A William Nylander for Zachary Werenski swap is being floated as the Maple Leafs try to snap a four-game skid tonight.
Toronto lost 3-6 to Colorado on Tuesday and sits 8-10-2, 23rd in the NHL. Minnesota visits tonight, and the mood around the team is getting sharper by the day.
Nylander is at the center of it. He has 22 points in 20 games, but he's a -7, and Jim Hiller's public comments on William Nylander made it clear the coach believes his winger can play better than he has lately, according to David Alter.
The trade idea is simple: a one-for-one deal with Columbus that sends Nylander to the Blue Jackets for Werenski. It's a fan-driven scenario. Nobody has reported talks between the teams.
The two clubs do have recent history. Matthew Knies now plays in Columbus, and Kirill Marchenko is now a Maple Leaf.
Werenski, for his part, has 14 points in 16 games and is a +6 on a Blue Jackets team that is 7-9-0 and 29th in the league. Toronto has allowed 70 goals, a number that explains why a top-pair defenseman gets mentioned.
Would Columbus say yes to Nylander for Werenski?
We don't see it. Werenski is 29, a right-now difference maker on the back end, and his contract runs through 2027-28 at about $9.6 million. Nylander is 30 and carries about $11.5 million through 2031-32. Columbus would be taking on more money and more years for a winger.
For Toronto, the money works. The hockey is a harder sell, because a top-four-caliber winger with a -7 rating is not the type of asset that usually brings back a star defenseman straight up.
There's a second problem. Marchenko is listed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, expected out until at least Nov. 23, and he has 14 points in 14 games. Moving Nylander now would thin a forward group already missing one of its most productive players.
Nylander has said he isn't worried about the criticism, and his defiant message about the trade rumours tells you he plans to answer on the ice.
That chance comes tonight against Minnesota, while Columbus hosts Tampa Bay in its own game.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
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