Insider Confirms Bombshell Rumour About Maple Leafs and Major Deadline Activities
Photo credit: Bob Frid - Imagn Images
With the trade deadline done and dusted, news is trickling out about how close the Maple Leafs got in acquiring Mikko Rantanen before he was moved to Dallas.
Although the Toronto Maple Leafs came out of the trade deadline with two proven assets in Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo, the prize of the day was assuredly Mikko Rantanen.
The Finnish superstar was a target the Maple Leafs had identified for quite some time and according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, they came very close to getting a deal done before he was eventually shipped to Dallas.
There's been a lot of chatter regarding Rantanen's preferred options and who he was willing to sign an extension with since he made it very clear Carolina wasn't on his list. It turns out that Toronto was one of the 4 teams he was open to signing with:
"So there was a 4-team preferred list... and my understanding is obviously Dallas, Florida, Toronto, and Edmonton. Those were the 4-team preferred list and I can confirm with a million percent certainty that he was willing to sign in Toronto and he was willing to sign in Edmonton."
Pagnotta added that while those 4 teams were his preferred options, if other teams joined the fray he would give it some consideration. Vegas and Los Angeles joined the fray but ultimately it came down to Dallas and Toronto:
"After the Marner situation was cleared, Carolina wanted Matthew Knies in a package and every sense I got was that Toronto didn't want to do that. So they shifted to the 2 prospects, the 2 firsts, and I believe there was something else in there but they liked Dallas' offer, they wanted a proven guy at the NHL-level in Logan Stankoven and they went with that one."
Once Mitch Marner refused to waive his NMC, the Carolina Hurricanes then pivoted to Matthew Knies before the Maple Leafs rejected it on the spot. Both sides continued to work before Toronto's final offer included 2 prospects, 2 firsts, and another asset, according to Pagnotta.
At the 11th hour, Carolina decided to go with Dallas' offer which included Logan Stankoven instead of what the Maple Leafs were offering, which some have speculated was Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten.
Toronto then shifted their attention into acquiring Laughton and used Minten as the main trade piece in getting a deal done with Boston involving Carlo. However, it is something that could haunt Leafs fans for the foreseeable future considering how close they truly were in acquiring Rantanen with an extension.
| POLL | ||
MARS 12 | 2500 ANSWERS Insider Confirms Bombshell Rumour About Maple Leafs and Major Deadline Activities Would you have been okay with trading 2 prospects, 2 firsts, and another asset if it meant getting Rantanen long-term? | ||
| Absolutely, yes | 1182 | 47.3 % |
| No, cost of acquisition was way too high | 1318 | 52.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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