Welcome to another edition on NHL Rumours! The Toronto Maple Leafs star forward might finally be on the move. Rumour has it that the Vegas Golden Knights are front-runners for Mitch Marner. It could be the next big blockbuster trade that gets made this summer.
NHL Rumours
Rumour: Lucas Nola has claimed that talks between the two clubs are ongoing and shared what the return for the right winger would be.
Marner Update:
Hearing that the front runners to land Marner are #VegasBorn and that a package would consist of Thompson, Theodore, and a 2nd
Talks are on going but it sounds like #LeafsForever and #VegasBorn are coming close to a deal
— Lucas Nola (@lucasnola1) June 27, 2024
The rumoured return for Marner would consist of two areas that the Leafs need to address. On Wednesday evening, in Las Vegas ironically, General Manager Brad Treliving addressed the media and was asked about Marner. He was also asked about what he’ll focus on once free agency hits on July 1. The GM said that their priority is to look for defencemen, and looking at Toronto’s lineup, they need two top-four d-men. Another addition they’d like is another goaltender to complement Joesph Woll.
Theodore Analysis
Shea Theodore is without a doubt a top-four defender and could also quarter-back the top power-play unit. However, what the Buds are in dire need of is right-handed defencemen. Although, if this Marner rumour becomes true, Jake McCabe could shift over to the right side as he’s done in the past. Also, Theodore has had some reps on the right side with Vegas. Theodore has incredible offensive talent and won a Stanley Cup with the Knights, so he can bring that pedigree. While Morgan Rielly has respectable puck skills, Theodore would provide the most offensive production from the backend. That’s something that the Maple Leafs have lacked in the past. In fact, last summer Treliving acquired John Klingberg to aid that issue, but things didn’t turn out with both parties.
Last season, Theodore was sidelined for about three months with an upper-body injury. The 28-year-old underwent surgery and missed a total of 35 games. However, he still had a very impressive season, finishing with a total of 42 points in 47 games. In a full 82-game season, he’d be on pace to finish with more than 70 points, as a defenceman. That would be good enough to finish top-six in scoring among defencmen last season. The only concern with Theodore would be his health because he hasn’t played a full season since he was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in 2013.
Logan Thompson to Create Tandem with Woll
This is where these NHL Rumours get juicy. It’ll help create a young tandem in the crease. The other piece of this rumoured Marner trade is goaltender Logan Thompson. This past season, Thompson hasn’t had injury issues like Theodore has. While he missed a handful of games with a minor injury, the truth is he had a good season. In the regular season, he finished with 25 wins in a career-high of 46 games and a save percentage of .908%. His numbers were even better in the playoffs when he came in for Adin Hill. Even though it’s a smaller sample size of just four games, he put up a .921 save percentage.
Thompson isn’t currently a goaltender ready to start 60-plus games in a season, but neither is Woll. It would be perfect for those two to split starts and get a feel for the workload while helping each other out. A lot about this trade makes sense for Toronto.
In addition to that, both Theodore and Thompson are on their last year of their contracts, just like Marner. Both are also on great deals with Theodore at $5.2M AAV and Thompson at $766K AAV. If you’re the Leafs, that should be very attractive considering the little cap space they have. Look out for Marner to head over to Sin City.
Main Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
