Toronto could offer blockbuster haul for Connor McDavid - and Edmonton still might say no
Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Connor McDavid to the Maple Leafs would cost Toronto a fortune, but insiders say Edmonton could still say no to this blockbuster package.
Toronto keeps circling back to the same fantasy, and this time the price tag is enormous.
A monster package built around William Nylander, Matthew Knies, Gavin McKenna, Easton Cowan, Ben Danford and three future picks landing in Edmonton for Connor McDavid, Kasperi Kapanen and Trent Frederic.
It is the kind of proposal that sounds unrealistic until you remember McDavid is the best player alive, and teams do not pass on that chance without exhausting every asset first.
For the Leafs, this only works if Auston Matthews stays put.
Toronto has zero interest in trading its captain, and pairing him with McDavid instantly builds one of the scariest top lines the league has seen in years.
John Tavares slides down to center a stacked second unit, and a rebuilding forward corps suddenly looks like a contender overnight.
Frederic and Kapanen fill out the bottom six and give Toronto the depth it has been missing all season.
Why Edmonton might still say no
The Oilers gain young talent in McKenna and Cowan, a defensive prospect in Danford, and cap flexibility by moving Frederic.
But trading the face of the franchise, even for a loaded return, is a gut punch few fan bases are ready to accept.
Edmonton would almost certainly push for more, possibly even floating Matthews as a condition before engaging seriously.
What it would mean for both franchises
If it somehow happened, Toronto would instantly become the league's most talked about team, and Edmonton would need years to prove the return was worth losing a generational star.
That risk is exactly why proposals like this rarely go anywhere, even when the framework looks tempting on paper.
Would the Oilers actually pull the trigger on a deal like this, or does McDavid stay put no matter what gets offered?
Also read on House Of Hockey :
Jack Hughes gets candid about playing with Quinn after the Tkachuk brothers' reunion
Jack Hughes gets candid about playing with Quinn after the Tkachuk brothers' reunion