Report: Leafs and Oilers linked in trade talks

Newly minted Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland has his work cut out for him this offseason. Tasked with finally getting the Oilers on the right track after a decade of rebuilding, Holland will have some difficult roster decisions to make this summer. The Oilers have several key positions that need to be filled, but have limited flexibility to do so given the constraints of the NHL’s league imposed salary cap. Adding to the team’s roster without subtracting is unlikely, but Oilers insider Jim Matheson does see a fit for the team from another Canadian squad under a cap crunch, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In fact, Matheson reports that the Oilers “came close” to acquiring Leafs forward Connor Brown at the 2019 Trade Deadline.

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The 25 year old Brown has one more year left on a reasonable contract that pays him $2.1 million annually and would be a perfect fit on the wing for the Oilers.

Allan Mitchell of The Athletic sizes up a potential Brown acquisition for the Oilers and warns that the cost may be prohibitive. Brown has history with Oilers captain Connor McDavid as the two played junior together with the OHL’s Erie Otters, so you have to imagine that that factors into Holland’s decision making. 

In any case, there certainly seems to be some smoke around these two teams when it comes to Connor Brown. Trade imminent? No. Trade possible? Definitely. Stay tuned, Oilers and Leafs fans.