The Toronto Maple Leafs are only a few moves away from being a legitimate Stanley Cup favourite this year.
If you look at the standings, the Toronto Maple Leafs are right up there as one of the best in the NHL, but I wouldn't consider them a Stanley Cup favourite yet. I'm not even sure if I would make them the favourite to win within the Atlantic Division, as I would still give the nod to the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning because they're proven winners.
The Panthers and Lightning have collectively reached the Stanley Cup Finals five years in a row, so in my opinion, they're still the favourite to do it again.
The Leafs, on the other hand, have only reached the second round once since 2004, so it's tough to make them a favourite when we haven't seen it happen in forever.
The Leafs roster hasn't changed too much over the years, but the team's top-end talent on defense is definitely better than year's past. The combination of Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe feels like a solid number-one pairing, but after that, the team struggles. Their top-pairing is better, but overall, you could argue that this six-man core is not the best we've seen during the Matthews Era.
The same thing applies to the Leafs bottom-six, because although you have names such as Nick Robertson, Max Domi and Max Pacioretty who you recognize, they aren't delivering to their full capabilities. As a result, the Leafs desperately need to add another two defenseman and two forwards in order to become a true Stanley Cup contender.
Here are three trades that could make that possibility a reality.