The Toronto Maple Leafs need to go all-in in pursuit of a Stanley Cup this season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs currently sit first place in the league through 26 games with a record of 18-6-2 (38 points).
When a team is basically a lock for the playoffs, the General Manager’s job is to go out in the market and be active so they can add to their team and improve it even more so that they can make a deep run in the playoffs.
This year the Toronto Maple Leafs have been proving to Kyle Dubas that they are deserving of an upgrade, and that they want him to bolster this lineup even more so that they can have a deep run in the playoffs of their own.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Historic start to the season
This start to the 2020-21 season for this team has been a bright spot for fans to cherish, even though they play the same six teams every other night.
The Leafs have gone from a team that would score themselves out of trouble almost every game in seasons prior, to a team that defends a lot better in their own zone but can also still outscore you on any given night, which makes them even more of a dangerous team.
Through the 26 games, the Toronto Maple Leafs have scored a total of 90 goals (3.4 goals per game) and have allowed a total of 63 goals against (2.4 goals against per game)
Let’s just put it into perspective how great this team has done a job at defending this season, the last time a Maple Leafs team averaged less than 3 goals against per game was the 2017-18 season where they averaged 2.8 goals against per game.
The last time they averaged less than 2.5 goals against per game was the 2003-04 season where they averaged 2.48 goals against per game. On top of their solid defense that has been much improved this season, they’re also tied for the best power-play in the league which is obviously helping them score a lot more goals too.
On top of solid defending, and a red hot power-play, the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending has also been a huge boost for them compared to seasons prior. The whole backup situation was kind of giving people nightmares for the last couple of seasons, but this season they have a great trio of goalies in Frederik Andersen, Jack Campbell, and yes Michael Hutchinson too. (Stats from Hockey-Reference.com)
They need to go all-in
If there was a year where this team should go all-in it’s this year for them to do that. All this Maple Leafs team needs to do is be the best team in Canada, and they will see themselves in the Conference Finals for the first time in nearly 20 years.
There have been numerous players in trade rumours for a while now around the league and of course, it seems like Toronto Maple Leafs are always linked to at least half of them when the rumours start circulating.
Possible additions I could see the Maple Leafs making are improving their top six by adding a winger that can play alongside Tavares and Nylander or Matthews and Marner, and slide Thornton down the lineup.
They could also improve their bottom six with a cheap option as well which would potentially slide a guy like Jimmy Vesey out of the lineup, especially when Wayne Simmonds returns to the lineup.
Lastly, they could potentially add to their defense. Yes I know the blueline seems pretty good, but it’s never a bad idea to have more options on defense that will help you down the road and into the playoffs, especially defensemen that are meant for playoff hockey.
Potential targets for the Maple Leafs
Before we start naming players they could target, we have to remember the trade deadline is April 12th and another important thing here to remember is the mandatory two-week quarantine period for crossing the border.
If there would be a specific time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to go out and make a trade it would be in the next two weeks in my opinion. They have their three-game mini-series against the Winnipeg Jets starting Tuesday night, then they play against the Ottawa Senators on March 14th, and then have four days off.
They resume action again on March 19th and 20th with a back-to-back against the Calgary Flames, then four more days off until they resume action again on March 25th against the Senators again. They play five games in 14 days in the middle of March (March 14-27) so that would be a perfect window for Kyle Dubas and staff to do some acquiring if they want to be ahead of the game with the team on their off days
Some players that have come up in constant rumours about potentially being traded from their team or even just linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs in general for some time are Mikael Granlund, Filip Forsberg, and Viktor Arvidsson from Nashville, Taylor Hall, and Eric Staal from Buffalo, and potentially David Savard from Columbus if they would want to add to their defensive depth and improve it at the same time.
All of these salaries would more than likely need to be 50% retained from their current team with a little bit of salary going out of Toronto too to get a trade done like this. The Maple Leafs would also be more than likely willing to ship out first and second-round picks to acquire players like this, as well as some prospects too, as these players aren’t going to be acquired for close to nothing.
It’s going to be interesting to see what Kyle Dubas and staff do as we inch closer and closer to the trade deadline, and closer to the two weeks where the Toronto Maple Leafs only play five games.