Toronto Maple Leafs Should Pursue 2nd Overall Pick in Draft

The Toronto Maple Leafs need to make a big move.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been linked in trade rumours with the New Jersey Devils.

The Leafs want to compete, and could use a star player on an entry-level-contract to round out their roster.

The Devils are about to start competing, and may want some help to get over the hump – the kind of help a 2nd overall pick might not offer for years to come. 

The Leafs, unlike the Devils, wouldn’t need the 2nd overall pick to be a core player to help them out.  All they’d need is a talented weapon they could hide deep in their lineup, at a dirt-cheap caphit, that could give them an advantage over the competition.

It’s a match that helps both teams, and I think the Leafs could pull off something smart and creative if there were to think along these lines.

Toronto Maple Leafs Should Target 2nd Pick

Whether it’s Shane Wright or Juraj Slafkovsky, either player could step in and (protected by the Leafs big name stars) help instantly.

To a team like the Leafs, having a potential star player on an Entry Level Contract would be a godsend, and the cost to pull it off would likely reflect that.

But let’s stay that the Leafs were to offer Justin Holl (top four NHL right-side defenseman on a very cheap $2 million cap hit), Alex Kerfoot (helpful top six winger with massive defensive upside, cheap cap hit for what he brings), the rights to Jack Campbell, the 25th pick in this year’s draft, 2 x future first round picks and Topi Niemela.

In exchange the Leafs would get the #2 pick and Mackenzie Blackwood.

This would be paying an absolute ton, but the Leafs would have another star forward and a potential starting goalie, and they’d clear a bunch of cap space.

The Canadiens will almost certainly select Shane Wright, and if the Leafs actually drafted Juraj Slafkovsky, it would be a perfect fit.

Slafkovsky is a “finesse” player who also happens to be 225 lbs and can play a power game. His potential is “best scorer in the world” but he’s a risky proposition to get there, meanwhile Shane Wright is pretty much guaranteed to be a solid NHL player in the worst case scenario.

I don’t really see this as a realistic move because most teams, no matter what they say, don’t have the guts to trade a second overall pick.  The Devils are in a unique position, however, where they find an instant infusion of depth, along with a starting goalie, to be more important, which the Leafs can provide.

If they would be willing to move the #2 pick, the Toronto Maple Leafs should be interested.