Toronto Maple Leafs: Some Potential 2022 Trade Deadline Targets
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking to upgrade their team before the March 21st trade deadline.
The Toronto Maple Leafs should be looking to upgrade their defense first and, if possible, try to upgrade their bottom-six forward group. Upgrading the bottom-six forward group will probably be easier than upgrading the defense. Teams seem to set higher asking prices for defensemen as they are usually the most coveted.
The teams that will be sellers at the trade deadline are becoming clearer. In most divisions, the top four teams are starting to distance themselves from the rest. Knowing which teams are selling makes it easier to speculate which players will be available at the trade deadline.
More often than not, the players available at the trade deadline are pending unrestricted free agents (UFA) and classified as playoff rentals. After a few playoff rentals not working out for Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas in previous seasons, it is rumored that he would like to trade for players who have at least one more year left on their contract.
The biggest problem with trading for players that still have some term left on their contract usually means a higher asking price from the selling team. Keeping these things in mind, I have put together a list of players I think Kyle Dubas should target at the deadline.
Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Targets
Jared McCann
Jared McCann is the player that the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired in the off-season but lost in the expansion draft to the Seattle Kraken. McCann has 15 goals and nine assists for 24 points in 36 games. He has played in 12 playoff games during his time in Pittsburgh. McCann would provide some added scoring to Toronto’s bottom six. He becomes an RFA at the end of this season, so Toronto will still own his rights if they acquire him. (Stats from: Hockey-Reference.com)
Tyler Toffoli
Tyler Toffoli is a member of the sinking ship known as the Montreal Canadiens. He has seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points in 29 games this season. Toffoli is a veteran of more than 600 NHL regular season games. He also has plenty of playoff experience with 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points in 73 NHL playoff games. Toffoli was a teammate of Jake Muzzin on the 2013-14 Stanley Cup winning Los Angeles Kings.
He has two more seasons left on his current deal with a $4.25 million salary-cap hit. Montreal could be facing a rebuild, so picks and prospects will be the asking price. Toronto will have to move salary in another trade before they can afford to make this one. (Cap info from: Capfriendly.com)
Lawson Crouse
Lawson Crouse has 20 points in 39 games this season with the Arizona Coyotes. He has a low salary cap hit of $1.53 million and will become an RFA in the summer. Crouse would bring a physical presence to Toronto, as evidenced by his 104 hits this season.
Having Kyle Clifford and Wayne Simmonds is good, but I think Crouse would be a nice upgrade over Nick Ritchie.
If there is one area that is always a problem for the Toronto Maple Leafs, it is on defense. You can never have enough defenseman. Here are a few the Leafs could attempt to get in order to add some depth to their blue-line.
Ryan Graves
Ryan Graves is a big 6’5″ defenseman playing with the New Jersey Devils. He can eat up a lot of minutes and isn’t afraid to play physically. Graves averages around 21 minutes a night and has 16 points in 35 games. He currently has 41 hits but has shown in the past that he can be more physical. Graves has one more year left on his contract after this season worth $3.16 million.
Luke Schenn
Luke Schenn would be a good depth option for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He brings plenty of playoff experience after helping the Tampa Bay Lightning win back-to-back Stanley Cups. Schenn also brings a ton of physicality, as evidenced by his 98 hits in 25 games this season. His salary-cap hit is just $850,000 this season and next season.
Scott Mayfield
Scott Mayfield can play around 20 minutes a night, be physical, and has plenty of playoff experience. He also has a salary cap-friendly contract at $1.45 million this season and next season. Mayfield has recorded 120 blocked shots and 118 hits in 51 playoff games. Adding a defenseman that gives you stats like that while also playing close to 20 minutes a game and making less than $2 million is a steal.
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Toronto will make a trade or two at the deadline. We can only hope that this season’s additions to the team help them make it past the first round. Whether you agree with my choices or not, it is clear that Toronto needs fixing on their bottom-six forward group and defense. Fingers crossed that everything Kyle Dubas ends up doing will work out.