Leafs insider proposes crazy trade involving Matthews!

With only a few weeks remaining in November, crunch time is nearing for William Nylander and the Toronto Maple Leafs, which seems to make some team insiders go mad, just a little... Or a lot. Especially on Thursday morning as Leafs insider Damien Cox has proposed one of the craziest trade possibility revealed to this day. 

Sure, there is nothing - as of now - pointing to the end of the contract dispute involving Nylander, and because of that, trade rumours have grown louder and louder or where the Maple Leafs could ship the talented forward to in return for a quality defenseman or another productive forward. We all know several teams have been kicking tires: if Nylander can’t or won’t sign in Toronto, the speculation is that the Leafs will flip him to a team like the Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks or Philadelphia Flyers for some defensive help. The names Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Brandon Montour, Travis Sanheim and Sam Morin have all been brought up when discussing Nylander's potential trade destinations. 

However, Cox believes the Leafs should sign Mitch Marner and Nylander, and trade Auston Matthews instead in return for "a whole pile of goodies." The reason why Cox believes this is such a great idea is because of how well star player John Tavares has been playing in his first season why the Leafs, therefore pushing Matthews on the trade block and making him expandable. 

Nylander is a restricted free agent coming out of his entry-level contract, and must have a deal in place by the December 1 RFA deadline in order to play in the NHL this season.

The clock might be ticking, but we doubt the Leafs will feel so pressured about the situation that they will put Matthews on the block. GM Kyle Dubas remains set on coming to terms with Nylander, though has admitted that he needs to start looking into the possibility of moving him to a rival team if an agreement cannot be reached between both parties. 

It remains to be seen which team might be willing to meet Toronto's asking price if ever the Leafs fail to sign the much-talked about free agent. However, let's be honest, Cox's suggestion is quite bold, right? 

He says it himself: "Not saying they would, but it’s not such a crazy idea any more. And that’s because of JT."