The Toronto Maple Leafs approach the NHL Trade Deadline full of the knowledge that the right move could catapult them to a Stanley Cup. The nature of the Trade Deadline is nearly always about selling off the future in the hopes of making the perfect trade that proves a difference maker.
Every year it’s about sacrificing what teams have in prospects and picks in the hopes of winning, and for every team but one it proves a failed gambit. As Kyle Dubas and the Toronto Maple Leafs near the April 12th deadline there are two obvious options: stand pat and hope this team can play to the best of its abilities and win or trade off a piece or two for a proven goal scoring Top 6 winger.
What if there was a third option for the Maple Leafs? So far Four Trades in Four Days has suggested Maxi Domi, a depth move in Anthony Duclair and a ‘swing for the fences’ move for Jaden Schwartz.
For Part Four, what if the Leafs could make a move for a young winger with upside; a former first round pick that few probably know the name of on a team that is desperately prepping for a rebuild.
Toronto Maple Leafs and Max Jones
Enter 23-year-old Max Jones of the Anaheim Ducks. Now full transparency, not until the start of this year did I ever consider Max Jones as a guy the Leafs should trade for. I can thank a high school friend for opening my eyes to the play of the American winger.
Jones is a 6’1” winger, drafted 24th overall in 2016. He’s 220lbs of grit and muscle and the quintessential power-forward who plays a hard-nosed, ‘get to the front of the net’ game.
Anywhere on the ice he is relentless. He is not just a hatchet man either. He makes smart plays and knows his game well, when to drive to the net and when get the puck into the grimy areas of the ice. His speed is impressive and combined with his smarts, he forces mistakes.
While considered to possesses a high-end shot Jones is not the Top 6 scoring forward that has been linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jones is the perfect, cheaper, Zach Hyman.
This is not to say that the Maple Leafs don’t resign Zach Hyman – in fact, many would argue Zach Hyman is the most important piece of the Leafs offseason. However, money talks and the way Hyman plays, you can forget about the Leafs re-signing him for anywhere close to $2.25 million.
Hyman is instrumental to Toronto but every GM would love to have Zach Hyman on their roster and some can offer a lot. With his RFA status Max Jones offers a backup plan for the Leafs in case they cannot get a deal for Hyman done. Even if they have a deal lined up for Hyman, Jones is the perfect complement to third line and possibly John Tavares line as well.
This might be one of the harder deals for the Leafs to get done but it shouldn’t dissuade them from trying. The Anaheim Ducks have been atrocious all year and don’t seem to be close to being good next year either.
It is rebuild time for the Ducks and that means they are always on the lookout for good prospects and picks. Jones is good, and valued in Anaheim but then comes the question for Kyle Dubas: if Nick Robertson is your future scoring winger could Rodin Amirov be someone dangled over the Ducks looking for a bite?
Prospects are prospects for a reason, and while it still remains to be seen how Amirov’s game translates to the NHL, Max Jones has a proven stable of work. The points may not flatter but the play does.
Dubas may still be unwilling to move Amirov since he’s widely thought to be in the ‘No trade’ category of the Leafs prospects. He might not be the right piece but perhaps the Toronto Maple Leafs can sway the Ducks with a package that involves slightly lower prospects of Filip Hallander, Roni Hirvonen or maybe Timothy Liligren and of course there’s the reliable Alexander Kerfoot to consider.
Jones has youth, tenacity and ability that the Toronto Maple Leafs would be well served with. The trade deadline is so often about selling off the future, perhaps Toronto and Dubas could buck the trend and make a play to shore up the future instead.