Toronto Maple Leafs: 4 Players Who Will Get Traded This Offseason
Expect the Toronto Maple Leafs to make some big changes this offseason.
For the, what feels like 100th season in a row, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost another Game 7 in the First Round of the playoffs.
As we reflect back on the season, there are actually a lot of positives. Auston Matthews scored 60 goals, Mitch Marner was one of the top players in the league, and the team won their most points in franchise history. They had depth, their best defensive-core in years and Jack Campbell was clearly a number-one goalie.
However, like clockwork, the team couldn’t get it done and lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games.
I can understand why people were happy about the effort and saluted this team for going toe-to-toe with arguably the best team in the league, but at the end of the day, a good effort doesn’t get you anywhere.
When is it going to be Toronto’s time to finally win a series?
If you put up a good effort and lose, who cares. You lost. It’s not about giving it a hard fight, it’s about scoring more goals than the other team and the Leafs couldn’t score. It happens every single season and for whatever reason, their offensive prowess goes away in the biggest moments of the year.
So we as get set for another long offseason, there will be thousand’s of questions surrounding this team. There may be a new executive team and new coach come October, but let’s look at four big-name players who may be traded, because the Toronto Maple Leafs clearly need a few new faces in the room to help them get the job done next year.
No. 1: William Nylander
Is there anyone more scrutinized than William Nylander? Despite being a point-per-game player, while scoring 30 goals this season, Nylander continues to get hated on.
And you know what, it’s justified.
Nylander has all of the skill in the world. He can beat a defenseman on the rush and score whenever he wants, but at the same time, he doesn’t have that killer instinct to win. When the games matter the most, he’s not going in the corner to grab a loose puck or putting his body on the line.
Instead, he’s floating in the middle of the ice and playing scared.
At $6.9M per year, Nylander needs to be traded. His skill doesn’t outweigh his will and it’s time to get him off this team.
His contract has value and Toronto will be able to get a great return for him. The other three of the big-four competed all series and showed their worth, but unfortunately it’s time to move on from Nylander and find someone different.
No. 2: Jake Muzzin
Jake Muzzin is a fantastic player and he’s done a lot of good things for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He showed his worth during the Leafs playoff push this year, but at $5.625M, it’s time to move on.
By trading Muzzin, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be able to replace him for one-fifth of the price and will be able to add a similar, if not better, player in Rasmus Sandin.
Sandin and Timothy Liljegren are ready for that next step and those two stepping into the line-up will help push an older player like Muzzin out the door and help gain back some much needed salary cap space.
Muzzin’s experience can’t be replaced but he’s had a ton of injuries over the past few years and the miles are adding up on him. He’s still an effective player, but sooner than later his game is going to fall off a cliff.
Based on his price-tag and the fact that he’ll still be wanted by a ton of teams, it’d be a smart move to trade Muzzin this offseason. Obviously Muzzin would need to waive his NTC to make it happen.
No. 3: Alex Kerfoot
At $3.5M, Kerfoot showed Leafs Nation that he’s a valuable swiss-army knife who can play anywhere in the line-up and play with anyone.
Although he seemed to be everywhere on the ice, he only had two points in seven games this playoff series. That’s not enough production for a player who makes $3.5M, and especially for a player who finds himself on the third or fourth line some nights.
As an expiring contract, at only $3.5M, Kerfoot will be an attractive trade-piece, so the Leafs shouldn’t have an issue getting rid of him. If you think they’ll need to fill a huge hole in his absence, Nick Robertson should easily be able to fill that void as he’s ready for the NHL.
Also, the Leafs have continued to find value contracts over the past few years, so there’s no reason to believe that they can find another Michael Bunting in Free Agency, or someone like that.
Kerfoot has been a nice piece over the years, but he’ll always be compared to Nazem Kadri, which doesn’t help, so it’s time to move on.
No. 4: Petr Mrazek
If the Toronto Maple Leafs think Jack Campbell is their number-one goaltender of the future, then Petr Mrazek needs to be traded.
Mrazek was brought in as insurance for Campbell, but injuries denied him that opportunity to compete for the number-one position. If you polled 100 Toronto Maple Leafs fans right now, they’d probably even forget Mrazek was on the team because he’s been non-existent during his tenure with the club.
You may be thinking that it’s impossible to trade Mrazek, but nobody is impossible to trade. His contract isn’t terrible and teams are always looking for more goaltender depth. With a decade of experience, Mrazek has shown enough to be a solid back-up and actually compete for a starting position, but that’s not going to be in Toronto.
The Leafs need to get rid of Mrazek’s $3.8M and give all of that money to Jack Campbell because if they don’t, they won’t be able to afford him and nobody wants the “SOUPPPP” chants to go away.
dark. Next. Leafs Lose in 7 Games, Again
Sorry, Mrazek but let’s hope we never see him in the blue-and-white ever again.