The Toronto Maple Leafs are rumored to be looking for depth down the middle.
In Elliotte Friedman’s latest 30 Thoughts post, he mentions the Leafs are searching for insurance at center ice.
“3. Sounds like Toronto is looking for a depth centre. With Ben Smith still out, they could use some extra insurance beyond Frederik Gauthier.” (Elliotte Friedman)
Gauthier is struggling in 2016-2017, but he’s still a better option than Ben Smith. The only thing Smith has going for him is that Babcock likes him. Other than that, he doesn’t bring much to the table that Gauthier can’t do.
While the rumor is a depth search, or insurance as Friedman puts it, I’d find it hard to imagine Toronto wouldn’t prefer an upgrade rather than another below average NHL player.
That’s where Nic Dowd comes in.
Now I haven’t read anything suggesting that Dowd is available and I don’t follow the LA Kings enough to say they should be shopping him. That said, he’s a player the Leafs should be calling about – and we already know that Mike Penny was in attendance a few days ago for the Kings/Sharks game.
The upcoming expansion draft might be a reason you could pry Dowd away, even if the Kings aren’t actively shopping him on the market.
Here’s a look at some stats for Dowd this year stacked up against Smith and Gauthier.
*stats via corsica.hockey
Dowd is not just a little better, he’s significantly better than both of Toronto’s current options down the middle beyond Matthews, Kadri and Bozak. He’s well above water, relative, on a team that’s a top-five possession club. That’s impressive.
He’s no passenger on his line, either. He’s more in the category of possession driver, which is something Mike Babcock would warm up to real quick, especially on his worst performing line.
Dowd would give the Leafs a four-center depth that most teams in the league would long for, and he’s under contract at $640K through 2017-2018.
Here’s a look at his HERO Chart from ownthepuck.blogspot.ca:
He’s providing extremely good depth. The ability to run a complete top nine has become a big requirement for teams looking to win games in both the regular season and playoffs. Dowd extends the good times to the fourth line if he’s a Leaf.
Most of the talk has been about the big hole that needs filling on the defensive side of the ice, but there’s a huge gap between the 3C and 4C positions on this team. Extremely huge. Getting Dowd would narrow the gap and essentially give Toronto a chance to play a third line center on the fourth line.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs, like the Kings, would have to protect Dowd, but that wouldn’t be an issue for the Leafs. It could be an opportunity to take advantage of the expansion draft and provide a team with a chance to get something for someone they have a high chance of losing if they can’t protect him.