The Toronto Maple Leafs present a difficult challenge for the intrepid reporter.
Their General Manager, Brad Treliving, is a risk-adverse chicken who has cowered away from big trades ever since his disastrously bad attempt to deal with Matthew Tkachuk's refusal to re-sign in Calgary.
On the other hand, the Toronto Maple Leafs are a cup-contender who have three of the best players alive in the world today in their primes and on their roster.
So does a reporter write about who he thinks the Leafs should target, or does he do a write-up about realistic targets that they'll probably settle for? Chris Johnston and Jonas Siegel, two of the best there are at covering this team, dropped the ball in their recent post about the top 5 defenseman the Leafs should target.
They chose to list five "realistic" targets (I'd link to it, but it's paywalled). Without listing them, all I'll say is that I don't have it in me to write a strong enough editorial about how much I think it would suck, and what a failure I think it would be, if the Leafs added any of these players as their main addition.
To my mind, if you are looking at a UFA Mitch Marner and John Tavares, and Auston Matthews is in his prime and you have two good goalies and one of the last best years of Chris Tanev, you have to go for it. Trading for Luke Schenn for the 3rd or 4th time doesn't exactly scream "Going for it" now does it?
Also, keep in mind that two out of the seven teams the Leafs will hope to get past on their way to representing the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final have added 100 point forwards in their primes in the last two weeks.
Maple Leafs Need to Be More Ambitious: 3 Defense Trades That Would Actually Help
First, before listing the three actual best options for the Leafs, let me overcome some objections:
Cap Space: The Leafs have it if they include David Kamp, Ryan Reaves and Max Domi in any trade.
Assets: The Leafs have them if they are willing to trade Cowan, their first, Minten or Greybonkin, which they should be. It is preposterous for this team to have any untouchable prospects.
Bowen Byram: 23 years old, 6'1, 205 LBS, and 27 points in 53 games. Byram is an emerging star who would instantly become the Leafs number-one, pushing everyone down into a more proper spot. He is a pending UFA with a cap-hit under $4 million on a team that won't make the playoffs, making him the perfect trade candidate.
Easton Cowan + Max Domi (for cap reasons) and a first gets it done, and now the Leafs have a top pairing. Pair him with Tanev and let Rielly and McaCabe play second pairing, or put Rielly on his off-side and use Tanev/McCabe as a shut-down team. The options are limitless.
If Byram can't be had, the Leafs next option should be Noah Dobson. Same thing as Byram: his team won't make the playoffs, he's a pending RFA and has a cap-hit of $4 million. Same trade offer too. Dobson is right-handed and bigger. He might even be the better option, but I believe Byram has a higher potential and he is younger.
If neither can be had, Vince Dunn is option number-three. He's a lefty, he's 28, but he's signed for two years after this one. His cap hit is about the same as Rielly's and he's a similar player. He's not as great a fit at the other two, but he gives the Leafs a top-pairing defenseman who can move the puck.
The Leafs simply cannot trade for Connor Murphy or Luke Schenn, unless those guys are brought in as an afterthought dirt-cheap. If those are the Leafs main additions, then I hope they enjoy having some extra time off this summer.
Get me Byram, or failing that, Dobson.