The Toronto Maple Leafs made the major decision to part ways with Matthew Knies and bring in the more win-now player and more skilled winger in Kirill Marchenko from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday afternoon. It felt like the major move that would set them up for at least a few more months until we get into trade deadline season -- well, that's not quite right.
According to TSN's Chris Johnston, the Maple Leafs are not going to sit still after making the Marchenko blockbuster. They are still looking to add and could do it in the early parts of the season, not waiting around for the prices to skyrocket around the trade deadline.
"They're calling it patiently aggressive, but anyone who has watched the last three months would not call anything patient that's happened from John Chayka thus far," Johnston said on the latest edition of Insider Trading. "And the Leafs feel even after giving up Matthew Knies, who they viewed as their best young trade chip, that they still have other futures that they could move for help-now solutions. That includes the first-round pick fromt he Colorado Avalanche and some young prospects. And I think they'll be looking to upgrade even in these early days of the season.
"One area to keep an eye on is their defense. They did have to include Emil Andrae in a reworked version of that Knies-Marchenko trade. So, they do have another opening there perhaps for another addition here in the future."
Marchenko passed his Leafs debut with flying colours, so maybe they could try to do the same thing by adding a player who wants out of his current situation and then flourishes almost immediately in Toronto. The need is certainly on the back end, but what could that look like and who could they target?
Could the Maple Leafs make a big add on the blue line?
Given the loss of their biggest trade chip in Knies, we don't envision that they're going to be hunting for Quinn Hughes or Zach Werenski in a trade if either of those become available throughout the season. But could they then turn to a tier lower? Maybe take a chance on an unproven young player?
Alexander Nikishin is of course the first player that comes to mind. The 24-year-old left-handed defenseman from the Carolina Hurricanes is still a restricted free agent without a contract and general manager Eric Tulsky seems concrete in his position that he will not overpay an unproven talent just because of what the market is at right now.
Could the Leafs then pounce on this opportunity?
Nikishin would add a big of a physical edge while also being an offensively dynamic blueliner. He isn't the most secure playdriver by his underlying metrics, but he could certainly get there and if a system has his talents in mind. To make the money work, Carolina might need to take back someone like Morgan Rielly (who would have to waive his no-movement clause) and then add pieces like solid prospects and probably that Colorado first-round pick. Could someone like Tinus Luc Koblar be a fit for the Hurricanes to make this deal work? It's at least worth asking.
There are other options, too. Vince Dunn is a pending free agent in Seattle and would be a big offensive addition. If the Islanders flounder out of the gate, could defense-first additions like Ryan Pulock or Adam Pelech make sense? The Flames' Zach Whitecloud feels like someone the Leafs would value and is certainly available for the right price.
There are mid-tier options that could be upgrades for this team, it's just finding the right piece for the right price.
Add us as a preferred source on Google