When the news was breaking on Saturday evening I had many messages and such asking questions about Jacob Trouba, the Winnipeg Jets and what could be done.

At that point it was time to have a bit of fun on social media rather than speculating on what could happen in any possible trade. Come Sunday morning though I had some clearer ideas and had a chat with HB's own Mike Augello. This was the first I had heard of possible interest from Toronto that makes sense and should be a conversation starter.

Before we get into the meat of this let's step back and look at the ingredients for a deal. First the trading team has to have a need or specific want in any deal and the acquiring team has to have space and desire for that player.

In this case most observers are looking at the deal as this: "Jets need LHD and the acquiring team should need RHD, in particular a top pairing one".

So say hello the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Leafs have a defenceman who has been in and out of favour but certainly can be seen as solid in Jake Gardiner, one who might almost immediately jump to the top of the pile in Winnipeg on the left side. However what....or rather who comes with Gardiner?

As Mike suggested Kasperi Kapanen could be nice piece. That was echoed by Russ Cohen on Monday's Buzzcast.

Great minds Mike and Russ have.

However Gardiner's name has popped up in Winnipeg too, mainly as speculation but sometimes with more emphasis than that. Gardiner is also a Minnesota kid and we all know how much the Jets love players from close to Winnipeg.

Kapanen remains the curious piece though. Do the Jets really need another prospect forward in an already deep set? He's a right winger and that could be a bit of an enticement as the Jets do not have such a blue chip prospect on the right side.

However, what would the Leafs be seeing in Trouba to make this deal work?

First and foremost they would see a top pairing RHD, something they do not have. They have the left side in Reilly now imagine the future with those two together... it looks pretty good. Trouba is also in the right age gap for what the Leafs are trying to build and that must be appealing as well.

Trouba brings a physical side to his game as well as offensive prowess and he can play with almost anyone depending on the scenario. His style of game and skill set allow for a diversity of deployment options and that must be seen as a positive for the Leafs.

The Leafs also have a GM and team in place to figure out who to deal with Trouba's agent and perhaps his demands for top pairing and usage. But is that really an issue if Trouba is in a new environment? Probably not, and being in Toronto certainly helps with the connection for Trouba with his family in Michigan.

I'm not suggesting this offer is on the table for the Jets defence man but I would say it's an interesting starting point and worth discussing. Is it enough? Is it too much or too little. More importantly, is it fair?

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