Toronto Maple Leafs shouldn’t trade Nazem Kadri for Jacob Trouba

The Toronto Maple Leafs are likely to make a number of changes to their roster this off-season, but one theorised trade should not be one of them just yet.

With the Toronto Maple Leafs failing to progress beyond round one of the playoffs for the third consecutive season, changes need to be made to help try to tip the team over the edge.

Thanks to his second significant playoff suspension in two years, Nazem Kadri has been the focus of plenty of disappointment from Leafs fans and rumours of the team’s 2009 first round pick being moved have emerged.

The defence has been a constant point of discussion with regards to improvements the Leafs need to make and one report provides a scenario that would certainly do that.

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The proposed trade would see the Toronto Maple Leafs send Kadri to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for the rights to restricted free agent defenceman Jacob Trouba, with more pieces potentially involved.

The report states that a straight swap may not be completely possible, but could certainly be a starting point for discussions – with Trouba seemingly wishing to be closer to his home town of Detroit.

Trouba would be an exceptional piece to add to the Leafs’ blueline, playing on the right-hand side and slotting immediately on either the top or second pairing.

The difficulty with this trade, however, is that Trouba requires an extension and could cost a significant amount – something that the Leafs potentially couldn’t afford.

Kadri is on a really nice deal, having three more seasons at a very reasonable $4.5 million – while Trouba earned $5.5 million this past season and would likely require something above this to consider signing with another Canadian team.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a number of free agents that require new deals this summer and adding a player such as Trouba would take away the team’s room for negotiations – with Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson needing new deals after Mitch Marner‘s is done.

Kadri, despite his penchant for reacting extremely poorly to the Boston Bruins’ antics in the playoffs, is a solid player that gives the team an excellent three-way punch down the middle – winning over 55% of face-offs last season while still contributing in front of the net, despite a down year by his own standards.

With the team potentially losing one of Kapanen or Johnsson, keeping Kadri around for solid depth should be a priority for general manager Kyle Dubas – with the team having very few options for their third line centre.

Playing William Nylander higher up, and on the wing, is more likely to see the young Swede return to his strong form prior to this season – despite him being a capable third line centre option of Kadri was moved.

With Nikita Zaitsev‘s large contract still on the books, adding someone such as Trouba doesn’t make financial sense for the Toronto Maple Leafs and shouldn’t be explored just yet.

Should the Leafs make some moves, offloading some larger, unnecessary contracts, then revisiting this option might make more sense – though a legitimate successor to Kadri should also be in place before any deal of this kind is made.

But what do you think Leafs fans? Would you be interested in seeing Kadri sent to Winnipeg in exchange for the rights to Trouba? What kind of contract could you foresee him demanding? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!