Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Which Player Would You Trade For?

The Toronto Maple Leafs will make a trade at the deadline.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have arguably one of the strongest rosters in franchise history, nonetheless, being injury-ridden during this season, they will have to make a trade at the deadline this season to secure a playoff spot.

In response to the injury goaltender Frederik Andersen, the Toronto Maple Leafs made a move by acquiring Jack Campbell in trade with the Los Angeles Kings. With the acquisition of Campbell, Dubas perhaps addressed the teams biggest need; (solid) back-up goaltending.

However, it might also indicate the injury Andersen is battling might be more serious than thought.

Regardless of when Andersen returns, the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t done yet, not if they want to make the playoffs.

Potential Trade Targets

Currently looking from the outside in a tight playoff race in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Maple Leafs are without their best defenceman, Morgan Rielly, and without winger Ilya Mikheyev, who won’t return for this season.

Missing the playoffs is a luxury the Toronto Maple Leafs can’t afford, not with the talented group they have this year.

With plenty of possible additions available at the trade deadline, the writing staff of Editor In Leaf came together this week to answers this weeks roundtable question; “Which player should the Toronto Maple Leafs trade for and against what price?”

Let’s find out. (Please note some of these were answered prior to the Leafs trade for back-up goalie Jack Campbell).

My Take

The Toronto Maple should trade for no other than Sami Vatanen.

Kyle Dubas addressed the need for backup goaltending with the trade for Jack Campbell with the Los Angeles Kings. While it’s a need worth addressing for the long-term, for now, it’s taken care of in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs.

With that taken care off, it’s obvious where their needs lie now. The Toronto Maple Leafs are an offensive juggernaut, but defensively, there’s still a vacancy, especially with the injuries they’re plagued with this season.

This brings us back to Vatanen, one of the hottest commodities at this trade deadline, no doubt. Being a right-handed defenceman, Vatanen could solidify the Maple Leafs pairings during their hunt for a spot in the playoffs.

While his salary might be a problem, New Jersey can be persuaded to retain some salary if the deal is sweetened enough. In case Morgan Rielly is out for the rest of the regular season, that won’t even be needed.

New Jersey will likely be looking to get draft picks and prospects in return for Vatanen, who’s a UFA after this season, meaning the Toronto Maple Leafs won’t have to give up a piece like Kapanen or Johnsson, making them available for a potential other deal.

Zoë Mason

With the trade deadline fast approaching and the Toronto Maple Leafs still inconsistent and hovering around playoff contention, many fans and experts alike are calling for a big change. The offensive firepower doesn’t cease to impress: William Nylander is having a breakout season and bonafide superstar Auston Matthews consistently ranks among the top goalscorer in the league. However, despite the additions of Barrie and Muzzin, the Leafs’ defensive ranks are still shallow.

Yet it is goaltending that remains in the spotlight in terms of trading. A right-handed defenseman is a hot commodity, and one a cap-strained Leafs team likely cannot acquire. Rumours would suggest the Leafs are interested in extending Jake Muzzin, which would help address those gaps.

That leaves goaltending. With Frederik Andersen injured and Hutchinson, although admittedly somewhat stronger, still an unreliable backup, the Leafs know there’s a big hole to fill between the pipes. Down the stretch, they cannot continue to rely as heavily as they have in the past on Frederik Andersen, and his late-season numbers serve to back that up.

As for trade bait, the answer seems obvious. Although excelling in his role on the third line this year, Kasperi Kapanen has yet to find a serious or sustainable top-six role on this roster, however, he certainly has the potential to do so on other teams. Meanwhile, Andreas Johnsson has been trusted on the wings of the big lines, centred by Matthews or Tavares. Therefore Kapanen seems like a good trading chip. In exchange for who? Likely Rangers goaltender Alexander Georgiev.

At age 23, he’s a good long-term investment, unlike former fan favourite backup Curtis McElhinney. With a Sv% of .909 and a GAA of 3.12, his stats are miles ahead of Hutchinson’s .886 and 3.62 respectively. Also, with a current contract valued at $2.775 million, he’s not out of reach despite the Leafs’ tenuous finances. All in all, any additions have to address the number of goals this team allows, and Georgiev sure isn’t bad at stopping them.

Mark van der Lugt

Kyle Dubas got a head start on the trade deadline, as he just struck a deal for LA Kings players; Kyle Clifford (50% retained) and Jack Campbell. This deal addresses two needs Toronto had, needing an upgrade on back up and needed more sandpaper.

As far as who they should target next, it should be a defenseman and another gritty forward. Barrie and Holl are fine, BUT Ceci just isn’t cutting it.

I also love what Liljegren can do, but I don’t want him being rushed to the NHL. I simply think that if Dubas gets another RHD, Toronto will be a much more balanced and complete team.

My personal pick is David Savard or Josh Manson- both are defensive stalwarts on their respective teams and their contracts aren’t too expensive either, with both of them being in the mid 4million cap hit range and have term for next year as well- something Dubas has made clear that he wants from any sort of defenseman he acquires. Both these defensemen have good underlying numbers too, considering their roles and the opponents that they face every night.

My next pick for a trade target would have to be Josh Anderson (6’4, 220, RW); he is a bad man, he’s fearless, he can fight, hit, and score. Anderson is also capable of playing anywhere in the lineup too- he’s essentially Hyman on the right-wing.

He’s a UFA this summer, with a 1.8million cap hit and is having a really down year with CBJ. He’s young enough that I’m confident that he can rebound with a new team this year. The cherry on top of all of this- Anderson grew up in the GTA, as a Leaf fan.

Philip van Riesen

As the trade deadline approaches and constant talk about trades are discussed there is no better time to talk about the players that may not be the top names but will bring the top value to the roster when the expected price of acquiring is considered.

The player that I find that fits the mould the most is Dylan DeMelo of the Ottawa Senators.

DeMelo is 26-year-old right-shooting defensemen who plays in the top-4 for Ottawa, all while having an affordable cap hit of $900,000. This means the Leafs do not have to move a roster player to obtain him.

As I did outline that DeMelo played in the top-4, I have not mentioned that he plays in the top-4 and has been putting up impressive results both offensively and defensively. DeMelo is arguably the Senators most effective defensemen at 5v5 with his ability to help his team drive play when he is on the ice.

Even when accounting for context (QoT, QoC, Zone Starts, Score Effects…ect) DeMelo’s 5v5 game shows zero negatives to it, every player on the senators seems to put up better results with him on the ice, rather than off by a considerable amount. At lastwordonhockey,  Alex Metzger goes into DeMelo in a little more detail here.

Given DeMelo does not put up very many points, which is a large indicator for defensemen’s market value, I suspect the asking price may be like that of the Nick Jensen trade last season. The comparable in terms of Leafs assets would amount to something like Bracco, Timashov and a 3rd round pick.

The last aspect of trading for Dylan DeMelo that I would like to outline is his contract does expire this upcoming offseason, but I fail to see a reason why the Leafs would not attempt to go in the route of signing him to a Nick Jensen alike contract (2.5M x 4) if he is up to it.

At such an affordable expected price, there is no reason for the Leafs management to kick tires on a highly effective defenseman such as DeMelo.

Hannah Feldbloom

As the Trade Deadline looms closer, I am focusing my eyes on the black and gold.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in a situation with too many good goalies. Casey deSmith is the only goaltender out of the tandem the Penguins played last season who is locked up. This may make it more difficult to trade for him, but if successful he would be a great backup with playoff experience. When the team plays well in front of Hutch, he’s good. During the game against the Islanders, he made some timely saves. However, when their defence sucks….yikes!

With this in mind, I am also leaning towards D-man Juuso Riikola. The Finnish blueliner (with a left-handed shot) doesn’t have many eye-catching stats in the NHL, but he’s been forced to play forward for most of this season due to injuries. And, now that former Oiler Justin Schultz is reported to be returning, it’s likely Riikola will be taking up space in the press box most nights.

Now is the hard part: What will the Toronto Maple Leafs give up?

In the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, the Penguins lost their 4th-7ths pick so far. Many may scoff at 7th round picks but let’s try and remember where 2 times Stanley Cup Champ Patric Hornqvist was chosen (hint: Last!). Meanwhile, the Leafs so far only lose their first-round pick on a condition with the Hurricanes.

Maybe a Finn for a Swede? I know, I know, Liljegren, supposedly, has potential.

Alicia DiDomenico

The Toronto Maple Leafs need to trade for a goalie, obviously.

At this point, especially with the injury to Frederik Andersen, much of Leafs Nation has lost faith in the goaltending of the team. For two months of the season, the team has seen sub .900 goaltending and a flurry of games where the puck just can’t seem to be stopped.

The trade for Jack Campbell can be considered a short-term solution, while the problem the Leafs have with backup goaltending is more deeply rooted. They will need to opt to trade for another goaltender, one for the long-term backup position to relieve Andersen.

One of the goaltenders in which the team has been in talks to get is Alexander Georgiev from the New York Rangers. Personally, I think that this would be a nice improvement. That is if the Rangers are willing to take Ceci off our hands. Even Robin Lehner, from the Blackhawks, would be an interesting choice if the Andersen injury is worse than expected.

Because, as evidence from last year with the Islanders, Lehner can put up solid numbers. Proposal: Acquire either Alexander Georgiev or Robin Lehner for Cody Ceci, Hutchinson & Kapanen/Johnsson if the deal really needs to be sweetened.

Michael Mazzei

If the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to make a trade, and it seems like that is going to be the case, then they should make a move to acquire a defenceman. Given that such a trade could likely involve Kasperi Kapanen going the other way, the Leafs should make a follow-up move to acquire a middle-six forward to fill the void.

One player that could fit this bill perfectly is none other than Blake Coleman of the New Jersey Devils, who I have already talked about in a previous post. Not only will he provide a similar value to what Kapanen has provided, but do so at a cheaper cost. And to boot, he has been one of the best penalty-killing forwards over the past few seasons.

Additionally, Coleman has a physical edge in his game and plays a hard-nosed style of hockey. It’s something the Leafs have missed dearly since moving out Nazem Kadri and could be of value down the stretch.

The cost to acquire Coleman is not going to come cheap, especially considering the Devils haven’t indicated they are looking to move the 28-year-old forward. If such a trade were to transpire, Toronto will need to give up multiple assets to make it work (ex: Jeremy Bracco, bottom-six roster player, draft pick(s)).

Whatever the cost ends up being, it will be totally worth it because the value Coleman will provide makes up for not only the potential departure of Kapanen but also make such a transaction worthwhile.

Should the Leafs make a trade for a defenceman, they should follow it up with a move to get a player like Coleman.

James Tanner

The player the Toronto Maple Leafs should add at the trade deadline is Ryan Ellis.

Ellis is injured ever since a New Year’s Day elbow to the head, courtesy of Corey Perry, but he has started skating and is expected to play again this year.

The Predators are starting to make some noise in the playoff race, so they may not be willing to make a move (and frankly, they might not want to trade him anyways).  But, I figure, if you really want a guy, you can at least try.

The Leafs have a very underrated defense.  Sure, they allow a lot of risky plays, but the team plays this way on purpose because other teams can’t match their offense.

Despite the adventurous way in which it happens, the Leafs get significantly more puck possession, shots, scoring chances, high-danger scoring chances, goals and expected goals than their opponents.

There are no extra points awarded in the standings for winning 2-1.  A 5-4 game is just as meaningful (not to mention more fun to watch).

Since this is the case, I think the Leafs should only make a move for a defenseman if he is a significant upgrade.

Ryan Ellis is that upgrade.  A right handed defenseman, Ellis is one of the four or five best in the NHL.  At the time of the injury, he was starting to get some Norris Trophy Buzz and more importantly, he has been on of the best, and most underrated, defensemen in the NHL for years.

If the Leafs traded for Ellis, he would instantly be their best defenseman, and one of the best in the history of the team.  He’s signed up to a currently team friendly $6.5

The contract unfortunately is for another seven years and takes him to age 36 and honestly isn’t that desirable, but if you win a Cup or two, who cares?