Top 5 Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Assets Ahead of Deadline
MONTREAL, QUEBEC – JULY 08: (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
No. 5: The Toronto Maple Leafs 2023 First-Round Pick
Regardless of whether or not the eventual pick becomes the first or last pick of the First Round, the idea of trading for a first-round pick is still very valuable in professional sports.
Personally, I think the first-round pick is the most overrated asset in sports, especially in hockey, and especially when it can be pick No. 20-32, but general manager’s everywhere still love them.
The Leafs haven’t been shy of trading their first-round pick in the past and they shouldn’t be shy about it again. Unless you’re getting a top pick, the first-round pick isn’t necessary to a team that’s looking to win now.
Sure, you can find a great player who’s not a top-five pick, but the chances of doing so gets lesser with the pick.
The typical NHL trade includes a first-round pick, prospect and roster player so look for the Leafs to utilize this draft pick if they’re making a big splash.
If the Leafs do end up trading this assets, let’s all hope it turns into the last pick of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft as that would mean that Toronto won the Stanley Cup.
No. 4: Nick Robertson
The story of Nick Robertson is a sad one thus far. The highly-touted prospect has had a hard time staying healthy during his stint with the Leafs and has missed a ton of development time, as a result.
By this time, we all expected that Robertson could be a top-six forward in Toronto and would be ripping it up beside the Leafs core-four, but it unfortunately hasn’t happened.
Robertson’s current injury will keep him on the injured reserve for the rest of the season, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a big trade asset for a team. After scoring over a goal per-game in junior, Robertson’s offensive output is still a valuable component.
If healthy, there’s no reason to believe that Robertson can’t become a full-time NHLer and another team out there may value that possibility. Although the stat sheet wouldn’t suggest otherwise, Robertson has looked like an NHLer when he’s played in the top-six, but he hasn’t been given that role as much, thanks to Sheldon Keefe.
With almost a year to recover from injury and an offseason to work-out and get stronger, Robertson could be a valuable player next year and that optimism makes him a great asset at the deadline.
No. 3: Topi Niemela
The two-way defenseman has turned into the Toronto Maple Leafs best defensive prospect and is projected to play in North America for the 2023-24 season. Whether that will be in the NHL or AHL has yet to be determined but next season could be a huge stepping point in Niemela’s career.
Niemela has a ton of potential and could join Sandin and Liljegren as another great European prospect on the Leafs blue-line sooner than later, or the team could look to ship him away at the deadline for an already established NHL defenseman.
Of all the Toronto Maple Leafs prospects, I’d say that this would be the hardest player for Dubas to let go of, for multiple reasons. First, Niemela was drafted by his scouting department in 2020 and could be a steal of a draft pick, after being selected 64th overall.
Not only that, but he’s a right-handed, puck-moving defenseman and that’s every GM’s dream. That style of play is exactly what Dubas has tried to have in Toronto, so moving on from a player like that seems like a very hard decision.
However, if it meant acquiring a top-two defenseman or a first-line winger, than you have to entertain it. There’s a cost of doing business and Niemela may be that cost, as difficult as that may seem.
No. 2: Joseph Woll
Woll was just named to the AHL All-Star team, deservingly so. With a .930 SV% and 2.36 GAA, Woll is turning into the Leafs best goalie prospect and could even be the team’s back-up by the playoffs, if Matt Murray continues to stay on the IR.
Goalies typically take longer to develop, so although he only has four NHL games under his belt since being drafted in 2016, that’s nothing to worry about.
The Leafs haven’t drafted and developed a good goalie in what feels like 30 years, so although Woll could be that player, he’s high on the team’s trade asset board for many reasons. Woll probably wouldn’t turn into a starting goalie for the next three years and the team can’t sit around and wait for that to happen.
However, a rebuilding team has that luxury and they could look at Woll as their future No. 1 goalie. If that’s the case, a team like Arizona or Chicago could be very intrigued at acquiring him and developing him into their future starter.
I’d be shocked if the Leafs traded him because the goalie trade market seems lower than normal, but if Toronto learned anything from the Garrett Sparks situation, it’s that AHL stats don’t matter and it’s OK to move on from an asset while it’s hot.
I’m not saying Woll is the next Sparks, but just because you’re good in the AHL doesn’t mean you’re going to be good in the NHL, so if the Leafs have any thought that he won’t be a starter in Toronto, then he could help get you a big fish in a trade.
No. 1: Matthew Knies
Although I think that Knies is the team’s biggest trade asset and could help fetch them a top-six winger, I do love the idea of him joining the team in the playoffs for a stretch-run.
Knies could be the Leafs top-six forward they’re looking for, without having to give up anything. Or, Toronto could trade a few of their other assets to acquire another top-six forward and then add him to the line-up anyway in the playoffs, because the salary-cap doesn’t matter then.
Knies, a potential Hobey Baker Award finalist this year, is lighting up the NCAA with over a point-per-game. With his size and ability to score, he’s probably the most hyped prospect since Nick Robertson.
Fortunately for Leafs fans, Knies is 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, so we don’t have to worry about his size being a factor when he reaches the pro’s, which gives him an even better chance to excel when he enters the league.
A 20-year-old winger with size who can score will be very high on Leafs opponent’s trade wishes, so it’ll be very interesting to see if Dubas decides to keep his best prospect or trade him away for a rental.
dark. Next. Leafs Should Trade Every Asset
Either way, if Knies gets traded or stays, the Toronto Maple Leafs could have an exciting new addition to their line-up come April.