Toronto Maple Leafs: Top 10 Trade Deadline Bait Board

It’s an exciting time of the year to be a Toronto Maple Leafs fan because it’s trade rumor time!

Over the past few seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs have made multiple trades in the second-half of the campaign, leading to the NHL Trade Deadline.

For example, they’ve acquired such names as Jack Campbell, Jake Muzzin, Nick Foligno and Mark Giordano who were all smart moves. Obviously, some worked out better than others, but we’ve seen that General Manager Kyle Dubas isn’t afraid to make a trade.

The Leafs shouldn’t just make a trade to make one. They’re a well-oiled machine and could still be a contender without making a move. However, this is the time to strike, as one more big-name player could be the difference for this team finally winning a playoff round, let alone a Stanley Cup.

When Toronto does make a trade, I don’t want to see someone who’s a fourth-line player or a bottom-six defenseman. The Leafs have more than enough depth to insert a player in the bottom portion of the roster.

Instead, they need someone who can compete for a top-six role or top-pairing spot so that it slides a good player down the line-up. Justin Holl needs to be the sixth defenseman and Pierre Engvall needs to be on the fourth-line.

There shouldn’t be a single shift throughout the playoffs where either of those players are playing bigger minutes than they should. No offense to those specific players, but this roster would be so much better if they’re playing less minutes than they currently are.

They’re still good enough to start in the line-up, but they need to be in a better role on a nightly basis.

Here are the top-10 players on the Toronto Maple Leafs trade bait board.