Toronto Maple Leafs: Four Potential Off-Season Targets
The Toronto Maple Leafs have many options to improve their team this offseason.
Toronto Maple Leafs’ general manager Kyle Dubas is no stranger to thinking outside of the box and should seriously look to add this summer despite having expiring contracts to keep in mind.
The Leafs finished in a tie for sixth overall last season, one year after making the playoffs by one point, and two years removed from a last place overall finish (that netted them Auston Matthews). The team is clearly on an upward trajectory, and with only a single season left of Matthews’ and Mitch Marner’s entry-level contracts (very small cap hit vs probably around $20 million cap hit next year) the team has been forced into a win-now situation.
It is also highly probably that the Leafs lose James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov, Tomas Plekanec and maybe even Matt Martin and Ron Hainsey this offseason. That’s a pretty tough list of people to replace, but luckily, with Andreas Johnson and Kasperi Kapanen (and Timothy Liljegren knocking at the door) the Leafs are well on their way to doing so.
In the following article I will look at a couple of players the Toronto Maple Leafs should get, the way they can acquire them and what they would bring to the Leafs lineup. These players won’t just help the Leafs replace the players they lose this summer, but should significantly make the team better.
John Tavares
This list has to include him. Meetings are well under way as NHL teams give a pitch in order to convince John Tavares to join their team. Luckily, the Toronto Maple Leafs are still in the mix.
There are not many opportunities to add a player of this calibre through free agency. With many other teams also interested, this fanbase can only hope that Tavares decides to come home on July 1st.
What does John Tavares bring to the Toronto Maple Leafs
I will keep this short as I don’t think I need to sell John Tavares to anyone. He has scored at a rate higher than 0.8 points per game in every season except for his rookie year. He has achieved this despite his having inferior linemates over his career including P.A Parenteau, Josh Bailey, Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo.
Tavares would make the Toronto Maple Leafs the hardest team to match up against. Last season, Auston Matthews lead the league in level of competition faced on the road at 5v5. With Tavares in the lineup, teams would have to think twice about giving Tavares inferior competition. I would expect Tavares’ line to see a large amount of offensive zone starts, as this is what Tavares is used to. When comparing to past Leafs teams, this new “sheltered” line would not be as prone to getting pinned into their own zone. While Tavares’ defensive game is far from elite, he is a big upgrade to Tyler Bozak in this department (and every other department).
How can the Toronto Maple Leafs acquire John Tavares?
There have been many rumours floating around that the Leafs could get creative regarding Tavares’ contract. The Leafs have ample amount of cap space and could potentially offer Tavares a one year deal before looking to extend him long term. While many fans might worry about how this contract could negatively impact Matthews, Marner and Nylander, I am not concerned.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a number of players (Zaitsev, Hainsey, Marleau, Martin, Hyman) who they can look into moving before they consider trading one of the big three. Franchise players don’t grow on trees (just ask the 2004-2015 versions of Leafs Nation), and the Leafs could potentially have two of them.
Just sign with Toronto John.
Jared Spurgeon
Jared Spurgeon could be the player we have all been waiting for. The Leafs are in desperate need of a right handed defensemen who can adequately defend and move the puck.
What does Spurgeon bring to the Toronto Maple Leafs
Jared Spurgeon is a complete player. He is a strong skater, and has an offensive touch which helped him snag 37 points in 61 games last season. One of Spurgeon’s biggest assets is his ability to exit out of his own zone. Last year the Leafs had a lot of trouble doing this when Nikita Zaitsev, Ron Hainsey or Roman Polak had the puck. Surely, acquiring Spurgeon would help in this department.
Spurgeon might be listed at only 5’9, but he certainly doesn’t know that. Spurgeon plays a physical, big game when necessary. He is a strong one-on-one defender thanks to his skating ability and gap control. As a bonus, here is a fun GIF of Spurgeon perfectly staying with former Leaf Joey Crabb before hammering him into the boards.
Spurgeon finished with 23 takeaways last season, which would have put him in third among Leafs defensemen behind only Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly. He was able to put up great numbers at even strength despite facing the some of the toughest competition when compared to other right handed defensemen in the league.
Another issue with the Leafs was their penalty killing. Ron Hainsey spent full powerplays on the ice due to Babcock’s lack of trust in the rest of his defensemen. Jared Spurgeon would also help in this department. He ranked second on the Wild in penalty killing minutes per game behind only Ryan Suter. The Wild penalty kill was eighth in the league last season and Spurgeon was a big reason for that.
How can the Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Jared Spurgeon?
The best option to acquire Spurgeon is to ingest a bad contract from the Wild. Tyler Ennis is currently signed for one more year at 4.6M. Since the Wild need to sign RFA’s Jason Zucker and Matt Dumba, they could be looking to free up some space. The Leafs will probably have to put a package together to make this deal happen but they have pieces which could interest the Wild.
Connor Brown would be the most ideal “roster player” to include in the package. The Leafs would also have to give up a decent prospect but with Spurgeon making 5.18M for only two more years, it could be worth the risk. This type of trade would provide the Leafs with a top four right handed defenseman while giving Timothy Liljegren, Igor Ozhiganov and Sean Durzi time to develop.
Nick Shore
Nick Shore is definitely going to be the least exciting player in this list but considering the Leafs have given up two second round picks in as many years for an adequate fourth line center, it is clearly a valued role from Leafs management.
As of right now, the fourth line center position is Par Lindholm’s unless the Leafs make a move. Nick Shore was not qualified by the Calgary Flames making him a unrestricted free agent and a possible target for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
What does Nick Shore bring to the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Nick Shore could potentially be one of the most underused players in the league. His possession numbers have been very good considering how many teams he has played for this past year. His raw numbers (19 points in 64 games) do not jump out at you but when looking into it further, his production is quite impressive.
Shore started most of his face-offs in the defensive zone (58 percent). In addition, he has consistently been placed with poor line-mates including Trevor Lewis, Tanner Pearson, Curtis Lazar and Max McCormick. When on the Kings, Shore also faced tough competition further adding value to his production.
Nick Shore thrived in this tough role, he consistently was able to dispossess the opposition from the puck and would then look to create offence. Shore finished with 23 takeaways last season. While he does not shoot the puck very often, he creates a large amount of shot assists given his ice time. Below he see Shore show off some high hockey IQ. He maintains strong puck support to the puck carrier, then sneaks in front of the net when he expects a rebound.
If signed by the Leafs, Shore will play with some good wingers which could lead to a career year for the 25 year old. Shore is a great passer and his ability to make the smart play with and without the puck should make him a fan favourite. He can also kill penalties which is something Babcock looks for in his fourth line center. Babcock also likes a good face-off taker in this role. Last season, Shore had an offseason winning only 47% of face-offs. He is usually above 50% indicating that last season could just an outlier.
How can the Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Nick Shore ?
As an unrestricted free agent, the Leafs can sign Shore without giving up any assets.
Anthony Duclair
The Blackhawks failed to qualify winger Anthony Duclair making him an unrestricted free agent.
It looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to lose both James Van Reimsdyk and Leo Komarov this season to free agency. Considering Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson will enter the top nine forward group this season, the Leafs could look outside the organization for fourth line wing help.
Enter Anthony Duclair.
What does Anthony Duclair bring to the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Anthony Duclair has seen his fair share of inconsistent puck luck over his NHL career. In his rookie season, Duclair shot a 19% resulting in a 20 goal, 44 point season. In his second year, his shooting percentage dropped to 6.6% and he finished with five goals in 51 games. Last season, he started off well with the Coyotes but his production slowed down after being traded to the Blackhawks. An encouraging sign for Duclair is that while his goal production has been inconsistent, his shot production rate has steadily increased over the years. He also is a takeaway specialist, finishing last season with 41.
Anthony Duclair’s breakaway speed and takeaway skills make him a strong candidate for the Leafs fourth line, which will probably see a lot of defensive zone starts. Duclair hasn’t posted strong shot suppression numbers but based on his takeaways and skill-set I wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing them improve. He also has played both wings at the NHL level which could be useful. Furthermore, he could be JVR’s replacement as the net front player on the powerplay.
Below, we see Duclair at his best. He steals the puck and is off to the races. He also shows off his hands in-tight.
How can the Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Anthony Duclair?
At 22, Duclair has a lot of time to improve. The Leafs shouldn’t shy away from giving Duclair a short term deal to allow him to prove his worth. He’s fast, he’s a good possession player and he’s got a ton of potential.
Conclusion
This is a very exciting time to be Toronto Maple Leafs fan. The four players talked about in this article would fit into the Leafs system and make them the team to beat.
For fun, here are my lines if the players mentioned are acquired.
To recap:
Leafs sign UFA John Tavares, UFA Nick Shore, and UFA Anthony Duclair.
Leafs trade away Connor Brown + package for Tyler Ennis and Jared Spurgeon
My 2018-2019 Leafs lines:
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Johnsson-Tavares-Marner
Marleau- Kadri- Kapanen
Leivo-Shore-Duclair
Gardiner-Spurgeon
Rielly-Hainsey
Dermott-Zaitsev
Andersen
Sparks
What do you think? Is there anyone you would add to this list? What would you change? COMMENT BELOW!
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