<p>Welcome to our 2025 Maple Leafs&#8217; trade targets series. Over the course of the next few weeks leading up to the March 7 NHL trade deadline, we&#8217;ll dive into the sellers market, and highlight some potential trade candidates from the bottom-feeding teams in the league.</p>
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<p>For the opening segment, let&#8217;s head west to Seattle and dive into the waters with the Kraken. A team that enters the 4 Nations Face-Off break with a 24-29-4 record and is destined to sell off a few trade assets. GM Ron Francis has made some questionable offseason signings the past couple of summers, and unfortunately, for their fanbase, it&#8217;s been quite the grind for Seattle since they entered the league.</p>
<p>Here are three Kraken trade candidates who Leafs&#8217; GM Brad Treliving should have on his radar ahead of the deadline:</p>
<h2>Brandon Tanev</h2>
<p>A Tanev reunion would be a feel-good story heading into the home stretch of the season. While feel-good stories don&#8217;t win Stanley Cup Playoff games, this is a case where the fit makes a ton of sense, as the pesky forward could be exactly what the doctor ordered to give the Leafs&#8217; third line some identity.</p>
<p>Tanev has nine goals and 17 points in 55 games on the season. He plays a ton on the penalty kill, at well over 2 minutes per game, and the Kraken grinder leads all NHL forwards in blocked shots with 87, 33 clear of Auston Matthews, who leads the Maple Leafs. Add in the fact that Tanev loves to throw his weight around, landing 114 hits on the year, and it&#8217;s very unlikely Craig Berube would ever have to question his compete level, or willingness to sacrifice for his teammates — two big elements of winning in the playoffs.</p>
<p>Tanev&#8217;s a gamer, much like his brother, and he&#8217;d give the Leafs bottom six a much different feel, one much better suited for winning in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Maple Leafs desperately need to create a shut-down line or a grind line that will make life miserable for opponents. Nick Robertson&#8217;s game is much better suited for an offensive role, and the same can be said about <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/4-maple-leafs-need-bounce-back-after-4-nations-face-off">Max Domi</a>, so adding a player like Tanev gives the Leafs a chance to better situate their lineup, with also the potential that one of Domi or Robertson could be moved before March 7.</p>
<p>As for Tanev, he makes $3.5 million AAV and is in the final season of his deal, which carries a 10-team no-trade clause, but let&#8217;s be honest, he&#8217;d likely run to the airport if it meant a chance at winning a Stanley Cup with his brother and home-town team. Speaking of speed, Tanev&#8217;s max skating speed this season is 23.10 mph, and for comparison sake, Bobby McMann&#8217;s is 23.13 mph. Speed kills, the Leafs could use more of it.</p>
<h2>Yanni Gourde</h2>
<p><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/seattle-kraken-yanni-gourde-to-miss-5-7-weeks-after-sports-hernia-surgery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gourde is currently on the shelf</a>, recovering from sports hernia surgery. However, he&#8217;s expected to be available for action shortly after the trade deadline. With two Stanley Cup rings and 83 postseason games under his belt, there will be a long list of contending teams interested in adding Gourde to their bottom six.</span></p>
<p>While he&#8217;s only 5-foot-9, Gourde plays much bigger and is a pain in the ass on the ice. His in-your-face style would be something Berube would fall in love with. Again, like Tanev, Gourde would bring a much different vibe to the Leafs&#8217; bottom six, and he&#8217;d certainly bring a ton of experience and understanding of what it takes to win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This is an element this Maple Leafs&#8217; team could use more of, as they&#8217;ll be leaning on the ex-Florida Panthers trio of Ekman-Larsson, Stolarz, and Lorentz for advice.</p>
<p>Gourde is versatile, he can play down the middle or on the wing, and so far this year, is just under 50% in the faceoff circle. He&#8217;s hit double digits in goals for the last seven seasons in a row, and certainly has a &#8216;jack of all trades&#8217; type style to his game, which the Leafs also have in Calle Jarnkrok, they just haven&#8217;t been able to relish it, as Jarnkrok has missed the entire season to this point. Having a third line of Tanev, Gourde, and Jarnkrok would completely flip the Leafs&#8217; bottom six on their head, and give Berube a buzz-saw line, who would outwork other teams, be smart defensively, and chip in with some offence on occasion.</p>
<p>Gourde is also a pending unrestricted free agent, a little bit pricier than Tanev at $5.1 million AAV. He also has trade protection, with a 23-team trade list submitted to Francis before the season begins. Let&#8217;s be honest, the Leafs will make the list.</p>
<h2>Jared McCann</h2>
<p>This trade would look and feel a little bit different than Gourde&#8217;s or Tanev&#8217;s, because McCann is a top-six winger, who is the Kraken&#8217;s best offensive threat. He&#8217;s scored 14 goals and 42 points in 57 games this season, and if Treliving was to acquire the one-time Maple Leaf, the fan base would scream &#8216;finally!&#8217;.</p>
<p>If you remember, Kyle Dubas acquired McCann from Pittsburgh just before Seattle&#8217;s expansion draft and decided he would expose McCann and Alex Kerfoot, just so he could guarantee defenceman Justin Holl was safe. It was a very strange move at the time, considering McCann spent three years playing for the Soo Greyhounds, a team Dubas has very strong ties to.  Needless to say, it was one of the many reasons why Dubas isn&#8217;t running the team anymore, as Holl became a whipping boy and was run out of town. Meanwhile, McCann scored 27 goals his first season with the Kraken, 40 the next, and this season is playing a career-high 17:27 per game, including on both sides of special teams, being a big part of PP1, while also playing 1:16 shorthanded as a depth penalty killer.</p>
<p>McCann struggles in the faceoff circle, but he can play centre in a pinch, with over 3400 draws throughout his 10-year NHL career. At $5 million AAV through the 2026-27 season, McCann comes with term on his contract, and we know that is what Treliving prefers, especially if the asking price is sky-high. Adding McCann would mean one of Easton Cowan or Fraser Minten would be heading west, there&#8217;s no doubt about that, along with a couple of other pieces.</p>
<p>McCann would give Berube a top-six left winger and allow McMann to move down to the third line. Although McCann and McMann on the same team would be a play-by-play announcer&#8217;s nightmare, it would be a dream scenario for the Maple Leafs and make them a much deeper team for the playoffs.</p>
<p>Like any trade in a hard salary cap world, money is a factor. With the Leafs only having a projected $2.9 million in deadline cap space, a deal with the Kraken could include some cap casualties, including David Kampf, Max Domi, or even Conor Timmins.</p>
<p>Treliving may have to sweeten his offers to get the Kraken to retain some salary. Don&#8217;t expect Francis to retain any money if he moves McCann and the two years left on his deal, because $5 million AAV is a steal, but he could be open to retaining money on either Gourde or Tanev for the rest of this season.</p>
<p>The Maple Leafs and Kraken are two teams to keep an eye on these next few weeks. Different conferences, different directions, and a lot of potential to make a deal together.</p>
<p><strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong></p>
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Welcome to our 2025 Maple Leafs' trade targets series. Over the course of the next few weeks leading up to the March 7 NHL trade deadline, we'll dive into the sellers market, and highlight some potential trade candidates from the bottom-feeding teams in the league.
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For the opening segment, let's head west to Seattle and dive into the waters with the Kraken. A team that enters the 4 Nations Face-Off break with a 24-29-4 record and is destined to sell off a few trade assets. GM Ron Francis has made some questionable offseason signings the past couple of summers, and unfortunately, for their fanbase, it's been quite the grind for Seattle since they entered the league.

Here are three Kraken trade candidates who Leafs' GM Brad Treliving should have on his radar ahead of the deadline:
<h2>Brandon Tanev</h2>
A Tanev reunion would be a feel-good story heading into the home stretch of the season. While feel-good stories don't win Stanley Cup Playoff games, this is a case where the fit makes a ton of sense, as the pesky forward could be exactly what the doctor ordered to give the Leafs' third line some identity.

Tanev has nine goals and 17 points in 55 games on the season. He plays a ton on the penalty kill, at well over 2 minutes per game, and the Kraken grinder leads all NHL forwards in blocked shots with 87, 33 clear of Auston Matthews, who leads the Maple Leafs. Add in the fact that Tanev loves to throw his weight around, landing 114 hits on the year, and it's very unlikely Craig Berube would ever have to question his compete level, or willingness to sacrifice for his teammates — two big elements of winning in the playoffs.

Tanev's a gamer, much like his brother, and he'd give the Leafs bottom six a much different feel, one much better suited for winning in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Maple Leafs desperately need to create a shut-down line or a grind line that will make life miserable for opponents. Nick Robertson's game is much better suited for an offensive role, and the same can be said about <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/4-maple-leafs-need-bounce-back-after-4-nations-face-off">Max Domi</a>, so adding a player like Tanev gives the Leafs a chance to better situate their lineup, with also the potential that one of Domi or Robertson could be moved before March 7.

As for Tanev, he makes $3.5 million AAV and is in the final season of his deal, which carries a 10-team no-trade clause, but let's be honest, he'd likely run to the airport if it meant a chance at winning a Stanley Cup with his brother and home-town team. Speaking of speed, Tanev's max skating speed this season is 23.10 mph, and for comparison sake, Bobby McMann's is 23.13 mph. Speed kills, the Leafs could use more of it.
<h2>Yanni Gourde</h2>
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/seattle-kraken-yanni-gourde-to-miss-5-7-weeks-after-sports-hernia-surgery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gourde is currently on the shelf</a>, recovering from sports hernia surgery. However, he's expected to be available for action shortly after the trade deadline. With two Stanley Cup rings and 83 postseason games under his belt, there will be a long list of contending teams interested in adding Gourde to their bottom six.</span>

While he's only 5-foot-9, Gourde plays much bigger and is a pain in the ass on the ice. His in-your-face style would be something Berube would fall in love with. Again, like Tanev, Gourde would bring a much different vibe to the Leafs' bottom six, and he'd certainly bring a ton of experience and understanding of what it takes to win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This is an element this Maple Leafs' team could use more of, as they'll be leaning on the ex-Florida Panthers trio of Ekman-Larsson, Stolarz, and Lorentz for advice.

Gourde is versatile, he can play down the middle or on the wing, and so far this year, is just under 50% in the faceoff circle. He's hit double digits in goals for the last seven seasons in a row, and certainly has a 'jack of all trades' type style to his game, which the Leafs also have in Calle Jarnkrok, they just haven't been able to relish it, as Jarnkrok has missed the entire season to this point. Having a third line of Tanev, Gourde, and Jarnkrok would completely flip the Leafs' bottom six on their head, and give Berube a buzz-saw line, who would outwork other teams, be smart defensively, and chip in with some offence on occasion.

Gourde is also a pending unrestricted free agent, a little bit pricier than Tanev at $5.1 million AAV. He also has trade protection, with a 23-team trade list submitted to Francis before the season begins. Let's be honest, the Leafs will make the list.
<h2>Jared McCann</h2>
This trade would look and feel a little bit different than Gourde's or Tanev's, because McCann is a top-six winger, who is the Kraken's best offensive threat. He's scored 14 goals and 42 points in 57 games this season, and if Treliving was to acquire the one-time Maple Leaf, the fan base would scream 'finally!'.

If you remember, Kyle Dubas acquired McCann from Pittsburgh just before Seattle's expansion draft and decided he would expose McCann and Alex Kerfoot, just so he could guarantee defenceman Justin Holl was safe. It was a very strange move at the time, considering McCann spent three years playing for the Soo Greyhounds, a team Dubas has very strong ties to.  Needless to say, it was one of the many reasons why Dubas isn't running the team anymore, as Holl became a whipping boy and was run out of town. Meanwhile, McCann scored 27 goals his first season with the Kraken, 40 the next, and this season is playing a career-high 17:27 per game, including on both sides of special teams, being a big part of PP1, while also playing 1:16 shorthanded as a depth penalty killer.

McCann struggles in the faceoff circle, but he can play centre in a pinch, with over 3400 draws throughout his 10-year NHL career. At $5 million AAV through the 2026-27 season, McCann comes with term on his contract, and we know that is what Treliving prefers, especially if the asking price is sky-high. Adding McCann would mean one of Easton Cowan or Fraser Minten would be heading west, there's no doubt about that, along with a couple of other pieces.

McCann would give Berube a top-six left winger and allow McMann to move down to the third line. Although McCann and McMann on the same team would be a play-by-play announcer's nightmare, it would be a dream scenario for the Maple Leafs and make them a much deeper team for the playoffs.

Like any trade in a hard salary cap world, money is a factor. With the Leafs only having a projected $2.9 million in deadline cap space, a deal with the Kraken could include some cap casualties, including David Kampf, Max Domi, or even Conor Timmins.

Treliving may have to sweeten his offers to get the Kraken to retain some salary. Don't expect Francis to retain any money if he moves McCann and the two years left on his deal, because $5 million AAV is a steal, but he could be open to retaining money on either Gourde or Tanev for the rest of this season.

The Maple Leafs and Kraken are two teams to keep an eye on these next few weeks. Different conferences, different directions, and a lot of potential to make a deal together.

<strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong>
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