There are reasons to think Brayden Schenn would be a good fit for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Schenn is a 6-foot-1, 199-pound battering ram at centre who won a Stanley Cup with Craig Berube in St. Louis. He plays a brash two-way game and would most definitely alleviate some pressure on Auston Matthews and John Tavares.

Most of all, he would be a gigantic upgrade on what the Leafs have in the middle of their third line — some combination of Max Domi, Pontus Holmberg and Fraser Minten.

But is he the best fit ahead of next week’s trade deadline? I’m not so sure.

Let’s start with the cost.

Because the Blues don’t technically have to trade Schenn, who has three additional years left on his contract, they can set a high price and move only if that price is met. For the Leafs, that price might just be their first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, one of their top three prospects — Easton Cowan, Minten or Ben Danford — and maybe another secondary prospect or pick on top of that and perhaps more if the Blues retain salary in the transaction (which doesn’t seem to be their desire).

In short, quite a haul for a player who is on pace for 16 goals and 49 points and turns 34 in August.

There’s a world in which Schenn decides not to move anywhere but Toronto and the Blues — if they want to move him now — must lower their ask.

Even still, the cost to acquire Schenn figures to be significant unless general manager Brad Treliving can somehow convince counterpart Doug Armstrong that the Leafs are doing the Blues the favour here.

1. That contract, which comes with a $6.5 million cap hit and will cover Schenn’s age-34, -35 and -36 seasons.

The rising cap makes the deal slightly more palatable in time: Schenn’s cap hit will be today’s equivalent of a $5.99 million cap hit next season, a $5.5 million cap hit in year two and about a $5 million cap hit in the final year of the deal.

That’s not nothing, though, given the decline that’s already showing up in Schenn’s game.

A three-year deal, with a $6.5 million cap hit, probably isn’t all that far off from what Tavares’ next contract could look like. Tavares is a much more productive player than Schenn, and for whatever reasons (good ones), he’s not signed.

If Schenn were a free agent this summer, a three-year contract with a $6.5 million cap hit would feel rich.

The Athletic puts his market value this season at $4.5 million, meaning he’s overpaid right now, with those three additional years remaining.

Add Schenn, and the idea of re-signing Tavares comes into question.

Would it make sense for the Leafs to have two not-so-quick centres (and maybe future wingers) in their mid-30s on multiyear deals making decent money? Is a Tavares-Schenn 2-3 combo down the middle feasible a year from now, or a year after that? Is one of them playing left wing — and how does that work with Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann in the mix?

If it’s not Tavares, can Schenn be an effective second-line centre next season? Or would the Leafs simply be replacing him with a slightly younger but less potent player?

2. Haunted by a lack of offence in the postseason, the Leafs need whomever they acquire to boost them on that front. And though Schenn has eight 20-goal regular seasons under his belt, he’s been much less effective at putting the puck in the net in the playoffs.

In 75 career games, he has scored only five five-on-five goals and 11 total.

In the last three postseasons, Schenn potted three goals for the Blues while adding 11 assists (nine primary). St. Louis increasingly struggled to win his five-on-five minutes. And that last playoff run came almost three years ago.

During the Cup run under Berube’s watch in 2019, when Schenn was 27, he produced five goals and 12 points in 26 games (and only one goal in the first 18 games). And that was almost six years ago.

The Schenn whom Berube remembers — “I love that player,” he said Friday — isn’t necessarily the one he’d have now with the Leafs.

Part of Schenn’s appeal for the Leafs would be his ability to make life easier on others to produce offence — the ones who are supposed to produce offence. If he’s around to soak up more of the defensive load — match up against opposing top lines, hop out there for the bulk of D-zone draws — lines led by Matthews and Tavares will, at least theoretically, be in a better position to drive offence.

And maybe Schenn could still put some points on the board playing a third line with, say, Bobby McMann and Calle Järnkrok.

Given the likely price tag — on Schenn’s contract and the haul to acquire him — the Leafs are ideally getting more of a sure thing offensively.

3. There’s also this: Schenn is a lefty, and what the Leafs — stocked up on lefty centres already — could use is their first righty centreman to have around for right-side draws. Schenn also isn’t someone who will add much value, if any, on the penalty kill.

And it remains to be seen if he can excel in the kind of thorny duty the Leafs would be asking of him.

What the Leafs front office has to be pondering in the coming days: Can it find someone who brings similar value to Schenn right now, without the downsides and cost that would come with acquiring him?

Ryan O’Reilly, for example, is only six months older than Schenn. He’s a much better fit for what the Leafs need down the middle. He’s a far superior playoff performer. And, crucially, his contract is cheaper ($4.5 million) and shorter (with only two years after this season).

But maybe the Nashville Predators decide not to move O’Reilly and/or O’Reilly isn’t enthused about a return to Toronto.

Could the Leafs get Charlie Coyle from the Boston Bruins for less than it would take to acquire Schenn? Coyle is a righty centreman (though he’s been playing of late on the wing) who is used to matchup duty. He’s younger than Schenn. He has only a year left on his contract, at a smaller cap hit of $5.25 million. And he has also scored more in the postseason.

Scott Laughton, on the other hand, is a worse fit than Schenn, a sometimes winger with lesser pedigree and all-around impact. Yet Laughton has only one additional year left on his contract, at a meagre cap hit of $3 million, and will presumably come at a lesser cost.

Brock Nelson has a higher upside than Schenn — the offence especially. On the other hand, he’s a pending UFA, and signing him, a 33-year-old amid a down year, to a contract beyond this season would be dicey.

There’s also the likelihood that New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello will make acquiring Nelson a real headache, if he moves him at all.

Schenn or Yanni Gourde? Gourde is a pending UFA who has struggled with injuries this season. He’s also a lot smaller than Schenn. But he’s equally feisty and competitive, and if it’s Gourde for only a second- or third-round pick versus Schenn for a whole lot more, I’d choose Gourde.

Schenn might not be a flat-out bad idea for the Leafs (though the long-term downside is definitely unappealing). Their time to win is now, and Schenn would boost the chances of ending a Cup drought that’s nearing 60 years. But he doesn’t feel like the best fit, either.

— Stats and research courtesy of Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference and Evolving-Hockey.