The Toronto Maple Leafs lineup is not a finished product, nor has their new GM made a trade yet, and so speculation is running rampant.
What kind of moves will GM Brad Treliving make leading up to his first regular-season appearance with the Toronto Maple Leafs?
While teams have had all summer to get ready for the season, there are still many gifted depth players may be available and the team is likely to change before the season stats.
However, the biggest changes tend to come in March when some teams are eliminated and different players are available.
The depth the team currently poses is not as much as they had last season, but after loading up with rentals at the trade deadline, that is to be expected.
Here are two players the Leafs might want to target in-season.
2 Players the Toronto Maple Leafs Can Acquire at Next Year’s Deadline
Looking at notable upcoming free agents at the start of next summer, many players would complement the current roster for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Steven Stamkos would be an ideal leader in the locker room for the Leafs and during the playoffs, he would come clutch for the team with his stellar gameplay and niftiness. He is from the Toronto area and knows the game incredibly well enough to support his teammates in a fashionable manner. That’s just an example of a dream acquisition, but he’s not likely to be acquired in a trade mid-season.
As far as players who may be available at the deadline, I have two names that would work well for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Chris Tanev, while he is 33, he remains one of the NHL’s premier defensive players. His experience and raw strength would give the Toronto Maple Leafs team the edge in battles along the board, with good defensive awareness that would fit well into the Maple Leafs system.
Tanev would be a massive upgrade over what they currently have, and finally give the Leafs a replacement for Jake Muzzin. While he does have a NTC, if Calgary is out of the playoffs come March, he would likely waive it to go to a contender. He doesn’t score, so he wouldn’t cost a lot, and he has a reasonable $4.5 million cap-hit.
The second player is more of a “break glass in case of emergency” type addition. The Leafs could be perfectly fine with Samonov and Holl, but if they aren’t having good seasons come March, and if Winnipeg is outside the playoffs, the Leafs should pursue Connor Hellebuyck.
With a perfect package and the adequate amounts of cap space available next year for the Toronto Maple Leafs, this deal may make sense. In fact, it could be a necessity if the team’s goalies are struggling.
All in all, this team will be making considerate amount of moves this year to secure a steady playoff berth and go down the stretch, as a fan I am waiting to see how it is done.