The NHL trade deadline is on Feb. 24. We break down the probability of each member of the Toronto Maple Leafs roster being traded before the cutoff.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are currently in an interesting position. They have a a good team that seems like it should be ready to compete, but it is also possible that they miss the playoffs all-together.
Their salary cap is maxed out and they have already traded their first round pick for next season.
They are also dealing with a revolving door of injuries. This puts their nightly lineup in flux and makes executing trades that much more difficult.
The Leafs would surely like to upgrade their positions with players who offer greater upside. With the trade deadline approaching, it appears as though there will be action from Kyle Dubas. We identify who might get moved and why.
We make a case for trading every individual player on the roster as well as attempt to provide a realistic look at the possibility that that player’s time in Toronto is up before season’s end. Here are the odds as we see them for each player in alphabetical order by their first name.
Adam Brooks
At age 23, Adam Brooks is still on his entry-level contract and though he was recently returned to the AHL, he is included on this list due to him having played with the Leafs as recently as mid-January.
The centerman has proven that he can be valuable to his team. His presence in the NHL was surprising considering that he is not an overly large player at 5’10” and had just 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 115 games with Regina of the Western Hockey League when he went undrafted in 2014.
Things turned around for Brooks pretty quickly in Junior and he became a fourth-round selection of the Maple Leafs (92nd overall) in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Last season with the Marlies, he had 40 points in 61 games. He’s now even played seven games with the big club and recorded three assists in that time.
With Brooks a restricted free agent at season’s end and him proving that he has the ability to contribute offensively, there is a strong chance that he could be included in a deal.
His presence could be to sweeten the pot on a transaction for a bigger target. It might even be an AHL deal, where he gets relocated in order to help another club chase the Calder Cup.
Chances of being dealt prior to the trade deadline: 12%