Once the Olympic break is over, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be facing a huge decision ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Just prior to the break, when the Maple Leafs season appeared to be all but over, Toronto managed to reel off three straight victories to put themselves back into the playoff picture. At a 27-21-9 record and 63 points, the Leafs sit just six points out of a playoff spot with 25 games remaining on the schedule.
So with that in mind, realistically, the question is are the Maple Leafs trade deadline buyers or sellers? Should Toronto go all-in and do all they can to get themselves back into contention, or should they salvage what is turning out to be a lost season to recoup as much assets as possible for the future? Let’s take a look at which stance the Leafs should pursue.
Should the Maple Leafs be trade deadline buyers or sellers?
Why the Maple Leafs should be deadline sellers
Despite being only six points out for the second and final wild card playoff spot, the Leafs essentially have four teams that they need to leapfrog over, along with holding off another three more hot on their tails from below just to make it. Even if that doesn’t seem like too tough of a task, just take a look at all of the teams ahead of Toronto and how they have been trending compared to the buds in blue and white.
Every single team currently ahead of the Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference have all posted better than .500 winning records in their past 10 games, with all of them having positive goal differentials other than the Detroit Red Wings. The Leafs, on the other hand, have just a 4-5-1 losing record in their past 10 even with their current three-game winning streak, along with a -6 goal differential. Most importantly, the bulk of the remaining games for Toronto is on the road where they have struggled predominantly this season.Â
In addition, the Maple Leafs currently hold many key pieces on their roster that could net the team a multitude of assets come the trade deadline. Whether it be Bobby McMann, Nick Robertson, Matias Maccelli, Scott Laughton, Brandon Carlo, and yes even perhaps Morgan Rielly, the Leafs could potentially get a huge prospect and draft picks haul as a result. With many believing that Toronto needs some kind of remake to get the team back into their winning ways, this could be the best way to get it accomplished.
Why the Maple Leafs should be deadline buyers
The Leafs may have a lot of teams to overcome to make the playoffs, but 14 of their remaining games are against opponents that they need to chase down. So in a way, Toronto could control their own destiny if they could somehow win the majority of those games down the stretch, which could be possible if they manage to obtain key pieces to bolster their roster at the trade deadline.
On top of that, with the mentality that practically every game from now until the end of the season is a must-win, do-or-die game, that could be the difference maker that the Maple Leafs have been looking for all these years to put them over the top. Finishing higher up in a good positions in prior seasons might have made the Leafs too comfortable heading into the playoffs, depriving them of that killer instinct and relentless will to win when the games mattered most. So if they end up fighting hard to the finish with the proper upgrades in the coming weeks, that possibility could become a reality instead.
Finally, by becoming sellers, it would mean that the Maple Leafs are waving the white flag and admitting the fact that without Mitch Marner, Toronto is no longer capable of winning success. Leafs management certainly won’t want that notion to transpire in any way. As a result, they need to do all they can to ensure that they can still contend without him.
The Verdict
Making a rash move towards either stance could end up being detrimental to the team both in the short and long run. That is because to force a team that can’t reach the standards expected of them to contend and end up losing precious assets for nothing, or to make a team that believed that they could do it, only to trade away all of their hope for now and the near future could significantly affect the focus and mentality of the entire franchise going forward. As a result, the Maple Leafs should closely monitor their performance during their next three to four games before making the final decision on which path to take. That is because whichever one they end up choosing, expect it to have a huge ripple effect on the entire organization for better or for worse.