The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to host the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight.
Coming off an amazing seven-straight goal comeback on Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Maple Leafs are probably feeling pretty good about themselves.
They are in first place and have a seven point lead over tonight's opponent, who have won two in a row.
The Lightning aren't as far back as they seem, however. They have played three games less than the Leafs and if they win tonight, they'll only be five points back with three games in hand.
The Leafs will be going with Joseph Woll and will be looking to beat one of the NHL's best teams, which they don't normally do. The Leafs lost recently to Dallas, Winnipeg, Washington and Carolina. Most of their recent wins, with an exception for New Jersey, have been against loser teams.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Game Preview Cancelled in Service to Trade Rumours
That's as much of a game preview as I can do, because while prepping to write it, I came across this:
Exclusive Report: Penguins fire sale incoming? Sources indicate Pittsburgh open to trading many big-name players, not just rentals, by NHL trade deadline. See full report on who Pittsburgh has put on the trade block 👀.https://t.co/EFXe02J1VI
— RG (@TheRGMedia) January 20, 2025
Specifically, it says that the Penguins are willing to trade Erik Karlsson and retain money on his contract. This should completely change every priority that Brad Treliving has. Trading for Erik Karlsson should now be his main goal in life.
Karlsson makes $11.5 million for this year and the next two. He is 34 years old but he is still an excellent player and hasn't missed a game in three years.
Karlsson has declined with age - he's arguably the best defenseman of his generation - but not that much. According to the Athletic's Player Cards he's a +7 in value overall, and a +12 in offensive value.
For context, Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe's end of season forecasted value is +8, while OEL's is a +4 and Cale Makar's is +23. The fact that EK is a +7 while on a bad team with no elite superstar scorers is incredible.
On the Leafs, Karlsson can get nothing but sweetheart minutes and won't have to play in all situations, so I think he could be quite a bit better than a +7 overall. He'll also be passing to Marner and Matthews. Karlsson's speed used to allow him to make up for his bad defense, and while he's not what he used to be, he is still a potentially elite player if used properly.
Karlsson is exactly what the Leafs need - an elite PP QB who can tilt the ice at 5v5. He's going to be amazing while playing with Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews and William Nylander.
More than anything, the Leafs need a top-four defender who can move the puck and push OEL to the 3rd pairing where he can actually be effective. A Karlsson-Rielly pairing is exactly what the Leafs need.
If Pittsburgh retains half his money and takes back the Max Domi contract, I think the Leafs could pull this off without spending too much money or assets. This is exactly what the doctor ordered.