4 Big-Name Players Toronto Maple Leafs Could Trade For
Don’t be shocked if the Toronto Maple Leafs make a big move before the start of the 2021-22 season.
After another disappointing season, the Toronto Maple Leafs are rumored to be big-name hunting, as they look to regroup and make a run at the Stanley Cup in 2022. According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, the Leafs will be making a splash this offseason.
On The Steve Dangle Podcast, Johnston mentioned the following:
“There’s going to be like one player on this roster on opening night that is going to get everyone excited. I’m talking like a big name, a big promise player and no ones gonna see it coming,”
The Leafs should have a decent amount of cap-space this offseason, so attracting a big-name could be possible. If Alex Kerfoot ($3.5M) is traded, or they don’t re-sign Zach Hyman, there will be some extra money to spend.
It’ll be very interesting to see who Toronto targets, but their main objective should be a top-six winger and a top-four defenseman. The forward should be a replacement player for Hyman and the defenseman should be someone with size and who’s can score goals and play well defensively.
Obviously those types of trades are hard to pull off, but there are a few names floating around the NHL that Toronto could target.
Here are four potential trade targets for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
No. 4: Seth Jones:
Jones currently makes $5.4M and is a pending UFA. If the Leafs traded for him, they could risk losing him to free agency in a year, but at the same time, this is win-now mode, so why not take the risk?
With the cap-space that Toronto has this offseason, the team would be able to afford Jones’ salary for one year and they potentially wouldn’t even have to trade Alex Kerfoot. They probably wouldn’t be able to re-sign Hyman, but it would legitimize their top-four even more than what it is.
Toronto could go with the following defensive pairings if Jones was added:
- Morgan Rielly – T.J. Brodie
- Jake Muzzin – Seth Jones
- Rasmus Sandin – Justin Holl
Sandin’s strong-side is the right side, but he’s been known to play the left side before, so it wouldn’t be an issue. Even though Toronto’s defense was much improved this year, adding another legitimate top-four defenseman would only add to this roster and help the depth.
Jones has a pretty good shot that Toronto could use on the powerplay, but also has size that makes him a tough defender to play against. Overall, Jones is someone you want on your team and since he already said he wasn’t re-signing in Columbus after the 2021-22 season, Toronto may be able to get him for a bargain.
No. 3: Evander Kane
The “Evander Kane to the Toronto Maple Leafs rumor” has been floating around the internet for a few months, dating back to the NHL Trade Deadline. Although this trade seems unlikely, it has to be discussed.
If Toronto trades Alex Kerfoot ($3.5M) and Justin Holl ($2M) and replaces them with minimal money players like Rasmus Sandin and Jason Spezza, there’s a world where Toronto could get Kane without giving up Morgan Rielly. That would be the most ideal scenario for the Leafs, because I don’t see a world where they would want to trade him.
Also, I don’t see why San Jose would want Morgan Rielly when they already have so much money invested in their defensemen. Regardless, the idea of Kane becoming a Leaf is very intriguing.
If you were playing NHL 21, you’d 100 percent trade for Kane so that you could stack your first-line with him, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. However, in real life, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Kane makes $7M for the next few seasons and his recent bankruptcy issues has caused him trouble off the ice. Despite the downfalls, he’s such a good hockey player. For the majority of the past decade, he’s been a goal-scoring machine and is someone who plays with an edge.
He always sticks up for his teammates and he has an ability to get under the skin of his opponent. With Marner passing him the puck every night, he’d more than likely score a minimum of 30 goals and could bring that sandpaper the team desperately is looking for.
No. 2: Dougie Hamilton
Hamilton is a pending UFA, but it feels like a team is going to trade for him before he hits free agency. Insert, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The pending free agent is set for a big pay-day. Although that’s the case, Toronto needs a legit No. 1 defenseman if they ever want to win the Stanley Cup.
6-foot-6, 230 pound right-handed defensemen don’t grow on trees. Especially one that is from Toronto, ON and more than likely grew up rooting for the home team.
If the money was the same, why wouldn’t Hamilton want to play for Toronto in front of his friends and family and be a crucial part to the team’s success? The Leafs were finally able to “woo’ a free agent (John Tavares) into town a few years ago, so there’s no reason to believe they can’t do it again.
Hamilton’s price will be very interesting. If it’s $10M per season, that’ll be a scary contract to absorb, but if it’s between $7-8.5M, that could be more justified. Since the salary cap won’t be rising anytime soon, a team could get Hamilton cheaper than expected.
Similar to the Evander Kane trade rumor, the idea of Hamilton actually being a Leaf is hard to believe, based on his contract, but it’s definitely worth discussing. He would be an unbelievable fit on the Leafs, as well as, the other 31 NHL teams.
No. 1: Darcy Kuemper
Since it’s very unlikely that Freddie Andersen will re-sign in Toronto, the team should do everything they can to find a 1B to Jack Campbell.
Campbell proved his worth this season and showed the fans, and management, that he’s a legit No. 1 goaltender. He not only performed admirably in the regular season, but he came alive in the playoffs as well. Although the team blew a 3-1 series lead, Campbell doesn’t deserve any of the blame.
Even though Campbell showed his value, he’s still a relatively new starting goalie. In addition to that, he only makes $1.65M, so the team can afford to bring in another player to challenge his position, without it hurting the rest of the salary cap.
Since the Arizona Coyotes seem to be, once again, stuck in a rebuilding world, the idea of trading their only goalie on their roster seems fair. The team has a ton of cap-space right now, but Kuemper’s $4.5M cap-hit could be beneficial off the books. After a pandemic season, lowering expenses would be very ideal for a team like Arizona.
In 242 career games, Kuemper has a .917 SV % and 2.47 GAA (stats: hockeydb.com), so acquiring someone of that stature with a $4.5M cap-hit is great value.
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Kuemper could become the starting goalie for the Leafs, but the ideal role would be to play 30-35 games, while Campbell plays 45-50 and is fully rested for the playoffs. Either way, the team should target Kuemper because he would be great 1A/1B with Campbell.