5 NHL trades we would love to see this offseason

2. William Nylander and Dougie Hamilton swap conferences

TOR gets: D Dougie Hamilton

CGY gets: F William Nylander, 2018 second round pick

Why the Leafs should do it: The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the cusp of greatness. However, they are lacking as far as their defense. Between Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, and Travis Dermott, the Leafs are much better on the left side than people think. However, their right side is lacking so much, they had Ron Hainsey playing over there despite him being left-handed.

Dougie Hamilton would give the Leafs an excellent right-handed defenseman who fits their system perfectly. He’s an excellent puck mover and his defense is better than he is given credit for. It’s hard to acquire a top-pairing defenseman. And the Leafs would be paying a hefty price. But it would be worthwhile for them do it.

Why the Flames should do it: Trading Dougie Hamilton is usually something I’d advise NHL teams against doing. You don’t trade really good defensemen unless you get equal value. The Flames would be getting equal value from the Leafs in this trade.

William Nylander immediately becomes their best right-wing option by a country mile. Oh, and the Flames would add a right wing who actually shoots right-handed, which is a good thing.

Nylander straight up for Hamilton isn’t enough. The second-round pick makes the trade fair for everyone. It’s hard to trade for a top pairing defenseman, but the Leafs have the assets, and for reasons beyond my comprehension, the Flames seem open to trading Hamilton.