent like Chris Tanev, for example, would be a fantastic idea for the Leafs, while they will still need to obtain a capable goaltender. In return for the extra trade value of Marner and the additions of Robertson and Liljegren, the Leafs would get Del Mastro, who is a 6’4″ 210lb LD that has developed well and projects to be a regular NHL call-up this season, with the possibility of becoming a full time NHLer as soon as the 2025/26 campaign, but more realistically the 2026/27 season. The Burlington, Ontario native is just 21 years old and could join the next wave of young Leafs players.
Lastly, the 1st round pick this year and 2nd next year would almost have to be used to fill the goaltending need. They are desperate for a capable goaltender and Treliving knows it.
If this deal were to happen I could easily imagine a top 4 defense of McCabe/Jones, followed by Rielly/Tanev (or another free agent) opening up the 2024 campaign, which would be miles ahead of what they began the 2024 season with. To end this one, I’ll leave a thank you to capfriendly for the tools and numbers, as they are invaluable to these discussions, as well as a snapshot of what the team could head into free agency with:
This lineup wouldn’t be the finished product, obviously, but it would leave them with $10.33M in capspace to pay for a goaltender, a 3rd line centre and a top 4 defender. If, for example, you could sign veteran goaltender Cam Talbot, as well as veteran defender Chris Tanev, it would leave you a fair chunk of change to upgrade your 3rd line centre position. Meanwhile, Conor Timmins is a place holder as he can be waived or traded and replaced with a more suitable 3rd pair defender for the same $1.1M caphit.