Toronto Maple Leafs: Time To Trade Bozak

The Toronto Maple Leafs need to move Tyler Bozak prior to the February 26th NHL Trade Deadline.

Throughout his tenure as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs Tyler Bozak has been a valuable asset, but his poor performance this season hasn’t gone unnoticed. Currently, Bozak posts 8 goals and 18 assists in 50 games. Since Bozak is a horrendous defensive player, if he’s not scoring, he is next to useless.

As his contract expires on July 1st, Lou Lamoriello and the Toronto Maple Leafs should definitely be moving Bozak. They could either let his contract expire or get some value and grab a prospect or a draft pick.

Personally, I’d prefer moving Bozak prior to the deadline. The Toronto Maple Leafs could grab a prospect and open up a permanent slot in the lineup for Kasperi Kapanen or Josh Leivo.

An Open Slot for Kapanen or Leivo

As I’ve stated in several posts on Editor in Leaf, assigning Kapanen or Leivo for press box duty is a poor idea. Prospects need playing time to continue to develop and if Mike Babcock continues to empathize with his veterans, he’s not doing his prospects any favors. If Babcock doesn’t intend on using his prospects, he should talk with Lamoriello and send them down to the Toronto Marlies.

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With Bozak’s contract expiring, there finally opens up a slot for one of the Toronto Maple Leafs prospects to have a more every-day role.

Potential Suitors for Bozak

If I were Lamoriello, the first two teams that I would call to see if they’d be interested in a trade for Bozak would be the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Penguins are in desperate need of a third line centreman as Riley Sheahan simply isn’t fitting the bill. Sheahan is currently centering a line with Jake Guentzel and former Maple Leaf sniper, Phil Kessel on the wings. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, Sheahan isn’t really a play-maker and brings down the value of Kessel and Guentzel. So, it would make sense for Jim Rutherford, the general manager of the Penguins to acquire Bozak.

The Golden Knights would also be a great fit for Bozak. The current third line for the Golden Knights is sub-par. Gerard Gallant, head coach of the Golden Knights has paired Cody Eakin with Alex Tuch and former Maple Leaf, Brendan Leipsic. The third line hasn’t excelled in the offensive zone and could use a play-making forward like Bozak. If Bozak relocated to sin city, he could provide an offensive spark and boost Tuch and Leipsic’s numbers.

Next: Marlies Notebook: Holl-Star

But either way, the Leafs should trade him.

statistics from www.hockey-reference.com