NHL Trade Rumors: Maple Leafs Among 2 Top Suitors Linked to Mason Marchment

Mason Marchment is on the trade block for Dallas Stars

Now that the Dallas Stars have re-signed a crucial pending free agent in Matt Duchene, they have just $455,000 in available cap space. And several notable free agents they'd still like to get signed. That leaves a couple of names twisting in the wind as potential trade candidates in order to free up that cap space.

And while the Stars have tried to downplay the Jason Robertson rumors (to no avail), they have done no such thing with the Mason Marchment trade buzz, and, in fact, are open to offers. Marchment has one year remaining on his deal with a $4.5 million cap hit.

According to insider David Pagnotta, writing in The Fourth Period on Thursday, he mentions two teams in particular keeping an eye on the availability of the 6'5", physical forward.

Stars GM Jim Nill has already been investigating his options and has been exploring the trade market on forward Mason Marchment, and defenseman, Matt Dumba and Ilya Lyubushkin.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Utah Mammoth are among the teams believed to have varying levels of interest in Marchment.

Dallas will have to work around a 10-team no-trade list for the 30-year-old holds.

Would Marchment welcome a return to the Toronto Maple Leafs?

It would be intriguing to see if the Leafs are on that no-trade list or not, as Marchment started his NHL career with three years in the Toronto organization, though most of that was spent with the Marlies of the AHL, and the Leafs gave him only a four-game look at the NHL level before moving on from him and trading him to the Florida Panthers in what turned out to be an awful trade, for Denis Malgin.

Five years later, Marchment is now a solid top-six forward, scoring 22 goals for the second straight year with Dallas, averaging 50 points in each of those seasons, with a +37 rating over that time. All the while, playing his solid, two-way, physical game. He'd undoubtedly be a favorite for Leafs head coach Craig Berube.

The Mammoth could use Marchment's size & scoring up front

The Mammoth are looking for some size and scoring this summer, especially after the disappearing act pulled by Lawson Crouse this past year. The 6'4" left winger dropped off the map after three straight 20-goal seasons with the Phoenix/Utah organization, falling to just 12 goals and 18 points in 81 games.

Marchment would be a tremendous fit for either of these two clubs, and it certainly looks like he'll be on the move.