Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Targets For Each NHL Division
The NHL Trade Deadline will be here before we know it, so expect the Toronto Maple Leafs to make a trade soon.
Whether or not the Toronto Maple Leafs do indeed make a big splash, they’ll be competing for the President’s Trophy this year, as the best regular season team. However, that trophy doesn’t mean anything. The only thing that matters is a Stanley Cup.
Regular season success doesn’t always translate into postseason results. Hockey is the only sport where the game drastically changes from regular season to playoffs, so your team needs to be built a little differently in order to win when the games matter the most.
When Toronto’s at full-strength, their team has a lot of depth up-front, while Jack Campbell is a legit number-one netminder. The defense has been good in terms of their “goals-allowed” number this year, but defensively, they still need help.
It’s possible that they could get through a playoff round or two with their current defensive group, but I wouldn’t put any money on it. Playing Justin Holl, Timothy Liljegren and Travis Dermott meaningful minutes in a huge game scares the crap out of me.
They need to upgrade their defense immediately, and if there’s a cheap forward option at left-wing or centre, they should look at that too.
We’ll be looking at different trade options by division, so let’s start with the Atlantic Division.
No. 1: Trade Options for the Toronto Maple Leafs In the Atlantic Division
Trade Options: Ben Chariot (Montreal Canadiens), Zach Sanford (Ottawa Senators), Cody Eakin (Buffalo Sabres), Victor Olofsson (Buffalo Sabres), Marc Staal (Detroit Red Wings)
There are a few names that jump out immediately on this list. First is Ben Chariot, defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens.
I don’t remember there being so much hype around a player who doesn’t provide any offense, isn’t great defensively and has terrible advanced analytics. I guess because he’s 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, he gets a pass on everything, but any team who trades for this player will regret it.
The Leafs are smart enough not to make this trade, at least, let’s hope so.
Of the the players on this list, the two that I think the Leafs should seriously consider trading for are Sanford and Staal. They’re both pending UFA’s on a very minimal contract, so it shouldn’t cost a ton to acquire them.
Sanford didn’t play every playoff game during the St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup run but he was part of the journey in the biggest moment scoring in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals to help his team win. There are only a handful of players in NHL history with that type of experience, so bringing him into the room to play depth minutes on the left-side would be a good fit.
Staal is a big-body defenseman, who is very similar to Chariot in terms of size and stats. However, the reason why Toronto should be more inclined to trade for him is because of his experience and cap-hit.
As a third-pairing defenseman, Staal can eat up a lot of minutes and can be counted on in big moments.
No. 2: Metropolitan Division
Trade Options: P.K. Subban (New Jersey Devils), Damon Severson (New Jersey Devils), Zdeno Chara (New York Islanders), Andy Greene (New York Islanders), Cal Clutterbuck (New York Islanders), Zach Parise (New York Islanders), Dean Kukan (Columbus Blue Jackets)
If the Toronto Maple Leafs want to win a Stanley Cup, Kyle Dubas should use his connections to make a big trade. As such, who better to call then his old mentor Lou Lamoriello, GM of the New York Islanders.
The Islanders are a complete mess right now. Their season went to shambles from the very beginning after starting the first month on the road and they couldn’t recover. With limited cap-space for the 2022-23 season, they should look to trade their pending UFA’s for assets.
The two names that jump out are Zach Parise and Zdeno Chara.
Although they’re both past their prime, for a two-month playoff-run, I think the Leafs could get the most out of them. Parise scored 25 goals during the 2019-20 season, so it’s not like he’s completely washed-up. Paired on the second-line with John Tavares and Mitch Marner/William Nylander, Parise could turn back the clock and be a big producer, similarly to how Corey Perry was with the Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars the past two years.
Chara may be 44-years-old but he’s still intimidating and can help any blue-line. After watching him dominate the Leafs during his days in Boston, Chara could be the veteran leader that Toronto is missing on it’s back-end.
As for the other names, they’re all pipe-dreams because they make too much and/or probably wouldn’t be a fit.
No. 3: Central Division
Trade Options: Travis Boyd (Arizona Coyotes), Ryan Dzingle (Arizona Coyotes), Anton Stralman (Arizona Coyotes), Erik Gustaffson (Chicago Blackhawks), Brett Connley (Chicago Blackhawks), Joe Pavelski (Dallas Stars), John Klingberg (Dallas Stars)
Let’s start with the worst team in the NHL that happened to beat the Leafs two weeks ago: Arizona Coyotes.
Travis Boyd played 20 games with the Leafs last year before getting claimed on waivers by the Vancouver Canucks. I don’t think Toronto wanted to lose him because during those 20 games, in my opinion, he played great. He was a solid fourth-line centre option, but because of the salary-cap, he was the odd-man out.
In 32 games this year, Boyd has scored 10 goals and has been a first-line centre in Arizona. With a league-minimum cap-hit, Boyd should be a huge target for the Leafs. Not only because he would be a good fit but because he’s familiar with the team.
Of the other trade options, the sexiest name or the bunch is John Klingberg.
He’s everything you want from a defenseman right now. He has a low cap-hit, can play top-four minutes and is a point-producer. He’s shown he can carry a defensive-core on a Stanley Cup Finals run as well, so that’s huge.
If the Leafs can pull off a Klingberg trade without giving up a lot of it’s current roster, they need to make it happen. Trading prospects and draft-picks should be a no-brainer when it comes to acquiring a player of Klingberg’s talent.
No. 4: Pacific Division
Trade Options: Mark Giorando (Seattle Kraken), Jared McCann (Seattle Kraken), Marcus Johansson (Seattle Kraken), Riley Sheean (Seattle Kraken), Josh Mason (Anaheim Ducks), Richard Rakell (Anaheim Ducks), Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks), Luke Schenn (Vancouver Canucks), Alex Chiasson (Vancouver Canucks)
When you start looking at the teams in the Western Conference, the trade options become more intriguing, as team’s hate trading within their division or conference. As a result, the Pacific Division offers a lot of trade options for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Although I think Mark Giorando would be a great addition for Toronto, he makes too much money. In terms of realistic options on Seattle, Marcus Johansson should be the player that the Leafs look at.
Johansson is such a professional. No matter what team or role he’s in, he seems to contribute and be a player that you want. He has 97 NHL playoff games of experience, has scored 20 goals and can play up-and-down in the line-up (stats: hockeybd.com).
He has the skills to play in the top-six but also has an edge and physical side that allows him to play in the bottom-six.
For Toronto Maple Leafs fans unfamiliar with him, he’s kind of like Michael Bunting, except with more experience and is a little better. With a $1.5M cap-hit, and as a pending UFA, the Leafs should target Johansson.
Next. William Nylander to 3rd Line?. dark
Of the rest of the trade options, Josh Manson and Richard Rakell would be dream options who would fill top-six left-wing and top-four defensive issues. Their cap-hit’s are a little higher, but if there was a way Kyle Dubas could pull off a trade for either player, it would make the Leafs even bigger Stanley Cup favorites.