Toronto Maple Leafs Should Pursue the Best Player Available
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be active in the trade market in the coming weeks.
The NHL trade deadline is Monday February 24th, and you can expect that the Toronto Maple Leafs – who currently sit outside the playoffs – will attempt to improve their team.
The Leafs have been rumoured to be interested in New York Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev, and even the rumoured price of Kapanen + is ridiculous, it’s clear that the Leafs could use goalie they trust enough to rest Freddie Andersen more.
Beyond that, no team a salary cap league will ever be perfect, so the Leafs will do what they can to improve anywhere an opportunity presents itself.
Toronto Maple Leafs at the Trade Deadline
The Leafs are maxed out cap-wise and have already traded their first round pick so they will have to be creative to get anything done.
The Leafs seem to have already identified Alex Georgiev as a player they like, and the Rangers also have Chris Krieder who makes just under five million and is a pending UFA.
Krieder will be the most coveted player in the NHL this spring, and he is by far the best player known to be available. A power winger who can score and play a two-way game, Krieder is the kind of rare player that Leafs Nation would unanimously appreciate.
Adding another impact player upfront would make the Leafs almost impossible to play against. They already have something approximating the best offense in the NHL, and leaning into what makes them good is the approach they should take.
If Krieder can perform a Hyman-like role but with more offense, then he’d be exactly what the Leafs need.
The cost to acquire him would probably be somewhat reasonable. The Devils didn’t get all that much for Taylor Hall, and he is significantly better.
If the Leafs could build a package around Andreas Johnson and Timothy Liljegren, I think Kreider and Georgiev could put the Leafs over the top. (Obviously the salary cap needs to be considered, but Cody Ceci can be moved to offset any salary here).
It may seem like a lot to give up for a rental forward and a back-up goalie you’re probably going to lose next year, but it really isn’t. When teams get close to winning the Cup, they often have to make tough decisions.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have so far been able to get by without having to give away any of their top prospects, but it may be time to do so.
The ability to play two goalies with regularity and have another first-liner on the roster would make an already good team into a power-house.