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Trade pitch has Maple Leafs acquring Ryan Donato.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will likely be looking to add a center and a defenseman ahead of the trade deadline and one trade pitch has them getting both.
The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Maple Leafs acquiring Ryan Donato and Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks.
Maple Leafs acquire:
- Ryan Donato
- Connor Murphy ($2.2 million retained)
Blackhawks acquire:
- David Kampf
- Nikita Grebenkin
- Tobi Niemela
- 2025 first-round pick
The proposed deal would be a blockbuster as Toronto would acquire two impact players for a first-round pick, two prospects, and an NHL player.
Donato is in the final year of his two-year $4 million deal and can be Toronto’s third-line center. Donato can be a shutdown center while also adding some depth scoring, which has been an issue for the Maple Leafs in the playoffs. With the Blackhawks, he’s recorded 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points in 50 games.
Murphy, meanwhile, would bolster Toronto’s blue line and play on any pairing. This season, he’s skated in 30 games recording 1 goal and 12 assists for 13 points. He’s in the third year of his four-year $17.6 million deal.
The big part of the return for Chicago would be the first-round pick. The Blackhawks would also re-acquire Kampf who could replace Donato. Kampf is in the second year of his four-year $9.6 million deal. He’s recorded 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in 39 games.
Grebenkin, meanwhile, is a forward prospect who could play NHL games with Chicago right away. Niemela, meanwhile, is a defenseman prospect who is pushing for NHL playing time and could get that shot with the Blackhawks.
Maple Leafs Likely to Add a Center
Toronto has a definitive need for a third-line center ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.
Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving says the goal is to add a center, but he knows plenty of other NHL teams will be looking to do the same thing.
“I think we’ve got depth,” Treliving said on January 13. “We got lots of guys who can play the position. Is it an area that we continue to try to upgrade? I would say this. The guys at the top of the food chain are pretty darn good. Auston, and how can you talk anything but positively about the year John’s having? So to say you’re going to get somebody above that, I don’t think that’s realistic. Is there ways we can continue to look at adding to that? Sure. I think there’s some depth there, is that an area we’d like to continue to look at? I’m sure it’s one, but we along with 15 or 18 other teams are looking at center depth, so it seems to be a position de jour.”
Toronto’s top two centers are Auston Matthews and John Tavares.
Donato a Top Trade Candidate For the Blackhawks
With Chicago outside of a playoff spot, Donato’s name has come up in trade rumors.
Donato will likely be traded ahead of the deadline. Rob Couch of The Hockey News called the center the Blackhawks’ top trade candidate ahead of the deadline.
Donato is also 17th on DailyFaceoff’s trade bait board ahead of the deadline, likely signaling he will be traded.
