Toronto Maple Leafs and Senators Should Make Blockbuster Trade

The Toronto Maple Leafs cannot go into the season with their blue-line the way it is.

The current Toronto Maple Leafs blue-line features almost zero physicality, limited upside, and no elite players.

As we’ve seen before, these things are pretty important.   You can’t expect to win the Stanley Cup when your one and only defenseman capable of throwing a hit is Jake McCabe or if you have no elite players and no possibility of a breakout season.

The NHL is a game where superstars dictate results. It’s better to have one amazing player and 5 bad players than to have six pretty good players. Every team that has an elite defenseman has a better blue-line than the Leafs.

The Leafs best defender, Morgan Rielly, would not make any accurate list of the top 20 NHL  defenseman.

As for upside, the Leafs are looking to dress 3 x 30 year-olds, and two guys on the verge of being 30. Only Timothy Liljegren, who the coach hasn’t expressed any interest in playing in the top-four, or even in the playoffs at all, has any upside.

Therefore, a trade is necessary.

Toronto Maple Leafs Need a Massive Trade to Fix Their Blue-Line

Yesterday, I suggested a trade that would bring Calgary Flames defenseman Chris Tanev to the Leafs.  This would be great, but Calgary probably won’t trade their best defenseman.

At this time of the year, when all teams hope to be good next year, it is probably pretty unlikely that any team wants to trade the kind of elite player the Toronto Maple Leafs should be after.

Also, there is the salary cap to consider.

You might think “How can the Leafs add anyone good when they are currently over the Salary Cap”?  This is a very good question.

The answer is that TJ Brodie, Calle Jarkrok and Sam Lafferty are options that the Leafs could use to get under the cap, if necessary.  This would give the Leafs approximately $6 million to land an elite defender.

But then what? How do you find an elite defender who is available at the start of the season? There is only one team I could maybe see doing something like this.

Ottawa has the recently signed Jake Sanderson to a long-term deal, but he plays the left side and so do Jacob Chychrun and Tomas Chabot.

Could a deal for Chabot be worked out?

Specifically William Nylander for Thomas Chabot?

He’s got five years left at $8 million and he will be 31 when the deal expires.

William Nylander is going to get paid slightly more for longer.

The Leafs are fine at forward, but horrible on defense.  This move makes them a more balanced and better team.  Chabot is an elite defender and would instantly be the Leafs best player.

Also, if they moved Nylander they’d be able to work Nick Robertson into the top of the lineup easier.   Knies and Robertson dirt-cheap makes trading Nylander at least palatable if not ideal.

But you can also save money (starting next year) and improve your blue-line.  It’s also a fair trade that helps both teams (Ottawa is wrong to think Tarasenko is going to replace DeBrincat).

This is a trade so obvious it almost has to happen.