As I sit here on a depressingly rainy December day in Taipei City, bored out of my gourd, I’ve been trying to think of something to write about that could be quick, engaging, and thought-provoking and thus, I’ve come away from this little session with a trade proposal blog that will feature the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Trade
The base of this trade is built around two players, Morgan Rielly (TOR) for Darnell Nurse (EDM).
Now, Personally, I think that Rielly is a much better player than Nurse in nearly every facet aside from face-smashing and intimidation. Nurse might be the scariest defenceman in the league right now in that regard. So, on that note, if a trade like this were to be consummated, Edmonton would need to add to the deal and we’ll get to that later on.
Why would Toronto want to make this trade?
- Can’t ignore the Sault Ste. Marie connection.
- GM Kyle Dubas has had some sort of epiphany recently as it pertains to his club’s lack of leadership and physicality. Nurse brings all of that.
- Potential hometown discount on Nurse’s next deal plus long-term, he should be cheaper than Rielly. Something that Toronto really needs.
- Rasmus Sandin is coming for Rielly’s job and should be ready sooner than later.
Why wouldn’t Toronto make this deal?
- They’ve got a serious glut of left-handed defencemen in their system at the moment.
- Apart from Rielly, those include TJ Brodie, Jake Muzzin, Travis Dermott, Rasmus Sandin, and newly signed Mikko Lehtonen.
- They feel that Nurse’s grit factor is overrated in today’s NHL.
- In a time when the league is getting smaller and more skilled, how long will a player like Darnell Nurse be effective? Plus, Morgan Rielly is no shrinking violet. He’s skilled and can play the game old school.
- They might feel this trade would downgrade their defence. Darnell Nurse isn’t exactly the best possession driving blueliner in the league whereas Rielly is an outstanding playmaker.
Plainly put, do the Leafs want to get tougher to play against? Adding “Doc” Nurse will accomplish that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyjoKXzPoX8
Why would the Oilers want to make this trade?
- They need a true top-pairing defenceman who can move the puck and is reliable and consistent.
- This would move Oscar Klefbom (if healthy) to a more responsible 2nd-pairing deployment.
- Offense from the blue line has been hard to come by.
- Hence why the local media has had perma-boners since they signed Tyson Barrie.
- They feel that paying Rielly more will take them farther as a club than Nurse.
- Philip Broberg, Dmitri Samorukov, and Caleb Jones are nearly ready to take the next step in their careers and the Oilers will have to make room for them on the left side.
- Samorukov is a fairly stern defender. Taking the body and making the opponents feel some pain every time they visit his ice is commonplace for him. He’s also close to earning a promotion to the NHL.
Why Edmonton wouldn’t make this deal?
- Nurse is too important to the leadership core and stabilization of the locker room.
- They’re willing to bring Broberg along slowly and prefer Nurse’s style of play to that or Rielly’s.
- The cost of acquisition is too high seeing as they’d need to include another prospect or two to bring in the Maple Leafs no.1 defender.
- Nurse’s intimidation factor is too good to let go of.
- A rumor going around that Morgan Rielly’s ankles haven’t healed properly since Connor McDavid broke them last season.
I don’t know what the post-pandemic landscape is going to look like for the future of player contracts, but I can only assume that the numbers will come down. What does that mean for Rielly and Nurse? For me, the feeling I’ve had with Nurse is that he’s looking for $7M or more per year and that’s way too much in my opinion. Some pundits have said that Rielly could be looking for as much as $9M-a-year on his new deal and normally I’d say that’s outrageous given he’s just come off a 27pt year. But if he’s healthy, 60-70 points isn’t out of the question for him.
Any way you look at it, the money will be the key to a trade of this magnitude. Edmonton is going to have a lot of it (meaning cap space) soon and Toronto is not…
We know that the deal is based around these two players, so for the sake of conversation, what if the Oilers tack on Tyler Benson and a 2022 2nd round pick? Would that make for an even trade?
Let’s keep in mind, this is all for shits and giggles. I don’t truly believe that the Oilers or the Maple Leafs would make a trade like this. I’m simply offering up some water-cooler talk. So don’t take what you’ve read too seriously, in fact, why not play along and offer up your thoughts in the comments below?
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