Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Early Season Trade Targets

The Toronto Maple Leafs have opened their season on an 8-3-0 tear, but even a hot start isn’t enough to quiet trade talk.

Perhaps the most entertaining part of fandom is speculating on potential trades. It’s basically all anyone uses Twitter for these days. Every fan can pinpoint an area in which their team needs improvement, and fantasizing about the outward reinforcements that could shore that weakness up is addicting.

So, the EIL staff put their heads together this week to answer one simple question:

If you were Kyle Dubas, who would be your preferred trade target right now? 

Personally, my answer is a bit of a cop-out.

Harping on the Leafs’ glaring need for a top-4 RHD has become vogue since, well, forever, but it’s important to remember that players of that ilk don’t exactly grow on trees. A right-handed defenceman, especially one capable of handling top-pair minutes, is perhaps the most valuable asset in hockey today. The price Dubas would need to pay to pry one free is likely to be astronomical and could deplete the team’s commendable depth in other areas that will need to come in handy once the cap crunch truly hits.

So, if I’m Dubas, I don’t really have a preferred trade target right now. Would it be nice to snag Mark Pysyk from the Panthers or Brett Pesche from the Hurricanes? Absolutely. But surrendering a first-round pick or a prospect to do so just doesn’t seem worth it, especially when considering the internal options already at play.

Take, for instance, Rasmus Sandin, who made his AHL debut for the Marlies on Friday after spending the first four weeks of the season nursing a thumb injury and proceeded to look like nothing but a seasoned vet. He may be further along in his development than fans, and even the team, initially thought.

Timothy Liljegren, as well, is gradually making strides as a sophomore. There have certainly been some hiccups early on for the 19-year-old Swede, but the bulk of that can be attributed to the departures of Martin Marincin and Justin Holl, losses which have heaped some heavy responsibilities on Liljegren’s shoulders. He’s, expectedly, taking some time to adjust to it.

And don’t forget the likes of Sean Durzi and Mac Hollowell either, both right-handed 2018 draft picks currently playing in the OHL, who have torn through their competition so far, respectively.

None of the names listed above will be NHL ready this season, but that doesn’t mean Dubas should panic now and sell the future for short-term gain. The Leafs are doing fine as is, have some internal options to pick from and, if they’re patient, could ice a talented and homegrown blueline in a few years time.

Josh Tessler

If I were in Kyle Dubas’ shoes, I wouldn’t be too active with trading at the moment. Yet, I would still scan the trade market to see if the Toronto Maple Leafs might be able to add a right-handed defenseman.

In terms of right-handed defensemen, I would talk to the Arizona Coyotes about Niklas Hjalmarsson and the New York Islanders regarding Ryan Pulock.

Let’s start with Pulock. All-in-all, he hasn’t had a great start to the season. After 9 games played, he has 1 assist, 22:58 ATOI, 14 blocks, 10 hits and a 37.3 Corsi-for percentage (CF%). His numbers aren’t great, but perhaps a change in scenery will be good for Pulock. In addition, he’s still very young and has a tremendous amount of upside. While he could be costly, the right time to buy Pulock is now. After nine rough games, the Islanders’ asking price is most likely lower than usual. Plus, he doesn’t carry a sizable salary cap hit. He’s on the hook for 2 million USD for this season and next.

On the other hand, Niklas Hjalmarsson would be a solid addition to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He does carry a 4.1 million USD cap hit, but he’ll be a free agent at the end of the season. Currently, the Arizona Coyotes have been deploying Hjalmarsson on their third line pairing and most likely wouldn’t be opposed to moving the Swede for another forward to bolster up their offense. So far this season, Hjalmarsson has been solid not great, but solid. In 10 games played, he has 1 assist, a 18:59 ATOI, 17 blocks, 4 hits and a 47.2 CF%.

With a right-handed defenseman like Hjalmarsson or Pulock rocking a blue and white jersey, the Toronto Maple Leafs would be much better defensively.

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.

Denver Riddell

If I’m Kyle Dubas, my trade target is going to be PK Subban of the Nashville Predators.

I’d offer them Nylander for Subban in a one-for-one trade. Then I’d deal Nikita Zaitsev, to any team that wants him, for prospects to clear cap space. Zaitsev’s contract is too expensive and lengthy. Cap friendly lists him at 4.5 million AAV till 2023/24 with a no-trade clause kicking in next year. If the Leafs don’t cut Zaitsev loose before his no-trade clause kicks in they’ll regret it.

Subban’s contract is expensive too, but if you put Marleau on Robidas Island for next year (or trade him) and let Jake Gardiner and Ron Hainsey walk as UFAs, the Leafs can certainly afford him.

Statistically speaking, Subban is an upgrade over Zaitsev in every way. Subban’s even strength Corsi for percentage is sitting at 53.2% in 2018/19. Zaitsev’s is only 44.4%. Subban also has several more years of NHL experience and a Norris trophy to his name because of his great defensive work.

While there’s the realistic chance of this trade working out poorly for the Leafs in the long run (think of Taylor Hall and the Oilers), I could see this transaction working out like the trade that sent Kessel to Pittsburgh. Immediately after the trade, the Leafs win a cup or two (like Pittsburgh did with Kessel), then in a couple years Nylander’s offence takes off (like Kapanen’s did for Toronto) and both teams are happy.

(Editorial Note: everyone’s entitled to their own opinion but, oh boy.)

Hunter Eitel

If there is one thing the Toronto Maple Leafs need help with, it is defence. What I would look for is a right-handed defenseman who has an expiring contract next summer, and a perfect choice would be Anton Strålman from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

When the Maple Leafs sign William Nylander (when, not if) the team could have a little under $6 million to play with and Strålman carries a cap hit of $4.5 million. He can still put up some decent point totals (18 last year, ending a streak three 20-plus point seasons), and would be a great addition to the blue line.

Stralman has averaged over 20 minutes of ice-time for four consecutive seasons and is averaging 22:08 this season at the time of writing. He is a critical piece of the Lightning’s penalty kill, averaging 2:44 minutes last season (Second on the team) and is leading the team through 10 games this year with 4:36 minutes per game when shorthanded. While that number will drop as the season continues, it’s still apparent just how valuable Strålman is to the Lightning.

If the Maple Leafs were to trade for Strålman, everything would come full circle.

The Leafs drafted the Swede in the seventh round all the way back in 2005. They then traded him to the Calgary Flames in July of 2009 and watched him prosper with the New York Rangers and, later, the Lightning. Having Strålman join the team that drafted him for a potentially lengthy playoff run in the later stages of his career is almost too good to be true, and the Leafs should pounce on the opportunity to acquire his services.

James Tanner

The Leafs could certainly use an upgrade on the right side of their defence, but I maintain that by converting one of Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner or Travis Dermott to the right side and recalling Andreas Borgman can make significant changes without giving up any major assets or cap hit commitments.

Where I would focus to improve the team is on the wing.

The Leafs have 3 x #1 centers and no other NHL team can say that. In order to play to the team’s strengths, I would look to add wingers who can improve their performances. Let’s say we are happy with Nylander, Kapanen, Hyman and Marner. That leaves two wingers to upgrade, and though I’ve offered up Nino Niederreiter and Artemi Panarin in the past, today I will focus on two much more realistic acquisitions.

The first is Kevin Hayes of the Rangers.

The Rangers are rebuilding. They also are rich and have a top of cap space, so if you were looking to bail on Zaitsev or Marleau, they’re the team to talk to. Regardless, Kevin Hayes is 26, coming off a 25 goal season and has an expiring contract. The Leafs would improve significantly if Nazem Kadri played with Hayes instead of Brown. A massive upgrade that improves two players team depth as a whole and wouldn’t cost too much. Plus the player is probably available.

Another target similar to Hayes is Wayne Simmonds. He’s 30 and the advanced stats do not say he’s very good, but he can finish. He’s been in and around 30 goals for five straight years and if the Flyers fall out of the race he can probably be had for next to another as he is a pending UFA.

He’d give the Leafs some grit that they’re lacking, and while he takes too many penalties and is pretty much useless when he isn’t scoring goals, he’d look pretty good on the third line with Kadri.

I vastly prefer Hayes, but this is also a decent option.

Thanks for reading!

All stats courtesy of hockeyreference.com

All salary information courtesy of capfriendly.com