Toronto Maple Leafs 2024 Trade Deadline Needs
As we approach the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs are seemingly involved in trade rumours on every other player, for better or worse.
It's no secret that the Toronto Maple Leafs have holes on their roster but with many names linked to the Leafs it's clear that they know that. Especially since this is General Manager Brad Treliving's first deadline, he's likely itching to put his mark on the club.
In December, Treliving joined Sportsnet's Real Kyper & Bourne show and said "Would we like to improve the defence? Absolutely. It all comes at a cost." He also said "I made it clear coming into the season, that we would like to see if we can help ourselves on defence."
The good news is, that it seems that Treliving plans to make moves but isn't just going to sell the farm for the sole purpose of making a change.
According to multiple insiders, the Leafs did attempt to add to their group and were in on Nikita Zadorov before the Russian left-shot defender was traded to the Vancouver Canucks.
Although it is more likely than not that the players the Leafs are reportedly interested in now go the same way, there are quite a few names floating around tied to the Leafs. Aside from defenders, there are a number of forwards that they are rumoured to be kicking tires on as well.
Toronto Maple Leafs 2024 Trade Dealine Needs: Defence
As evidenced by the names the club is rumoured to be in on and Treliving's comments, the blueline is something that must be addressed.
The season-ending injury to John Klingberg made this situation all the more dire after Treliving allocated north of $4 million to the Swedish blueliner in the off-season. Although other free agent acquisitions, Simon Benoit and William Lagesson have stepped up admirably in his place, they aren't the players that a team wants to enter a deep playoff run with in their top-four. This is especially true with the well-documented decline in play of T.J. Brodie this season.
There are a few options that the team has in order to address the blueline. One option would be to promote Timothy Liljegren to the top-four, at this stage he is more than deserving. This of course has already happened, as Liljegren has excelled at the top of the lineup during Rielly's suspension, but is it permanent?
The two best pairings that have played over 100 minutes at 5-on-5 according to moneypuck's xG model feature Liljegren. Both the Giordano-Liljegren and McCabe-Liljegren pairings are the only ones that produce positive xG% results.
Also of note, in Rielly's absence due to his suspension he has been paired with Brodie and they have seen positive results in their relatively limited minutes. It is about time Liljegren becomes a top-four staple. This will not only help the team on the ice but it will help to lower the acquisition cost of adding a defender at the deadline as they won't be forced to find a defenceman to play in the top two pairs.
One wrinkle that would make this all moot is if Treliving and Co. decide to move on from Brodie before his contract expires at the end of this season. This could make sense if the Leafs don't plan to re-sign Brodie, as a way to reallocate his $5 million caphit to upgrade the team. This deal would only make sense in specific circumstances and the team would have to be willing to not only absorb the caphit but also the remainder of his $7.5 million salary he is paid this season.
Regardless of the level of defender the Leafs are looking to acquire, they will definitely need to find an upgrade. At this point, the handedness does not matter as they could find fits on either the left or right side, however it will likely be the right given their current roster construction.
Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Deadline Needs: Forward/Goalie
Although the Bobby McMann feel-good hattrick story is great, it seems to mask a legitimate issue that the Leafs have had this season, depth.
Specifically, on their fourth-line with David Kampf. The Leafs re-upped their defacto shutdown centre to a four year contract, carrying a $2.4 million AAV last off-season. It was one of Treliving's first moves as GM and has not looked good so far, less than one season in. Almost every line combination featuring Kampf this season has been repeatedly caved-in by just about every metric.
Although I don't claim to be an expert, one of the biggest takeaways that I have noticed with Kampf since he became a Leaf was that he seems to be at his best when he has two speedy, forechecking wingers with good puck skills.
The best line that Kampf played on was when he had Pierre Engvall and Ilya Mikheyev flanking him. They could both carry the puck in transition, using their speed to help their line go from starting in the defensive end to finishing their shift in the offensive zone. Noah Gregor and Ryan Reaves are not even close to those players.
Unfortunately, it's not only Kampf that has been a dragging the Leafs this season, it is their bottom-six in general, at least until recently.
Although their third line is producing at a decent pace, the Leafs lack a real difference maker upfront aside from their core-four forwards. Even simply looking at the stat sheets, there is a noticeable drop-off in production after John Tavares.
Now currently, I have the Leafs needs set at a top-four and/or third-pair defenceman, a middle-six scoring winger, and a depth forward. I feel that this would be good enough for the Leafs to look at making a serious run, assuming that Joseph Woll mostly returns to form when he comes back from injury.
He was recently sent down to the Marlies for a conditioning stint, if he is able to return back to an above .910% save percentage netminder and Samsonov is able to continue his play as of late, the Leafs should be fine between the pipes. However, if either of them isn't up to snuff, Treliving may need to add a goltender to his shopping list. (All stats viaMoneyPuck.com.All Contract values via CapFriendly.com).
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The trade deadline is March 8th at 3pm EST, time is running out for Treliving and Co. to decide whether they stand pat or if they intend to go all-in for this season.