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Is Alex Pietrangelo the Missing Piece for the Toronto Maple Leafs?

By Lucas Bolt

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 21: Toronto Maple Leafs Defenceman Rasmus Sandin (78) skates with the puck during the NHL preseason game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Toronto Maple Leafs on September 21, 2018, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Photograph by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 21: Toronto Maple Leafs Defenceman Rasmus Sandin (78) skates with the puck during the NHL preseason game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Toronto Maple Leafs on September 21, 2018, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Photograph by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Opening Night is Upon us, But do the Toronto Maple Leafs Have the Best Possible Lineup?

The Toronto Maple Leafs have one of the best lineups in the NHL. But do they have enough firepower to get past Boston, Tampa Bay and whoever else stands on their way?

After the signing of Mitch Marner the Toronto Maple Leafs are in pre-season with their full team and are gearing up for a long grueling season.

As far as the forward lines, not much has to be said.

But there are some questions regarding the D pairings.

Will Ceci be able to anchor Rielly? Can Muzzin and Barrie perform to the high level they are capable of? And will Marincin be able to hold Dermott’s spot until he comes back? As for Sandin, the kid looks REAL good.

The End to a New Path

It was announced that the St.Louis Blues traded for Justin Faulk. This was a bit of a head scratcher especially because they immediately inked him to 7 year deal with an AAV of 6.5 mil a season.

With horses like Pietrangelo and Parayko why would the blues even make this deal in the first place?

All good GM’s know how to manage their teams and it might be a sign that Pietrangelo might not be a Blue for his whole career.

None of Pietrangelo, Parayko, or Faulk are 3rd pairing d-men so someone will have to take significantly less ice-time, probably not something that they want to do.

I do not believe that this went over well with Pietrangelo who was probably thinking he was going to play his whole careeer with the team who drafted him.

Although the Toronto Maple Leafs D core is improved it could always use more help especially being in the Atlantic division.

I’m sure Babcock would not scoff at the idea of having Pietrangelo join the team.

A trade could look like this:

To Toronto:

Pietrangelo (1-2 mil retained), 2020 1st round pick, 2021 2nd round pick,

To St. Louis:

Ceci, Hyman, Bracco

D-pairings:

Rielly-Pietrangelo

Muzzin-Barrie

Sandin-Marincin

Pietrangelo is one the best defencemen in the league and with his experience he could propel the Toronto Maple Leafs to a Stanley Cup birth.

Ceci has looked good in pre-season, but a reminder that it is pre-season, Hyman although he would be missed for his grit, Kapanen looks to be filling his role well, and Hyman would fit perfectly into the blues rugged style of play.

As for Bracco, he has a high trade value right now and since the leafs have so much RW depth and there seems to be no pipeline for him, there shouldn’t be a reason to hold on to him when you can make the the team better.

This is not an overpayment by the Toronto Maple Leafs because you are getting a premier defencemen and a couple of picks. Also you are getting rid of Hyman’s contract in the process.

Next. Who Plays Where and How Much Will They Score?. dark

The clincher here is that after this season Pietrangelo is a UFA, but I honestly believe that the Leafs could get a deal done especially with the fact that he is a GTA boy.

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