Maple Leafs Rumors: Marner Trade Proposal Would Bring Back 'The One That Got Away'

Of all the potential returns the Toronto Maple Leafs could receive in a potential Mitch Marner trade, this one would stir up the emotions in Leafs Nation more than any other.

While everyone waits to see if GM Brad Treliving & crew will be happy to let Marner play out the final year of his contract, try to extend him, or try to trade him for a boatload of assets, proposed deals continue to be put out into the ether. This mock trade comes to us from Sportsnet hockey analyst Sam McKee, in a discussion with Justin Bourne. It would bring back to Toronto a polarizing ex-Leaf in Nazem Kadri, referred to by his supporters as 'the one that got away'.

The proposed swap would look like this:

Calgary Flames Receive:

Mitch Marner

Toronto Maple Leafs Receive:

Nazem Kadri
Rasmus Andersson

The Flames get the game-breaking star they once thought they were getting when they made a blockbuster trade for Jonathan Huberdeau, but this time, they get a true marquee playmaker for the top line in Marner. Heck, maybe he could even bring Huberdeau back to life if given the chance.

The Leafs receive the top-pairing defenseman they so badly need, even though it was a down year for Andersson. After the year he revealed that a foot injury had been hindering him for most of the season. But a return to his form of the previous two campaigns would be tantalizing for the Buds. Current Leafs GM Treliving signed Andersson to a six-year, $4.55M AAV deal that still has two years to run.

And that brings us to Kadri. He was beloved by many during his 10 seasons in Toronto, but the back end of his Leafs legacy was marred by mindless plays in each of his last two playoff years that brought on costly suspensions each time that helped lead to first-round exits. He was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 2019 after the second of those suspensions, where he went on to win a Stanley Cup.

Kadri was then signed to a massive 7-year, $7M AAV deal in Calgary by... none other than Treliving. He still has five years left, however, on that big cap hit. And he's going into his age-34 season.

Should the Buds take that chance?

For the record, Bourne reacted by suggesting a deal of Marner for Andersson straight up, leaving the Kadri cap hit in Calgary.