If the Maple Leafs traded John Tavares, these 5 trades could work

Let's call a spade a spade here, the NHL being suspended and living a life with no hockey is driving me crazy. From pondering what the playoff format will look like, to coming to terms with a cancelled season, the emotions of any hockey fan right now are all over the map. Yesterday, we pondered Connor McDavid trades together, which was a trip, and today let's jump into if the Maple Leafs 'had' to deal John Tavares.

Regardless of any deal we construct, Leafs Nation is going to be more pissed then when Mats Sundin went to the Canucks for nothing. Any who, let's have some fun, we all could use it.

If the Maple Leafs dealt John Tavares, here's 5 packages worth considering:

1. Nashville Predators for Viktor Arvidsson and Mattias Ekholm. This deal would give the Preds a #1 center they sorely lack, sorry Ryan Johansen, and provide the Leafs with a solid top-6 forward and an anchor for their top-4. Also provides the Leafs with a few more bucks to save, which they could use more than anyone right now.

2. Dallas Stars for John Klingberg and Radek Faska. Tavares would give the Stars a deadly 1-2 down the middle while the Leafs finally find their RHD for the future. Klingberg is an offensive stud and would ride shotgun to Morgan Rielly for the foreseeable future. Faska is essentially a throw in for the 3rd line to make the money work.

3. Anaheim Ducks for Josh Manson, Rickard Rakell and a 2nd round pick. The Ducks have been looking for a core piece for months as they contemplate moving Ryan Getzlaf, after buying out Corey Perry. Tavares is in his prime and gives them a chance to re-tool asap. The Leafs get Manson which provides them rugged stability to their right-side D, and Rakell can score in bunches and would fit perfectly in the Leafs top-6.

4. Calgary Flames for Elias Lindholm and Rasmus Andersson. Tavares is still just 29 years old, and is coming off seasons of 47 and 37 goals. This year he's still producing at a point of game, even though the Leafs took Mitch Marner away from him. The Leafs would take this deal in a heart beat.

5. San Jose Sharks for Brent Burns and Kevin Lebanc. Burns is 35 but is in some of the best shape in the NHL. His family is from the Toronto area, and he would be exactly what the Maple Leafs doctors ordered. For the Sharks, they almost signed Tavares when the free agent hoopla went down a couple of summers ago.

Well that was fun, wasn't it?

John Tavares has a full no-move clause, and look up the history of team's trading their captains - not likely. What is likely, is the fact if the 2019-2020 season is cancelled I may completely lose my mind. For now, as you can see from some of these deals, it's only half gone.

Tik tok, be safe.