Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Early Season Trade Targets

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DETROIT, MI – OCTOBER 22: Brett Pesce #22 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates in warm-ups prior to an NHL game at Little Caesars Arena on October 22, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. The Hurricanes defeated the Wings 3-1. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images) /

D.J. Llewellyn

If I were Kyle Dubas, I would target Brett Pesce of the Carolina Hurricanes in a trade.

Pesche doesn’t rack up the points, but he’s a safe and responsible right shot D-man. Just think of how much that would help the Leafs. Taking the boat anchor known as Ron Hainsey away from Morgan Rielly would really help Rielly shine even more than he currently.

That’s an excellent potential pair.

Or you could alternatively pair Pesche with Jake Gardiner, allowing Gardiner the ample enough space to do what he does best without worrying if someone can cover for him. The Hurricanes would be interested in William Nylander, of course. And no, I absolutely would not swap the two players, let alone trade Nylander at all, but a player like Pesce is the type of contributor and addition to this blueline that I’m looking for.

Or, and if you want to get really crazy, there’s Colton Parayko from the Blues. But that’s even more of a pipe-dream.

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