The Toronto Maple Leafs are built by a prolific offensive nucleus led by Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander.
The “Core Four” has led Toronto to the postseason in each of their five years together; the Leafs also qualified in 2017 and 2018 before John Tavares arrived. Despite consistent regular season success with the four star forwards, however, the Leafs have just one playoff series win to show for it.
Toronto’s biggest glaring need is a true No. 1 defenseman. Morgan Rielly is the team’s top blueliner, but he simply makes up for his defensive struggles with excellent offensive play. He’s still far from a truly elite, franchise-level blueliner.
GM Brad Treliving needs to upgrade his defense if the Leafs are to realistically compete for the Stanley Cup. Getting a game-changing blueliner means dealing one of his star forwards, and that should be Nylander.
The 27-year-old is in the final year of his contract and will cost a pretty penny to re-sign, especially if he sustains his torrid start (22 points in 15 games). What Treliving should do is sacrifice some offense for more defensive help, and that’s where the Nashville Predators can help.
The Preds are nearing a rebuild, so GM Barry Trotz should be willing to deal superstar defenseman Roman Josi. The 33-year-old and 2020 Norris Trophy winner could fetch Nashville a true franchise cornerstone player for Trotz and company to build around.
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Toronto should offer Nylander straight up for Josi in a trade that would benefit all parties. The Predators will be loaded with cap space and can pay Nylander exactly what he’s worth, while the Leafs finally land themselves a true game-changing do-it-all blueliner who’s signed through 2027-28.
Josi, Rielly and T.J. Brodie would round out a dangerous trio to lead Toronto’s defensive corps. Nylander, meanwhile, can stop living in the shadow of Matthews and Marner while taking over as the new franchise star in a market where there’s much less scrutiny and pressure.
