Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
A fan trade proposal involving William Nylander and the Montreal Canadiens is going viral for its craziness which would see Toronto acquire Ivan Demidov in return.
There’s a lot of chatter about a potential trade (or several) coming for the Toronto Maple Leafs as they look to deal from their veterans and potentially start a retooling despite a three-game winning streak to finish up the run until the Olympic break.
Demidov for Nylander? Sure! Why not?
Well, one Facebook post decided to make things interesting as it proposed a seriously crazy deal involving two heated rivals.
The post states in a mock trade proposal that the Toronto Maple Leafs would send star forward William Nylander to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for superstar youngster Ivan Demidov as well as a second-round pick:
It would be some incredible bit of work to not only facilitate a trade between the two teams (a rarity in its own right) but to do so with such huge pieces being swapped.
This isn’t a Tomas Plekanec situation, this is a genuine franchise-altering deal that would give Montreal one of the most established forwards in the world but also give the Maple Leafs one of the most intriguing pieces they’ve had in years.
Demidov is only 20 years old but is putting up great numbers already. In 56 games he’s put up 46 points (12 goals, 34 assists) with a plus-seven and 24 PIM in only 15:25 TOI.
He would be the type of person that Toronto could build around for a decade, give Auston Matthews a young, exciting winger with elite playmaking ability and would form a new three-headed youth movement alongside Matthew Knies and Easton Cowan.
There’s no chance this move would work out…right?
Nylander is no doubt an icon already and the fan backlash from losing him will be loud and clear; the situation around Demidov allows for a lot of flexibility.
He makes less than $1-million against the cap, and opening up $10-million in open space gives the team a lot of room to make several important moves, or take on superstar-like deals.
Then when time comes to extend him, the team will have a lot of money to work with thanks to a rising cap and some expensive but expiring deals.
Losing him to Montreal wouldn’t make him a villain, but it would make whoever traded him one for sure. Seeing him thrive with names like Cole Caulfield and Nick Suzuki; plus can you imagine the chemistry with Lane Hutson?
Montreal would be set to win for a long time, and if they can figure out their goaltending situation that may give them a huge leg up in the Atlantic going forward.
But they would be losing one of their most exciting prospects in years, and the Maple Leafs would gladly take Demidov off their hands — as long as they don’t mind the deafening backlash that’s sure to come.
Previously on Hockey Patrol
POLL
39 MINUTES AGO|41 ANSWERS
A wild William Nylander–Canadiens mock trade is going viral
Would you do an Ivan Demidov for William Nylander trade?