Friedman Drops SHOCKING Leafs Trade Report...

We have some breaking news. Elliot Friedman just dropped a bombshell report surrounding Nikita Kucherov and the Toronto Maple Leafs as he just leaked some critical details surrounding Kucherov's interest in joining Austin Matthews and the Leafs. We're going to break that down, but also discuss some new reports that dropped late last night into this morning surrounding why exactly Nikita Kucherov is so upset with the Lightning, which directly correlates to leverage the Lightning have in a trade. And all of this... surrounding the Leafs. We're going to break down as well as some interesting proposals as to what the Leafs could actually give up to get it done. And it is not what a lot of fans think. Ton to go over today, folks. Before we get into a quick reminder, hit that subscribe button. You guys can be so supportive. We had a video on this yesterday morning and it was kind of just, yeah, this probably isn't going to happen. He probably doesn't even want to come to Canada, come to Toronto. Boy, were we wrong. Toronto is one of the teams on his quote-unquote 10-team list. As Elliot Friedman dropped his bombshell within Hockey Night in Canada last night, or Saturday Night Hockey, he says, I do believe that if Tampa Bay was going to trade him, and Montreal and Toronto could come up with a package that Tampa Bay would like, those are two teams among many he would consider. So essentially, he clarified, Darius, he would be willing to come to Canada, he would be willing to extend in Toronto, which means now, It's still super unlikely, but the Leafs could put together, and we'll dive into what it would look like, a package to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now, interdivision trade, all that stuff, which we'll dive into, but at the end of the day, he would be willing to come to Toronto, which is huge news because there's 20 or so teams out there that he wouldn't be willing to go to. Well, welcome back to another episode of Negotiating Through the Media. We are your hosts, Darius Dominguez and Nick Goss. And ladies and gentlemen, once again, you know, they're negotiating through the media, both sides. You know, Julien Brisebois said, we are not trading him. And now we hear that Toronto and Montreal, two of the biggest markets in the entire National Hockey League, are on his list from, you know, where else is it coming from? It's coming from the player, coming from the agent, right, to Elliot Friedman. So that, first of all, is pretty crazy. But it's not that crazy in terms of. I do believe he would want to play in Toronto because if you look at the other report from, I believe it was Emily Kaplan of ESPN, he wants to play with some star power. He would like to play with a superstar was the exact quote. And the Maple Leafs do have that in Austin Matthews. So I don't think it's that crazy in that way, you know, in terms of the tax bracket and, you know, playing in Canada, all that other stuff and being in division, what everyone was talking about. The Lightning don't have that much leverage in this, right? If you look at the Dylan Larkin situation or the Connor Hellebuck situation, it was different because they both had like five years or something left on their contracts, right? Where now they could just sit out. Obviously, Hellebuck was traded, but Dylan Larkin could just sit at home, not getting paid, and the Red Wings don't really care because they're not going to lose him at the end of the year. But that's not the case with Kucherov. They don't really have that much leverage. The only way, and we were talking about this, and if you want to go watch the stream last night, we were talking about a bunch of different scenarios, but one of the ways this would work for the Toronto Maple Leafs, because there is the tagging rule, you can only go 10% over the cap if they get them in a sign and trade, essentially. For next season, they would have to move a boatload of money out in a trade there. But one of the ways this does work out for the Leafs where they don't have to give up that many assets or get in a bidding war is if Kucherov explicitly goes, hey, I want to go play in Toronto. Trade me to Toronto. Tampa wouldn't have much of an option at that point. They would have to get something for the player, much like Artemi Panarin last year. He told the Rangers, I want to go to L.A. And the Rangers said. Damn, that sucks because now we're only getting a pretty good prospect, the Liam Greentree and a third round pick. Right. So that's just an example. And I feel like that could happen here as well. Yeah. Now, a lot of stuff to consider. One, I can already see you guys typing the comment section, the contract they would have to give up about nine point five million dollars, give or take to make that deal work, which we'll dive into in a minute. And if they want to extend him, Derek, you've spoken about it ad nauseam. It's like your rule that, you know, to talk about what you talk about in a minute. There is a rule. Basically, they can't. Sign and trade, I guess, if you want to call it that. He can't extend right away. You'd have to wait until the offseason in which you'd have to clear another $9.5, $10 million. So it would be difficult. That being said, it is possible. Now, we can dive into what it would be. Obviously, Pierre Lebrun talks about around six years, $20 million. There's some rumblings about $18 million. He's frustrated, Nikita Kucherov is, with the lack of pace that the Tampa Bay Lightning are working with. Now, people are wondering, okay, could he reconsider or stay with the team? No. Reports came out once he makes a decision, it's hard to make him change his mind. Let's be real, folks. This is not something that 33-year-old Nikita Kucherov would have done on a whim. This is something that he knows once you make this public, it is what's going to happen. Now, how would a trade for this work? Darius, we were covering it yesterday, and the name is one that a lot of people probably aren't thinking of. Like, we covered it in the video there a couple days ago, or yesterday, I guess. And it was Easton Cowan, right? That was kind of the name. You obviously had to make salary work. So maybe I guess Morgan Riley could be thrown in there. But there's realistically, I think the only way or one of the most likely ways that this happens is this man right here. And that is William Nylander makes money to where you can make things work pretty easily when it comes to making the trade for him. I don't, I, you know, you guys want to come at me, Derek. I know you hate this, but something like William Nylander on a first round pick, as much as it sounds crazy, that I think is probably the most realistic package. Tampa Bay remains competitive. It gets someone on a contract. The Leafs, if John Chayka wants to go after him, gets a top three player in the NHL and Kucherov, who realistically would help this team's chance at making the Stanley Cup. I don't think it gets done. I don't love the idea, but people acting like William Nylander's a, you know, super young. It's only a three-year age difference. The big thing though, is the contract. So Nylander for Kucherov, I think, is probably, and Nylander Plus actually would probably be one of the only ways this gets done in my eyes, just because of what other teams can give up. Unless he explicitly requests to Toronto, then you can get creative. Yeah, I have a different perspective on that, right? That's the thing. I think that there's only one way this gets done. It's if Kucherov goes to the Lightning and says, I want to go to Toronto, or I want to go to Toronto and another team that they can't get a deal done with, right? Kind of like the Dylan Larkin stuff. So that's the only way I see this happening. And I don't see him backing down either. This happened with Stephen Stamkos. This exact same situation. And he ended up walking too. He was frustrated with that. Now, you could argue that the Lightning were right for doing that. And they ended up signing other players and younger players, right? And they continue to retool. And that's how they find success. You can make that argument 100%. But Nikita Kucherov, I said on stream yesterday. top three player in the NHL, like year after year, and he's only 33. And like you said, there's a three year age difference. I don't love the Nylander idea. He's cost controlled. He gets like what, 30 to 40 points less, I guess, than Kucherov a year, but he makes, or is going to make $9 million less than him for the next couple of years too. So, and is a bit younger. So I don't love that idea. And again, I think the only way this works is if he does like an Artemi Panarin from last year, he goes, I want to go to this team and that's it. Right. So it's a possibility. I should say, too. John Chykita is absolutely calling on this, right? Just see what the scenario is, what's kind of going on. Like, he's definitely going to call on this. He's a crazy, insane person. We've seen it already and super aggressive. So he's going to be calling as he should. And I think it's pretty interesting. The priority for the Toronto Maple Leafs right now, because you have, when healthy, a great forward group still, and you're adding another, you know, in theory here, another winger. You don't need another winger. And I know he's an elite winger, but I don't know if you need one. Um You need a really good defenseman still. You need a very good defenseman. That is what you need to get this team back into contention and to not give up a bunch of your prospects. you, That's also what you need, right? So um, I don't know. It's a tricky one. If this came at the beginning of the season, I think you go after this rather than Kirill Marchenko, right? everyone. Because I think there's just a higher floor here, I guess. We don't really know what Marchenko is going to be, but he's already 26. It's not that I hate that trade or anything like that. It's just the timing, right, of everything. But to me, you still try to target a guy like Wierenski or another defenseman because I think that's what the Leafs need. But what a fun idea. Everybody's talking about Kucherov right now, and apparently he's open to going to Toronto or Montreal. But I do think some of that, let me be clear, Nick, is negotiating through the media and putting it out into the two biggest markets. Everyone is going to be talking about it, and they're hoping to. To take some of whatever leverage Tampa has away. Yeah. Now, Hedman spoke out about it. Teammates they knew before the media did because he sat on a plane. And at the end of the day, people respect Kucherov through the roof here. It seems like he's my teammate. He's my friend. Comment down below what your thoughts are on the William Nylander situation. I know Gary's just fully off of it. I don't love the idea, but to be honest, the way John Schleich operates, I wouldn't be surprised at all. So let us know down below if you think that it's crazy, Do you think that this is all leverage or do you think the Leafs have a real possibility? Or do you think this is all just media tactics? Let us know. See you guys later. See you later.