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Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Early Season Trade Targets

By Mike Stephens

RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 17: Brett Pesce #22 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates with the puck during an NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 17, 2018 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 17: Brett Pesce #22 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates with the puck during an NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 17, 2018 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – OCTOBER 22: Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nick Jensen (3) skates with the puck during a regular season NHL hockey game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Detroit Red Wings on October 22, 2018, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – OCTOBER 22: Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nick Jensen (3) skates with the puck during a regular season NHL hockey game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Detroit Red Wings on October 22, 2018, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Michael Mazzei

I don’t the Leafs desperately need to make a big trade at this time. The team as constructed is pretty solid for the most part and many fixes (besides the goalies) can be dealt with internal parts.

However, if Kyle Dubas should have one as his number one trade target, it has to be Nick Jensen of the Detroit Red Wings.

As a right-handed defenseman, he instantly becomes an attractive target since it has been well documented the Leafs are lacking in this area (sorry Justin Holl). While isn’t a big guy at 6’0” and 194 pounds, he more than makes up for it in his underlying stats.

His Corsi-for% is an impressive 54.4% at 5v5, has a giveaway-to-takeaway ratio of 2, and is currently on pace for 27 points. All of this on a Red Wings team that may have one of the worst defensive units in the entire league.

At 28-years-old, he’s right in the middle of his prime and would easily slot into the Leafs third pair. Given there has been a rotating door on the third pair, it would be a nice change of pace to have a consistent option. The best part? He won’t eat up the cap space as he’s on the final year of a two-year contract which has him making $812,000 a season.

Given the Red Wings are likely to start selling off assets in the coming months, he would easily be an attractive option for contending teams like the Leafs. I can’t imagine getting him would have the Leafs give up a whole lot (a third-round pick and/or a mid-level prospect), so he’s definitely worth keeping an eye on.

If I’m Dubas, Jensen would be at the top of my trade target list right now.

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