The Toronto Maple Leafs get attached to pretty much every player in the NHL who can has even a 1% chance of being traded.
But there are two types of Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Rumours. There is the fun kind (the Leafs should acquire Erik Karlsson), the ridiculous kind (the Leafs should trade for Connor McDavid) and the desperate-to-get-one-right-so-I-can-establish-credibility (the Leafs should trade for Scott Laughton).
I like the first two, but the "realistic" trade proposals drive me nuts because they are never about helping the team and way more about someone guessing right. If the Leafs get Scott Laughton - which they actually might - it would be fine, but it wouldn't really make a huge difference.
And that's what brings us here today - the Leafs are not a finely tuned machine in need of a slight upgrade. Sure, Laughton helps, but keep in mind that in the NHL an MVP season is worth roughly six wins. The acquisition of Scott Laughton for less than half a season is highly unlikely to produce even one extra win. (contract info via puckpedia.com).
The Maple Leafs Are 1 Player Away - But It's a Really, Really Good Player
Yes, Laughton would make them better, and in a salary cap league, where there is full parity and there isn't a huge gap between 1st place and 16th place, marginal upgrades do matter, but the forces of luck have way more to do with how the team ultimately finishes than if they get a Scott Laughton-or-equivalent player.
Since most individual players only offer the most marginal of upgrades, it's better to go big or go home. Adding a star player - doesn't matter what position - is the key to upgrading before the playoffs.
Forget the salary cap for a minute - a creative team can circumvent it with cap retention and intelligent cuts from the current roster - let's just think about the kind of player the Leafs need.
A potential star, ideally one who is performing badly right now, or who has a bad contract, or who's team's timeline doesn't fit their age/contract, that could be available and who could offer a massive upgrade to the Leafs.
Does the contention window of the Blue Jackets make trading Zach Werenski a smart move? Do the Rangers struggles mean they'd retain on the last two years of the 33 year old Aretemi Panarin? What if they retained on Mika Zibanejed?
Could Jason Robertson be available at a low cost? What about Jon Huberdeau?
The Leafs need to be creative, aggressive and most of all, they need to aim high. Brad Treliving needs to go Big Game Hunting. Scott Laughton ain't cutting it.