Toronto Maple Leafs: Possible Trade Deadline Acquisitions
The Toronto Maple Leafs are currently sitting second in their division and the NHL.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a record of 24-10-2 in 36 games played this season. Despite missing Auston Matthews for 14 games and William Nylander for 28 games, the guys in blue and white are still one of the top teams in the league.
With that being said, teams are always able to improve and with a projected cap space of $5,830,851, the Leafs have room to do it. Not to mention, they are still able to put Nathan Horton on LTIR and will gain another $5,300,000 from doing so. That leaves them with over ten million dollars to make changes to their roster and improve their team heading into the playoffs. (Though this number is a variable since there are bonuses on ELC deals that may or may not come into play).
Despite having the fourth lowest goals against in the NHL and the second highest goals for, the Leafs do need to upgrade their blueline.
Many feel that they are too weak or do not defend well. Despite those claims, the Leafs have the second best goal differential and will only continue to improve once Nylander gets caught up to speed with the rest of the team.
I believe this team is good enough to win the Stanley Cup, but as I said above, teams are always able to improve so here are five possible acquisitions for the Toronto Maple Leafs at this year’s trade deadline.
#5 David Savard
While David Savard will be making $4,250,000 until the 2020-2021 season, he would be a good fit on the Toronto Maple Leafs top pairing with Morgan Rielly. A solid skater that plays a defensively sound game would allow Rielly to continue what he is doing now. Not to mention, this would allow Ron Hainsey to drop to a third pairing role, which is more suitable for his playing style.
The Toronto Maple Leafs would need to trade a couple of players in order to obtain Savard. The deal I would expect to see would surround one of Andreas Johnsson or Connor Brown, Justin Holl and a 2nd round pick in 2019. I believe the Leafs would rather move Brown over Johnsson because they need left wingers more than right wingers.
By moving Brown, they will also be able to bring up Trevor Moore from the AHL and play him on the fourth line.
This would make a big difference on the backend with Savard slotting in beside Rielly and Hainsey being moved to the third pairing beside Dermott. This will make the team more defensively sound and improve an already strong overall team.
#4 Drew Doughty
I already know so many of you reading this right now are hating me but, it would not be a Leafs article without a little bit of controversy. Honestly, I do not know how the Leafs would be able to add Drew Doughty while staying under the cap, but with this management, anything is possible.
With a cap hit of $11,000,000 until the 2026-2027 season, the Leafs would have to get pretty creative to not only acquire Doughty, but also fit him under the cap while also still having enough cap space to resign Matthews and Marner.
An expected trade would revolve around Nylander (which is why I do not believe this trade would ever happen), Zaitsev (for cap purposes), and multiple first round picks and prospects.
Obviously, the Leafs would rather trade Kapanen than Nylander, but the cap only works if you send Nylander and Zaitsev because their cap hits are $11,462,366. That would give the Leafs enough cap space to add-on Doughty and a little bit of wiggling room to add a roster player around the league minimum.
If the Toronto Maple Leafs made this trade, their offensive lines will go back to how they were before the Leafs re-signed Nylander with the only difference being Moore on the fourth line instead of Josh Leivo. On defense, the Leafs now have by far the best top pairing in the NHL with Rielly and Doughty.
#3 Alex Pietrangelo
This is a rumour that was brought up while Nylander was still unsigned and I believe the Leafs would still be interested in acquiring Pietrangelo.
After undergoing hand surgery, Pietsrangelo will be expected to be out until after New Years, which could lower his trade value if he struggles upon his return to the St. Louis Blues’ lineup. That is highly unlikely though because Alex has been one of the best defenseman in the NHL since the 2010-2011 season.
Pietrangelo is signed until the end of next season with a cap hit of $6,500,000. That is an affordable cap hit for the Leafs if they are able to include Zaitsev in the trade. With the Blues sitting in 28th out of the entire NHL and rumours of Vladimir Tarasenko being available, St. Louis might want to go into a rebuild.
The Price for a non-rental 1st pairing would be astronomical. Realistically, it would probably be something like Liljegren, a 1st, and Kapanen.
The big loss for the Leafs is blue chip prospect Timothy Liljegren. While they would prefer to keep him, Pietrangelo will give them a stronger chance at winning the Stanley Cup.
#2 Colton Parayko
Colton Parayko has been linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs before but there has not been a trade since those rumours initially surfaced. The 6’6, right-handed defenseman would be perfect for the Leafs top pairing. Parayko has a solid two-way game that would be perfect alongside how Rielly plays as well.
Signed until the 2021-2022 season with a cap hit of $5,500,000, Parayko is on a steal of a contract for what he brings to his team. The problem for the Leafs, would be finding a way to fit him under the cap. He would also be more expensive to acquire than Pietrangelo.
Who even knows what the cost would be – but it would be alot. There is a reason that top pairing potential #1 defenseman who are over six and a half feet tall are rarely ever traded.
By acquiring Parayko, they would have one of the best top pairings in the NHL. The price, however, if likely to be too high.
#1 Brett Pesce
Another one of the rumours that goes back to the Summer. With the Carolina Hurricanes trading for Dougie Hamilton and signing Calvin De Haan from free agency, they have a surplus of defenseman. The Leafs have a surplus of forwards, thus making the two teams suitable trading partners.
Under contract until the 2023-2024 season with a cap hit of $4,025,000, Pesce would be a perfect fit on the Leafs blueline. As a solid defensive defenseman, he would also be a solid partner for Morgan Rielly.
With Kasperi Kapanen’s emergence as a top six player this season, I would expect the trade to be a one for one with maybe the Leafs adding in a mid round pick to get the deal done. A likely trade would be Kapanen and a 2019 3rd for Pesce and a 2019 5th.
Ozhiganov would be sent to the Marlies since he does not have to go through waivers. Brown would be moved up to the third line to replace the absence of Kapanen. On the backend, Pesce is on the top line with Rielly and Hainsey is moved to the bottom pairing with Dermott.
The Toronto Maple Leafs lose Kapanen, which fans would not want but some decisions need to be made and getting a defenseman for their top pairing signed long-term is worth it.