Toronto Maple Leafs Top Off-Season Wish List: 5 Players to Target

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are off for the Summer.

That can mean only one thing: Endless speculation about who they should target to improve their team. While past off-seasons have made this process incredibly depressing, the teams recent success has turned it into one of the funnest activities around.

The Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t a perfect team, but they’re getting close. Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Rielly make up the long-term core of the team. Kadri, Reilly, van Riemsdyk, Bozak, Komarov and Andersen make up the in-their-prime core. Brown, Hymen, Kapanen, Zaitsev, Carrick and Leivo are the secondary young players, all with massive amounts of potential.

Together they make up one of the fastest, deepest teams in the NHL. They also are among the youngest, and the they have among the most cap space. Not only are the Leafs in great shape, but with Leivo, Kapenan and Leipsic all knocking at the door, they have a ton of options when it comes to shaping their roster for next season.

Package some young players. Move a vet. Make a big blockbuster. Sign some UFAs…..who knows what will happen? And when you don’t know, it’s fun to speculate. So here is a list of players the Leafs should/ could / maybe/might want to target this summer.

Jason Demers

Age: 28

Current Team: Florida Panthers

Contract: $4.5 million for four more years.

Abilities: demers is a 52% player over the last five seasons. He’s a puck moving defenseman who almost always has the shot-attempts going in his teams favor. A right-handed shot, Demers would give the Toronto Maple Leafs an excellent partner for either Rielly or Gardiner without breaking the bank.

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Why he might be available: The Panthers made all sorts of good moves last summer, but they didn’t really pan out. This was mostly due to injuries, but panic appears to have set in and architect of the move to an analytical approach, Tom Rowe, seems to have been moved out for a re-inserted Dale Tallon.

Demers didn’t exactly have the best season, and the Panthers may be open to making changes. For the Leafs they’d be adding a serviceable puck-mover who would compliment their best players and has a track record of success.

Chris Tanev

Age: 27

Current Team: Vancouver Cancucks

Contract: $4.45 Million for three more seasons.

Abilities: Excellent defensive defenseman who can move the puck.

Why he might be available: The Canucks are rebuilding. If the Leafs can send them an asset or two and take a contract off their hands, why wouldn’t they trade a player whose prime will be over before they can be competitive?

Nov 27, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev (8) skates against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Canucks 3-2 in the overtime shootout. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

Tanev is one of the NHL’s best defenseman, but he doesn’t score much. Without the puck he is among the best the league. Even though he doesn’t score much, he isn’t your prototypical “defensive defenseman” in the Roman Polak model. He’s more of a new-age puck-moving defensive defenseman.

This excellent article about the top-20 D in the NHL ranks him tenth. He shoots right and would compliment either Rielly or Gardiner on the top-pairing.

The Leafs should make this happen.

Tyson Barrie

Age: 25

Current Team: Colorado Avalanche

Contract: $5.5 million for three more years.

Abilities: Potentially Elite Puck-Moving Defenseman.

Why he might be available: The Avalanche are terrible. Teams often overreact after a bad season and the Toronto Maple Leafs could look to poach a star player who’s entering his prime on the cheap. While some might look to this year’s stats as a reason to avoid him, Barrie is a talented player who would help the Leafs for years to come.

Apr 6, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie (4) controls the puck in the third period against the Minnesota Wild at the Pepsi Center. The Wild won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

His skill set is duplicated by Zaitsev, Reilly and Gardiner, but the fact is, you can’t have too many puck moving defenseman. What you give up in grit you gain in being able to break the zone and dominate teams with your speed and passing. While a variety of skills are necessary, Tyson Barrrie would definitely be a helpful addition.

Sidney Crosby

Age: 30

Current Team: Pittsburgh Penguins

Contract: $8.7 Million for seven more years.

Abilities: The Jesus of hockey.

Apr 27, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) shoots the puck against the Washington Capitals in the second period in game one of the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Penguins won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Why he might be available: He isn’t and won’t be. I am only kidding. A boy can dream though, right? Honestly, I just wanted an excuse to talk about that goal he scored last night – yowza!

If Auston Matthews is ten percent of what Crosby is, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be all right.

Martin Hanzal

Age: 30

Current Team: Minnesota Wild

Contract: UFA

Apr 14, 2017; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Martin Hanzal (19) and St Louis Blues forward David Perron (57) skate after the puck in the first period in game two of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

Abilities: Massive centre who plays great 5v5 hockey.

Why he might be available: He’s an unrestricted free agent. He is definitely available. The Toronto Maple Leafs might have interest in him because they could then turn around and trade Bozak, thus picking up an extra asset for nothing. Hanzal would definitely be an upgrade over Bozak if the Leafs are serious about not playing Nylander at centre.

Hanzal is an excellent 5v5 player who – when not on a garbage team – can help drive possession. He’s also a very good defender and is absolutely massive. The only reason not to sign him is that he has a history of injuries that would make Joffrey Lupul cry. Still, he’s a cheap option for upgrading the team and picking up an easy asset. I’ve watched him for years on the Coyotes and I if he wasn’t so injury prone, I would highly recommend signing him. Even with the injuries, he might be worth the risk. Hanzal on your third line is pretty insane.

In the end, it’s fun to speculate, but who knows what will happen. Now that the Toronto Maple Leafs are good again, this is actually fun!

Thanks for reading.

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