NHL Analyst Links Jets to Leafs Duo as Potential Nikolaj Ehlers Replacements

The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to require a top-six winger after Mitch Marner left for the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade.

The majority of the premier free agents now have their contracts, and thus, as a substitute for Mitch Marner, their best solution at this point is via a trade. One of the names getting traction is that of Winnipeg Jets winger Nino Niederreiter.

Leafs Nation columnist Jeremy Tingly opined that the veteran power forward is a potential candidate to be traded to Toronto. Nino Niederreiter is a 32-year-old with a two-year, $4 million cap hit, with no trade protection, and thus, an ideal trade candidate.

Niederreiter would contribute calmness and experience as a veteran leader with 969 games of experience in the NHL and 105 playoff games.

His salary would also land within Toronto's available cap space of $5 million without having to do a salary dump on epic proportions.

It would be a move motivated by Winnipeg acquiring in return players like Nick Robertson or Bobby McMann, players named by Tingly as leverage, and players who would also serve as a decent replacement for the loss of Nikolaj Ehlers.

The Leafs had addressed one of their most important forward positions at the time, inking Mattias Maccelli of the Utah Hockey Club in the early days of free agency.

Although he will presumably become a first-unit contributor, Treliving has admitted that the team still hasn't really done a respectable job of replacing the loss of Marner, especially on the power play, and still is searching around.