Leafs Insider Proposes a Whopping Blockbuster Trade With One of the Core Fours

The renowned but contentious personality in the Leafs' community, Howard Berger, has stirred the waters by hinting at a potential trade involving Mitch Marner. His speculative announcements have set tongues wagging in the sports world.

Berger has brought to light potential trade negotiations between the Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes for Mitch Marner. Even though he remains tight-lipped about the trade's specifics, he does disclose his preferred acquisition from the Hurricanes' side.

A straight swap of Marner for Slavin seems complex, considering their respective cap hits - $10.9m for Marner and a mere $5.3m for Slavin. Both have two years remaining on their contracts. However, the proposition of Marner (with 50% cap hit retained) for Slavin one-on-one might be a hard sell even for Carolina.

In the event of Carolina's firm interest in acquiring Marner, they might have to consider parting ways with a potentially promising young forward like Martin Necas or Seth Jarvis. This would also necessitate involving a defenseman like Brett Pesce and some additional picks/prospects which, despite Marner being an incredible asset to any team, is a high price to pay.

A hypothetical trade scenario that includes Marner and is more manageable would look something like this:

To CAR:
Mitch Marner

To TOR:
Brett Pesce
Seth Jarvis
2023 first-round pick
2024 second-round pick

While it doesn't involve Slavin, this deal could be more valuable. It includes elements that Carolina may be more willing to negotiate.

As Read on HockeyPatrol - BREAKING: Leafs reporter drops bomb regarding a potential blockbuster trade