For the first time in a decade, the Toronto Maple Leafs could be sellers at the NHL Trade Deadline this year.
Things are getting bad in Leafs Land. Sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the team may be inclined for a retool. If you breakdown the roster, they still have a lot of skilled players headlined by Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mathew Knies and John Tavares, but after that its slim pickings.
The team's defensive-core is good when they're all intact, but one injury changes the entire landscape of this roster. Chris Tanev's injury has hurt this team tremendously, which shouldn't be the case for such an old roster. As a result, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if the organization took a step back in order to take two steps ahead.
It's safe to assume that Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews and John Tavares are untouchables, but with that being said, there are still three other top players that could fetch a decent return. Let's take a look at them now.
Morgan Rielly
Is there a player in the NHL who needs a change of scenery more than Morgan Rielly? Drafted No. 5 overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Rielly has been with the team through thick-and-thin, but it's time for him to find a new home.
His skillset is not working on this roster, but on another team he could flourish as a No. 3 or No. 4 defenseman. He's been looked upon as the Leafs No. 1 defenseman for most of his career, which is unfair. He has a $7.5M AAV contract until 2030, so that may be tough to move on, but at the same time, team's may value the length based on how much higher the cap is rising. If the Leafs could gain a high-end prospect, top-six forward or even a first-round pick for Rielly, that would be fantastic.
William Nylander
If the Leafs want to change the culture of this team, they need to trade one of their star players. It sounds crazy to move a player who's scored 40 goals three years in a row, but crazy things need to be done at this point.
Trading Nylander would completely change the layout of this roster and would give the team $11.5M to work with. Whether that would replaced by bringing in one player or three, the Leafs would be able to rebuild their entire draft classic and prospect pool with one trade, so they need to explore this option, as Nylander would be loved by every other team in the NHL.
Toronto will probably wait until the offseason to make a change but this roster is not good enough to win right now.