Jets' Trade Proposal to Acquire Mitch Marner from the Maple Leafs

While the Maple Leafs and Jets have been eliminated from Stanley Cup contention, it does not mean the fun has to end there. Here we are predicting what Mitch Marner would cost for the Jets.

We have made a mock trade showing which team gets what and you may find it interesting.

On the surface, Toronto is flat-out winning this trade on the surface. Acquiring Kyle Connor and Connor Hellebuyck while getting rid of Matt Murray is a massive win. However, it may not be depending on what could happen in the future and I'll explain why it is closer than originally perceived.

Kyle Connor is the Mitch Marner replacement. He is a downgrade but he also has upside. If he finds his stride, he is a 50-goal scorer but after a tough year with only 31 goals and 80 points, some are wondering if he has peaked early.

While it is unlikely that he has, there is a chance. Connor is the player who needs the offense to flow through him and flourishes with a player like Marner on his team. Auston Matthews is similar but different. Matthews needs the offense to flow through him but he does not necessarily need Mitch Marner.

If Connor were to get traded to Toronto, he would likely not be as productive and would rest on the 2nd line with John Tavares.

The biggest piece is Connor Hellebuyck. A year-in and year-out Vezina contender, Hellebuyck could provide immense goaltending for Toronto. The catch with Hellebuyck is that he has one year left on his contract and will likely leave in free agency for a team that will pay him big money and rightfully so.

Winnipeg has a very different perspective here. They are taking a massive hit at the goaltending position replacing Hellebuyck with Murray but they also get Marner who can work with Dubois and Scheifele and help them have career years. What Marner to provides to Matthews is invaluable and if he can send passes to Scheifele, he could help the Jets keep Scheifele.

There are rumors about Scheifele and Dubois wanting to leave and if the Jets can appease them, then we could see them retain both next offseason.

Murray, despite being a poor contract, has proven that he has solid underlying numbers. Like Hellebuyck, Murray has one year left on his deal and that is a good thing in this case. The worst case scenario is they pay his contract for the one year and let him walk but the best case scenario is he turns valuable and they resign him or trade him for even more assets.

The Jets would have an easier time retaining Murray as opposed to Hellebuyck and that is the biggest part of the deal. Hellebuyck could walk for nothing and be a major loss while Murray could walk for nothing and it would not be too brutal. In a sense, this is addition by subtraction for the Jets.

While this deal favors the Leafs a tad, underlying factors could play a role in the trade and it could happen. Even then, there may have to be a pick or prospect added but it is not too big of a deal as this would be the backbone of the deal.