Flashback to June 2020, I published an article titled “Why the Toronto Maple Leafs and…are a Match Made in Heaven.” In preparation for that piece, I scoured the free agent and trade market to find the best fit Kyle Dubas could add to the Leafs blueline. After hours of research, I settled on one name – TJ Brodie.
Well, it turns out management and I had the same thinking, as on October 9th, the day free agency opened, Brodie and the Leafs agreed to a four-year, $5 million AAV contract.
Now, nearly four and a half months later, I look to use my Nostradamus-esque powers once again to find a trade candidate out there to bolster this team’s roster, with eyes on a lengthy postseason run.
But before we get started, let’s talk about how we got here.
Injuries to Joe Thornton, Nick Robertson, and Wayne Simmonds have greatly tested the Leafs forward depth. For the most part, the team has been able to get by, and a silver lining in all of this is head coach Sheldon Keefe has been able to find some impact fourth-liners with the emergence of Travis Boyd and Nic Petan looking like legitimate NHL players.
However, the injuries to those three coupled with Jimmy Vesey’s and Ilya Mikheyev’s struggles have left the team still searching for the right piece to flank John Tavares and William Nylander – enter Elliotte Friedman.
Recently, Friedman, co-hosting his “31 Thoughts” podcast with Jeff Marek, mentioned he believes Dubas has a particular winger in mind he would like to acquire. Although Friedman has not been able to confirm the rumour, he doubled down on his hunch, mentioning the same sentiment on a recent appearance on Tim & Sid.
And thus, Leafsnation was sent into a frenzy, peeling through every single teams’ CapFriendly page trying to figure out who the mystery winger is. Well, I will save you the trouble – it is Viktor Arvidsson.
The Nashville Predators winger would be a fantastic addition to this Toronto Maple Leafs roster and I am here to tell you why.