Toronto Maple Leafs linked to Seattle Kraken veteran by ESPN analyst

In a recent article for ESPN, Rachel Doerrie ran through six logical trades that NHL teams should make soon. One of these trades stood out a bit more than the rest was Doerrie linking Yanni Gourde to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Gourde, a former two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning, has been one of the Kraken's most consistent leaders for some time now and could be due to pursue a third Stanley Cup.

Doerrie mentions how the Leafs could be willing to give up Nick Robertson, a player long rumored to be on the trade market, and that it could fit Seattle's recent MO as they have been moving for undervalued talent and offering them an opportunity to prosper.

However, Doerrie mentions that moving just Robertson would not work as there is a monetary aspect to the trade.

This leads to a conundrum on who else the Leafs would need to move out to make a move for Gourde work. Including a player like David Kampf, who makes $2.4 million per year for the next three years could be the perfect piece as he could instantly fill Gourde's role in Seattle and fill it for longer and cheaper.

Gourde also brings scoring upside for the Leafs. He has a career-high of 64 points and has scored 48 points exactly on three other occasions. Given all of this, it makes a move for Gourde seem nothing but logical for the Leafs assuming they can make the money work.