Toronto Maple Leafs: Take Advantage of Cap-Space
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in great shape with the salary cap, the Blackhawks are not!
First of all, a quick call from Lamoriello to Stan Bowman will set everything in motion. As a result, the Leafs could solve their two greatest issues. A right shooting defenceman and a fourth line centre.
Furthermore, whatever Las Vegas offers, the Leafs should match. It seems like the only assets Vegas has to trade are draft picks, and those are assets the Leafs can afford at this time. Furthermore, with the prospect pool filled with near NHL ready talent, this is the time, the 2017 draft where trading a draft pick or two is an affordable cost.
A Skilled Fourth Line Centre Will Make a Difference
Marcus Krüger is a 27-year-old Swede drafted in the 5th round in 2009 from Djurgårdens IF.
The 6′, 186 lb. centre has skated in 398 games for Chicago accumulating 105 points. In addition, he has scored 6g-10a-16 points in 87 playoff games while winning two Stanley Cups. Due to his defensive accumen, the left shooting Krüger skated for Sweden at the recent IIHF Worlds winning gold along with Maple Leafs William Nylander.
The seven-year NHL pro is known around the league as defensively sound garnering votes in the 2012-13 Selke nomination. While skating on the 4th line, Krüger is a good penalty killer. He has a career 50.4 face-off winning percentage yet has seen his numbers decrease the past three seasons due to an increase in QoC. (Quality of Competition) Lastly his 2013-14 high of 56.7%, is comparable to Tyler Bozak, the Leafs best face-off man. Lastly, with the importance Mike Babcock places on face-offs, Krüger will need to improve that facet of his game.
"Contract status… 2 years $3,083,333. Modified NTC, Starting 2017-18, Lists 7 teams he cannot be traded to. capfriendly.com"
"Krüger is an exceptionally skilled playmaker with elite hockey sense. He likes to set up plays and find his teammates with tape-to-tape passes. Has become much stronger which has improved his game, although he still could use additional strength and muscles. Works well in all three zones and has leadership qualities. hockeysfuture.com"
Marcus Krüger is a Proven Winner, The Leafs need Experienced Winners
The following table, courtesy of hockey-reference.com shows that Marcus Krüger is one of the NHL’s best defensive centers and is very good in most advanced metrics . Furthermore, as a proven winner, Marcus Krüger has the intangibles the Toronto Maple Leafs need in their quest for a Stanley Cup. He is exactly what the Maple Leafs need on their fourth line.
- Defensively responsible, he started 70.5% of his zone starts in the defensive zone this past season. That rates with the top 5 in the league
- Krüger took an amazing 45.32 % of his teams defensive zone face-offs.
- He has a reasonably affordable t contract hat runs two more seasons which the Leafs can absorb.
- A strong skater who will compliment the Leafs speedy wingers, he is a perfect auxiliary piece
- Krüger is four years younger than Brian Boyle and though lacks Boyle’s size, he is a better skater.
- When Babcock discusses organizational depth, he is pointing to a player like Marcus Krüger
- Marcus Krüger has excellent hand-eye co-ordination. This triple OT winner, batted out of the air while standing on the edge of the crease, is a perfect example of his skill-set. I am certain Freddy Andersen has forgiven him.
- As a result, with skilled players, Krüger will see his points totals skyrocket
| Corsi (EV) | Fenwick (EV) | PDO (EV) | Zone Starts (EV) | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Age | Team | Lg | GP | TOI | CF | CA | CF% | CF% rel | FF | FA | FF% | FF% rel | oiSH% | oiSV% | PDO | oZS% | dZS% |
| 2010-11 | 20 | CHI | NHL | 7 | 77.0 | 71 | 64 | 52.6 | -7.9 | 49 | 50 | 49.5 | -8.6 | 0.0 | 89.5 | 89.5 | 50.0 | 50.0 |
| 2011-12 | 21 | CHI | NHL | 71 | 887.9 | 825 | 727 | 53.2 | -0.1 | 643 | 537 | 54.5 | 1.4 | 8.5 | 92.6 | 101.1 | 44.4 | 55.6 |
| 2012-13 | 22 | CHI | NHL | 47 | 532.1 | 505 | 411 | 55.1 | 0.6 | 370 | 287 | 56.3 | 0.2 | 7.1 | 92.7 | 99.8 | 38.4 | 61.6 |
| 2013-14 | 23 | CHI | NHL | 81 | 902.9 | 773 | 724 | 51.6 | -7.8 | 575 | 510 | 53.0 | -6.4 | 7.7 | 92.1 | 99.8 | 20.9 | 79.1 |
| 2014-15 | 24 | CHI | NHL | 81 | 873.4 | 839 | 760 | 52.5 | -1.8 | 606 | 549 | 52.5 | -0.6 | 4.6 | 93.6 | 98.2 | 24.1 | 75.9 |
| 2015-16 | 25 | CHI | NHL | 41 | 453.5 | 399 | 426 | 48.4 | -3.4 | 291 | 300 | 49.2 | -0.7 | 4.7 | 93.4 | 98.1 | 18.7 | 81.3 |
| 2016-17 | 26 | CHI | NHL | 70 | 819.4 | 728 | 718 | 50.3 | -0.2 | 542 | 478 | 53.1 | 3.7 | 8.1 | 92.7 | 100.8 | 29.0 | 71.0 |
| Career | NHL | 398 | 4546.1 | 4140 | 3830 | 51.9 | -1.7 | 3076 | 2711 | 53.2 | 0.3 | 6.8 | 92.8 | 99.6 | 29.5 | 70.5 |
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/9/2017.