The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to trade for a center before the NHL trade deadline and one trade pitch has them re-acquiring one.
The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Maple Leafs re-acquiring Ryan O’Reilly from the Nashville Predators.
Maple Leafs acquire:
Predators acquire:
- Easton Cowan
- Nick Robertson
- 2026 first-round pick
The proposed deal would be a blockbuster as Toronto would re-acquire O’Reilly for an NHL player a top prospect and a first-round pick.
O’Reilly was traded to the Maple Leafs in February of 2023 but left in free agency as he signed a four-year $18 million deal with the Predators. The Stanley Cup winner would be a perfect third-line center for the Maple Leafs. This season, he’s skated in 38 games recording 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points.
The big part of the return for the Predators from the Maple Leafs would be the first-round pick and Cowan. Cowan is Toronto’s top prospect who just represented Canada at the World Juniors. However, he had a poor performance as he recorded 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points in 5 games.
Robertson, meanwhile, requested a trade this summer but ended up signing a one-year deal to return. He has struggled to produce and a change of scenery could be needed. Robertson has skated in 34 games recording 6 goals and 4 assists for 10 points.
Maple Leafs Targeting Centers Ahead of Trade Deadline
Toronto is one of the best teams in the NHL and is expected to be active ahead of the trade deadline.
TSN’s NHL insider Darren Dreger said the Maple Leafs are looking to add a center. Dreger also revealed several named Toronto would be interested in.
“Brock Nelson is interesting from the New York Islanders,” Dreger said on Insider Trading. “There are a lot of teams that have interest in him. So, I think the group that the Toronto Maple Leafs have identified as a little bit more diverse, I think you’re looking at Ryan Strome, maybe Ryan O’Reilly – how about a return there from Nashville? Scott Laughton is out there again, but the Flyers want a first-round draft pick in return, so maybe that’s a stretch. Mikael Granlund’s name is out there. Yanni Gourde. Nick Bjugstad. I’ll tell you this: Brad Treliving’s whiteboard is probably jammed with more affordable centers.”
At this point, it seems all but certain Toronto will acquire a third-line center to bolster its roster even more.
The Maple Leafs are 27-13-2 and in first place in the Atlantic Divison.
O’Reilly Says Leaving Toronto Wasn’t Easy
O’Reilly ended up leaving Toronto in free agency to sign with the Predators, which surprised some.
The Maple Leafs tried to re-sign O’Reilly and he says leaving Toronto was a difficult decision.
“It was and is an amazing place to play,” O’Reilly said to Sportsnet, who grew up a couple of hours west of the city. “Just putting on that jersey, you can just feel the love that comes with it, how much pride people take in that jersey. It’s hockey’s team. … It was definitely not an easy decision not (to re-sign) there.”
With the Maple Leafs, he skated in 13 regular season games recording 4 goals and 7 assists. In the playoffs, he recorded 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points in 11 games.
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