3 Physical Players Toronto Maple Leafs Should Trade For
Skill wins in the regular season but the Toronto Maple Leafs need to be more physical when the playoffs start if they want to win a Stanley Cup this year.
The Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have to shift their entire philosophy to compete for a Stanley Cup this season but they should be cognizant of what has stopped them from succeeding in year’s past.
Although you could argue that the Boston Bruins, Game 7’s and terrible comeback’s have been Toronto’s Achilles heel, not being physical enough has really hurt them.
Just look at last year’s playoffs and the goal that Montreal scored in Game 6. Travis Dermott was scared to absorb a hit and ultimately gave a puck away that turned into the overtime winner. Dermott was taught to turn away from the hit and try to get rid of the puck, but if he was more physical, maybe that goal wouldn’t have happened.
Also, we’ve seen Auston Matthews get rag-dolled behind the net in the playoffs and instead of engaging physically, he’s laughing.
As a player who’s 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Matthews needs to get into that players face and intimidate him. Although Toronto thinks their smart because they’re getting a power-play, that’s not going to win in a seven game series for four straight rounds.
You can’t get pushed around in the playoffs for four rounds and win. You can definitely win one round off skill, but sooner than later that’s going to catch up to you.
As a result, here are three players that would really help the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs:
No. 1: Zdeno Chara (New York Islanders, D)
After dominating the Toronto Maple Leafs for a decade, it would be amazing to see Chara on our team.
The 44-year-old is a physical specimen. Despite his age, he’s still an intimidating player to play against and is someone that everyone should fear.
With 200 career playoff games and over 1,600 regular season games under his belt, Chara is someone the Leafs desperately need. Not only does he have crazy experience, but he makes the league minimum and can still contribute.
Chara has the ability to help disguise any weaknesses in the player he’s playing against, so a youngster like Rasmus Sandin or Timothy Lijegren would benefit tremendously from playing beside him.
This could be his final year, so if Chara wants to compete for a Stanley Cup, Lou Lamoriello should ship him to his former team and help the Leafs for their stretch run.
No. 2: Michael Pezzetta (Montreal Canadiens, LW)
The pending RFA only has 30 NHL games of experience, but he could be a spark-plug in the team’s bottom six.
Over the past year, Pezzetta has fought some heavy-weights like Ryan Reaves, Mark Borowiecki, Zach Kassian and Radko Gudas, showing he’s not afraid of anyone.
Besides Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Clifford, Toronto doesn’t really have anyone that’s willing to fight and Clifford is barely in the line-up. The Leafs don’t need to fight every night but they could use another player or two who’s not afraid to do it and spark the team when needed.
In the regular season, it doesn’t matter as much but when things get heated in a seven-game series, having Pezzetta jump over the boards and hit someone could be the spark that’s needed.
If the Leafs traded for Pezzetta and he played on the fourth-line beside Jason Spezza and Wayne Simmonds, it would be an “All-Toronto Line” as Pezzetta is a local-boy as well.
He’s not going to provide much offense, but his energy and willingness to fight could be something that really helps Toronto in a tough playoff match-up.
No. 3: Jeremy Lauzon (Seattle Kraken, D)
If you’re looking for a cheap defenseman who plays with physicality and has a ton of upside, Lauzon may be that player for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The former second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft was drafted high not only because of his physical game, but because of his offensive ability. In his draft-year, he scored 15 goals and contributed 80 PIM’s (which was second on the team).
Throughout his hockey career, Lauzon has never been shy to drop the gloves. Whether it was in the QMJHL, AHL or NHL, Lauzon will fight whenever he’s asked.
Luazon already has four fights this season and had a spirited battle against tough-guy Josh Manson, so at $850K, he could be a good fit on Toronto’s blue-line.
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As a left-handed defenseman, Luzon could provide depth on the third-pair and could add toughness that Toronto is desperately missing on their blue-line.