Forward Brandon Hagel is now a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is still with the Chicago Blackhawks, but it appears things could've turned out very differently.
The Blackhawks and Maple Leafs discussed a trade that would have sent Hagel and Fleury to Toronto in exchange for netminder Petr Mrazek, prospect Matthew Knies, and first-round picks, TSN's Darren Dreger reports.
The swap didn't advance to the point where Fleury was asked to waive his no-trade clause as Toronto balked due to the amount of futures involved, Dreger adds.
Toronto traded its 2021 first-round pick prior to last year's trade deadline as part of a package for veteran forward Nick Foligno.
The Maple Leafs find themselves in the midst of a goalie crisis. Jack Campbell has struggled mightily since putting up Vezina-worthy stats earlier in the campaign, while Mrazek has been squirrely at best; the 30-year-old has logged a .884 save percentage and a 3.48 goals-against average across 17 appearances.
Erik Kallgren, Toronto's new face in the crease, has put up more inspiring numbers since he came onto the scene earlier this month, albeit in a very small sample size; he's registered a .930 save percentage across four outings.
The Blackhawks got a big-time haul for Hagel on Friday, receiving the Lightning's first-round pick in 2023 and 2024 as well as forwards Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh.
Fleury, meanwhile, is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $7-million cap hit. His deal includes a 10-team no-trade list. The 37-year-old has authored a .909 save percentage with the Blackhawks this season.
The Maple Leafs drafted Knies in the second round last year. He has 10 goals and 17 assists in 29 games with the Minnesota Golden Gophers this season. The 19-year-old forward represented the United States at the 2022 Beijing Games.
