Toronto Maple Leafs: Targeting the Panthers Youth

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a great young core of  players.  No questions.  But that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t add to it if given the chance.

The Panthers made news yesterday when general manager Tom Rowe suggest that the team could make some changes to its core:

Now, don’t get me wrong: nowhere does it say the Leafs are interested.  What I am saying is that they should be.

The Panthers core includes the following players signed to long-term deals:  Keith Yandle, Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Sasha Barkov, Vincent Trochek, Nick Bjugstad and Jason Demers.

Of this group, you can pretty much gaurantee that Huberdeau, Barkov and Ekblad are going nowhere.  In fact, the only reason the Panthers aren’t going to be in the playoffs this year is because those three players were all, at various times, injured long-term this season.

The Panthers are – along with the Toronto Maple Leafs – one of the NHL’s best situated young teams.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Picking the Corpse of the Panthers

If, however, the Florida Panthers are set on making changes, the Leafs should be able to take advantage.  The Leafs have  a system chalk full of young, promising players they might not have the room for.  If ever there was a time when you could trade volume for quality, this might be it.

The Leafs may be forced to trade players like Leipsic, Rychel, Brown or Kapanen.  If you took a couple of those guys (or someone similar) and packaged them with a first-round pick, you might be surprised what you could get.

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While Huberdeau and Barkov are not options – would the Panthers look at the early-career concussion history of their star defenseman and decide they can’t risk losing him for nothing? Is this a risk the Leafs would get on board with?  I doubt the Panthers would ever do such a thing, but it never hurts to ask.

Beyond the hail-mary, there are players to like.  Jason Demers is a 28 year-old, right-shooting, veteran.  Demers is a solid defender who can move the puck.  He is also good at driving possession.  If the Panthers are going to make a change, Demers is the player the Leafs should be targeting.

Demers is signed long-term through 2021. The Leafs could easily fit him into the top-four.  Making a move for a top-four player is a lot easier and allows the Leafs to continue to try and develop their own star.  To me, this is a lot more preferable than moving the likes of Nylander or Marner for help on D, which is what it’d take to acquire a star defenseman.