Toronto Maple Leafs Are Rumoured to be Looking to Add a Winger
It has been reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs are interested in adding to their forward group to make their team even better.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to an 11-2-1 record to start their 2021 season and despite their league-best record and total points, it hasn’t been pretty every game, and the team’s depth has been tested with injuries.
Nick Robertson, Joe Thornton, and Wayne Simmonds are all sidelined with injuries, while back-up goalie Jack Campbell remains on the shelf as well.
It has been reported by Elliotte Friedman on the Tim and Sid podcast that there’s a winger he thinks that the Toronto Maple Leafs are interested in, but he can’t prove it just yet. With that in mind here are a few ideas we had in mind.
3. Bobby Ryan – DET – 33 years old – RW/LW
2020-21 stats – 12 GP – 4 G – 3 A – 7 PTS – 47.50 CF%
Career stats – 845 GP – 258 G – 304 A – 562 PTS – 50.02 CF%
Bobby Ryan has come out of the gates with a pretty hot start on a rebuilding Detroit team this season and I think Ryan could be on the Toronto Maple Leafs radar if they are serious about acquiring a player to help out the teams top nine which would add some scoring depth for them.
Ryan who signed a one-year $1M deal with the Red Wings in the off-season will have his talent on a lot of contending teams’ eyes as he’s on a one-year deal with a cheap cap hit and could provide scoring for teams heading into the playoffs.
Ryan can potentially be slotted into the Maple Leafs top nine and more than likely be on a line with guys like Kerfoot and Vesey or even Kerfoot and Mikheyev if anything. He provides more than one aspect to his game, he’s a veteran in the game and adds yet another veteran body in the Maple Leafs lockerroom, despite being 33 years old and past his prime, he can still contribute offensively, especially on a very talented Toronto Maple Leafs team.
He’s been good offensively for a pretty bad Red Wings team this year but he’s been kind of mediocre at times defensively, but that also could be due to the Red Wings struggling this season yet again. According to Evolving-Hockey, Bobby Ryan currently has a 49.79 xGF%, 2.18 xGF/60, and a 2.20 xGA/60, which is all decent, nothing too eye-opening but maybe a change of scenery will improve those analytics for him.
He’s had a part of some deep playoff runs before, and he’s been on some good hockey teams during his career, so he’ll be a good addition to any team that would be interested in his services if he indeed gets dealt by the Red Wings before, or even at the trade deadline this year. (Stats from Evolving-Hockey.com)
2. Jared McCann – PIT – 24 years old – C/LW
2020-21 stats – 11 GP – 2 G – 3 A – 5 PTS – 51.56 CF%
Career stats – 321 GP – 54 G – 74 A – 128 PTS – 50.80 CF%
Jared McCann, who in my opinion would be a great addition to the Toronto Maple Leafs, especially if they want to add both scoring and defense in one player because you get two in one with a guy like McCann. He’s a great depth option for a team’s third line and if anything could potentially move up in the lineup when needed. He won’t score at a ridiculous rate but he’ll still contribute around 30 points a season while playing responsibly defensively.
McCann who is on the Pittsburgh Penguins, of course, could be a fit because it was reported by Elliotte Friedman on his 31 Thoughts podcast a couple of weeks back that the Penguins were calling several teams for their defensemen, and one defenseman in particular that they poked around at was none other than the Toronto Maple Leafs Travis Dermott. Now of course a trade never went down, however, who is not to say it can’t get done in the near future?
As I was saying earlier about McCann’s ability to chip in some offense while playing great defense, the return for a guy like him is unknown to me right now, however, if the Maple Leafs do go the route of moving on from Dermott, which I highly doubt they will, he might be included in a trade to get a guy like McCann.
McCann is off to a pretty decent start to his 2021 season as he currently has five points in 11 games while playing bottom-six minutes for the Penguins. His stats are also really good and prove that he plays a pretty good offensive game while still playing good defense, he currently has a 51.83 xGF% which ranks him 8th on the team, a 2.23 xGF/60 which ranks him 10th on the team, and lastly, he has a 2.07 xGA/60 which ranks him 6th among Penguins.
He signed a two-year contract extension with Pittsburgh in the off-season which is carrying an AAV of $2.94M, so getting a guy that can give you offense with some defense for under $3M is pretty good in my opinion. . (Stats from Evolving-Hockey.com)
1. Alex Iafallo – LA – 27 years old – LW/C
2020-21 stats – 11 GP – 2 G – 6 A – 8 PTS – 52.82 CF%
Career stats – 238 GP – 43 G – 64 A – 107 PTS – 50.04 CF%
The most intriguing player on this list the Toronto Maple Leafs should totally try and go after via trade if they are available from their team is Alex Iafallo from the Los Angeles Kings. Now I don’t know if many people know much about Iafallo, given he’s in the Western Conference and plays for a California team, but he would definitely fit right in the Maple Leafs top nine and probably even their top six, to be honest.
Just like Jared McCann, Iafallo plays a good two-way game which is obviously viewed as very valuable to every team in the league I would hope, so if the Maple Leafs go out to acquire a guy like Iafallo to add to this team’s forward group, it would be a great addition.
Iafallo who is 27 years old is currently on the last year of his two-year deal which is carrying an AAV of $2.425M, which is a very reasonable price tag for a player like him. He gives you offense, supplies reliable defense, and can easily slot in a team’s top nine.
He currently ranks at the top in numerous advanced analytics out of the Kings roster, with a 52.82 CF% which is tops on the team, he also ranks 1st with a 50.29 xGF%, ranks 3rd with a 2.23 xGF/60, and lastly, ranks 2nd on the team with a 2.20 xGA/60.
Next. Leafs Top 10 Prospects. dark
I think it is safe to say Alex Iafallo is having a good two-way season, especially on a Kings team that isn’t looked at to be making the playoffs this season. If he does become available for trade given the one-year left on his current contract, be ready for multiple teams to be knocking on the King’s door and being interested in him towards the trade deadline, and I hope the Toronto Maple Leafs are one of those teams as well.