Breaking: Leafs being linked to trade for NHL captain.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been actively seeking help on the blue line this season, at least that is what the rumors around the league would have you believe, but now they are being linked to a truly massive trade involving a well-respected National Hockey League team captain.

New York Rangers insider Larry Brooks has suggested that this may be the year the Rangers decide to sell of their existing assets in order to replenish their organizational depth, this after several seasons of seemingly going all-in around the trade deadline for playoff pushes. Surprisingly though is Brooks' suggestion that captain Ryan McDonagh could be among the names on the trading block this season. 

Even more surprising however is the fact that Brooks has now linked both the Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning to a potential trade for McDonagh in his most recent article. From the New York Post:

The bounty, though and of course, could be expected in the return for McDonagh, who is eligible to go free in 2019 and who will command seven years for between $45 and 50 million on his next deal. This is a legit, blue chip top-pair defenseman whose acquisition would immediately vault the Maple Leafs and Lightning into prime position.

So what would the Maple Leafs have to give up in exchange for a player of McDonagh's stature? Brooks believes that McDonagh carries enough cache that the Rangers could potentially a player the likes of Mitch Marner from the clutches of the Maple Leafs. 

Needless to say a deal of this magnitude would truly be a blockbuster deal, especially in one of the biggest media markets in hockey. 

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