Calgary Flames left-winger Johnny Gaudreau could be on the move soon, so should the Toronto Maple Leafs pursue him?
Now that Zach Hyman is in Edmonton, the Toronto Maple Leafs left wing position is very weak. They could address it internally with hopes of Nick Robertson breaking-out next year, but they’d be better suited finding an established NHLer.
Nick Robertson will be 20-years-old when the 2021-22 NHL season starts so there’s plenty of time to let him mature and develop. Whether that means starting the season with the Toronto Marlies or playing limited minutes in the NHL, the Leafs don’t need him to jump into the top-six immediately.
It would be much more ideal if was able to contribute in Toronto’s top-six, but he still has two years on his Entry Level Contract after this season, so the team has time.
The Leafs could address Hyman’s departure by finding a cheap player with a similar attributes, or they could find a player that’s immensely skilled who could keep up with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
Speaking of which….
Johnny Gaudreau Could Be on the Move
Gaudreau has one year left on his contract worth $6.75M AAV, before he becomes a free agent next summer. But according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, as shown in his Tweet below, he has an interesting clause in his contract that kicks in on July 28 at noon.
Not suggesting it means anything in the moment, but interesting that at noon ET Wednesday, when the NHL calendar officially shifts to 2021-22, Johnny Gaudreau has a modified no-trade clause kicking in, a small 5-team list (5 teams he would go to). More control for the player then
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 27, 2021
Since it feels like Gaudreau and the Calgary Flames are far apart on a contract extension, the idea of him getting traded seems much more certain. It’s not 100 percent guaranteed to happen, but it wouldn’t be shocking.
In 520 NHL games, “Johnny Hockey” has 494 points and has two 30-goal campaigns (stats: hockeydb.com). Over the past two seasons, he’s digressed, but is still scoring at a 0.85 points per game pace, so although it’s not up to his career standards, that’s still very close to elite.
Toronto already has a ton of skill, but with one year left on his deal at $6.75M, that’s very reasonable for someone of Gaudreau’s talents. The Leafs probably wouldn’t be able to afford to re-sign him, but it could be worth it to trade for him.
If you look across the NHL, a line of Gaudreau-Matthews-Marner could be the most skilled in hockey.
Gaudreau would be another asset on the powerplay, because he has great hockey sense and fantastic vision. Paired with another magician like Marner, those two could make defenders head’s spin on the powerplay.
The Flames haven’t said what a Gaudreau trade package would look like yet, but it would probably be similar to what Taylor Hall got traded for over the past few seasons.
- Taylor Hall Package No. 1:
- Arizona Coyotes acquire: Taylor Hall and Blake Speers
- New Jersey Devils acquire: Kevin Bahl, Nate Schnarr, Nick Merkley, 2020 1st Round Pick (Dawson Mercer) and 2021 3rd Round Pick (Ryder Korczak)
- Taylor Hall Package No. 2:
- Boston Bruins acquire: Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar
- Buffalo Sabres acquire: Anders Bjork and 2021 2nd Round Pick (Alexander Kisakov) (via: capfriendly.com)
It feels like the Leafs would be better off with a power-forward to replace Hyman on the top-line, but if the price is right for Gaudreau, it would definitely be a trade worth exploring.