Utah Should Make a Splash By Acquiring Mitch Marner

The Utah owner, Ryan Smith, has said he wants his team to be aggressive in the offseason. With him taking over the Arizona Coyotes, they have a fully stocked cupboard of draft capital and prospects.

This should allow the team to be as aggressive as they want. They can assemble trade packages with those prospects and draft picks to acquire bigger players from struggling teams.

Although the Toronto Maple Leafs aren't a struggling team, they want to make major changes this offseason. Utah should try to be the first to inquire about Mitch Marner's services and what the asking price would be.

The Maple Leafs would likely want a defenseman in return, as well as a prospect, a pick, and potentially a middle-six forward.

Unfortunately, Utah doesn't have a lot of top NHL defensemen on their roster. This means they would likely need to offer a top-end defensive prospect.

A name that could be of interest to the Maple Leafs is Lawson Crouse. He is a big-bodied forward who can score 50+ points and play on a top line with Auston Matthews.

As for the defensive prospect option, someone like Maveric Lamoureux would be someone who would interest the Maple Leafs' GM, Brad Treliving. At just 20 years old, he is 6-foot-7 and 201 pounds, which is a similar build to Cade Webber, whom the Maple Leafs acquired the rights to from the Carolina Hurricanes.

Lastly, Utah would probably need to part with a draft pick or two to scoop Marner. Treliving could be interested in a 2025 1st round pick since the team doesn't have one. However, they may need to settle on two second-round picks, as Utah has four of them, including one that was originally owned by the Maple Leafs.

All in all, these two teams could make perfect sense as trade partners, especially since Smith wants his Utah team to make a splash. Acquiring Marner in a trade at the 2024 NHL Draft could open up doors to sign more top-end talent once the free agency market opens on July 1.