Carolina Hurricanes Have Ridiculous Ask of Maple Leafs in Mikko Rantanen Deal

On Wednesday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed what many had long suspected, which is that the Maple Leafs have been eagerly awaiting a decision on Mikko Rantanen, which is one of the reasons that they had yet to complete a trade ahead of the trade deadline.

The Leafs have been linked to a number of the top trade targets out there beyond Rantanen -- namely Brayden Schenn, Scott Laughton and Brock Nelson. However, when a player of Rantanen's caliber and pedigree becomes available, you simply have to do your due diligence.

Now, another NHL Insider, The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta, has revealed that not only are the Leafs and Hurricanes discussing a deal involving Rantanen, but that the Canes are attempting to pry young star Matthew Knies out of Toronto.

Rantanen was originally acquired by the Hurricanes in January after the pending UFA and the Colorado Avalanche were unable to come to terms on a long-term extension.

The Leafs have some big decisions to make this summer regarding Mitch Marner, John Tavares and Matthew Knies. Of course, Marner and Tavares are the big name UFAs on the team who can test free agency on July 1st. Meanwhile, Knies will be a restricted free agent and while he cannot walk for free on July 1st, he would be susceptible to a potential offer sheet.

It is highly likely that the Leafs view Knies as an untouchable, but if a player like Rantanen were to agree to terms on a multi-year extension as part of the deal, perhaps the Lesfs would be a little bit more amenable to moving the young power forward.

The interesting wrinkle here is that if the Leafs do acquire Rantanen and extend him as a part of the deal, it's would all but guarantee the departure of one of Mitch Marner or John Tavares. After all, there's only so much money to go around, even with a substantial bump in the salary cap.

For what it's worth, Brad Treliving completed the last major sign-and-trade involving Matthew Tkachuk during his time in Calgary, so he's no stranger to these types of deals.