3 Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects That Could be Traded in the 2023-24

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are all ready for another competitive season once again this year as their journey is set to begin this coming Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens.

Ever since the 2016-17 season at the dawn of the Auston Matthews’ era, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been perennial contenders in the National Hockey League.

Despite some lack of success in the playoffs, they had actually performed admirably in the past few years throughout the regular season.

In keeping the team competitive for an extended period of time, the Leafs have traded away valuable draft pick and prospect capital in exchange for key pieces for their contending roster over the past few seasons.

For the current 2023-24 season, it will be no different as the Leafs are expected to be once again in the heat of the battle for the playoffs, and hopefully with the Stanley Cup waiting at the end of the trail.

With that goal in mind, which prospects could the Maple Leafs afford to trade this season to help accomplish that goal in the end?

Here, we take a look at three potential candidates that could see their Leafs tenure short-lived as a result of their championship aspirations.

3 Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects That Could be Traded During the 2023-24 Season

Roni Hirvonen

Roni Hirvonen was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Despite his diminutive size of being five-foot nine and 176 pounds, Hirvonen plays with the heart and toughness of a heavyweight.

Not only does he like to agitate his opponents, he also possesses smart hockey IQ, along with great positioning on the ice as an ideal two-way centreman.

Many observers have taken note of his play in recent years, as he helped Team Finland capture both a bronze and silver medal in the past couple years at the IIHF World Junior Championships.

In addition, he has also taken upon a leadership role and exemplified its qualities as he captained the Finnish team in the 2022-23 World Juniors.

He also had an impressive final season with HIFK Helsinki, scoring 15 goals and adding 13 helpers for 28 points in 57 games, helping the team reach the Liiga playoffs.

As he moves to North America to play for the Toronto Marlies this season, Hirvonen looks to further advance his game by adapting to the new foreign ice surface while playing to his strengths at the same time.

However, with a few players that also play centre higher up in the pecking order in Dylan Gambrell, Logan Shaw, and Pontus Holmberg currently in the Leafs system, look for Hirvonen to potentially be trade bait during the course of the 2023-24 season, as his exceptional abilities and advanced game maturity could be attractive to younger, rebuilding teams in the NHL.

Topi Niemela

For Topi Niemela, he just so happened to be also drafted from the same class as Hirvonen, as he went in the third round to the Leafs in 2020.

However, unlike Hirvonen, his play has grown and advanced so much in the past couple of years that he has risen to become the Leafs top defensive prospect in the organization as of the current season.

He officially broke out during the 2021-22 season with Karpat in the Finnish League when he led all defensemen on the team with 10 goals and 22 assists for 32 points.

Although statistically it may have appeared he took a step backwards in 2022-23 when he only managed to put up 18 points in 58 games, he actually focussed on developing his defensive play so that he could be the complete package once his game fully matured.

His rapid development translated into his strong play when he joined the Marlies near the end of the 2022-23 regular season for their playoff run.

Niemela was strong in the playoffs, with two goals and three assists in seven games, but unfortunately the Marlies would end up falling to the Rochester Americans in the second round.

As Niemela looks to become the next Rasmus Sandin or Timothy Liljegren to graduate from the Marlies to join the big club, his route to the NHL may unfortunately be blocked by a couple other promising players ahead of him.

With the impressive play of Conor Timmins during the preseason prior to his injury, along with the standout performance so far by Mikko Kokkonen, Niemela may need to wait for his opportunity further down the road.

If the opportunity doesn’t end up being there, he could potentially be a key part in any big Leafs trade this season, as his value has certainly risen to become almost equivalent to a first round pick nowadays.

Nick Robertson

Finally, there’s the still-promising, yet unlucky Nick Robertson.

Taken in the second round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the Leafs, he was once thought to be the steal of the draft.

That was because in his subsequent season in the OHL, he would tear up the league by scoring 55 goals in just 46 games, putting him on the NHL radar instantly.

He even ended up making his NHL debut in the playoffs for the Leafs in 2019-20 in which he scored his first NHL goal in the process.

However, things haven’t been as rosy since then as in the following three seasons, Robertson would struggle to find his place with the big club, almost entirely due to injury.

Robertson has only played 82 games at any level over the past 3 seasons.

With hopes to finally get his break in the 2023-24 season, the sudden emergence of the unexpected solid play of rookies Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan in training camp has once again clouded Robertson’s chance of making the big club to start the season.

In particular, Minten had shown to be surprisingly more advanced than his age suggests, along with possessing the size advantage and being able to play effectively at centre already. (All stats from hockeydb.com)

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As a result, the best scenario for both Robertson and the Leafs may be to look for an opportunity to give Robertson a fresh start with another team in the league while recouping some assets if they are unwilling to give him a legitimate chance with the current core.

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