3 Reasons Why the Toronto Maple Leafs Have to Trade for Patrik Laine

The Toronto Maple Leafs "missing piece" just became available for trade last week.

And now that the Columbus Blue Jackets have Patrik Laine on the market, the Toronto Maple Leafs need to act.

This is a no-brainer for Leafs GM Brad Treliving: buy low on an a franchise player who has Hall of Fame talent.

No team should be more aggressive in their pursuit of Patrik Laine than the Leafs. There are three main reasons why, and I'll outline them now.

3 Reasons Why the Toronto Maple Leafs Have to Trade for Patrik Laine

1. The Leafs Need Depth Scoring.

The Leafs biggest problem has always been that they assume they have their offense locked up and they spend all their efforts making their team more defensive, harder to play against, bigger, etc.

It's time for the Leafs to lean into their identity - a high flying goal scoring team full of talent.

The addition of a goal scoring talent like Laine, especially in a position where he won't be asked to be a franchise player, will be incredible. The Leafs would have 4 x 40 scorers on their roster (Matthews, Laine, Tavares, Nylander) in addition to Mitch Marner, Nick Robertson, Max Domi, and Easton Cowan.

Let's be realistic: The Leafs scored 2 goals or less in six of seven playoff games. In their one exception, they scored a whopping three times.

That makes it clear they need offense, but all they've done this summer is get less offensive by losing Tyler Bertuzzi and maybe Nick Robertson.

The Leafs biggest weakness has gotten weaker since they last played a game. They obviously need more scoring and Patrik Laine is the surest way to get it.