Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: The Ideal Trade Deadline
By Tim Chiasson
Matthew Rodrigopulle’s Ideal Trade Deadline
Honestly, my ideal Leafs trade deadline is one that’s pretty quiet. Now I have written quite a few articles about potential moves the Leafs could make for the final stretch of this season, but in my eyes the Leafs are in rebuild mode.
Although there are many speculations about trading away James Van Reimsdyk or William Nylander for a top four defenceman, I really don’t think it’s needed right now.
The Leafs should be sellers at the deadline, not buyers. We have exceeded expectations triumphantly this season, and that should only be a bonus to the fact that we are rebuilding and developing our young guns.
The Leafs really don’t need to go selling the farm simply to improve their playoff run this season. Be smart, sell expendable assets, and try to build for the future.
Ideally, pieces that I would like to see moved however are defencemen Roman Polak and Matt Hunwick.
They both have expiring contracts and they both have seen subpar play this season. Last season, Polak was able to fetch the Leafs two second-round picks from the San Jose Sharks. Any return that is similar to that could be hugely beneficial for the Leafs.
It also frees up room on the roster to bring up some younger defenceman eyeing a spot, like Alexey Marchenko, who played pretty well in his Leafs debut against the Rangers on Thursday.