As of Wednesday morning, the Toronto Maple Leafs remain in first place in the Atlantic Division. However, that doesn't mean the team doesn't have areas that need to be fixed and upgraded. As the NHL approaches the trade deadline (March 8th), the Leafs will be involved in many trade rumors.
The Toronto Maple Leafs could use one more star player at any position. Due to a pretty bad salary cap and asset situation, they may have to settle for just a depth centerman or defenseman.
The Leafs biggest need is another centre since after Matthews and Tavares they are embarrassingly thin at the most important forward position.
As always, during this period of the season, the Leafs will be rumored to every centerman and defenseman rumored to be available.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Latest Trade Rumors
According to David Pagnotta from thefourthperiod.com, the Leafs have some interest in Chicago Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato and Seattle Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. These are just two of the many names floating around. These are rather pedestrian upgrades, and you'd like to see the Leafs shoot higher, but unless they are willing to get highly creative, they lack the cap space and assets to do so.
A couple of other names being mentioned are forwards Brandon Tanev (brother of Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev) from the Seattle Kraken, and Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders. So, let's take a closer look at each of these four players and see if any of them are a good fit for the Leafs.
Ryan Donato
Ryan Donato is a 28-year-old centerman. He is 6'0, 190 pounds, and is not afraid to hit (83 hits). The Leafs need a third-line center who can provide offense and be physical. Donato has registered 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points in 48 games this season. He is what the Leafs thought they were getting when they re-signed Max Domi. (All stats from hockey-reference.com)
Donato has a modest salary cap hit of $2 million, and he is a pending unrestricted free agent. The fact that he is posting positive results on one of the worst teams in the NHL shows he would likely be a good addition to the Leafs.
(All salary cap information from puckpedia.com)
Jamie Oleksiak
Jamie Oleksiak is a giant (6'7, 257 Lbs) 32-year-old, left-shooting defenseman. The Toronto, Ontario, native has four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 52 games this season. He is a top-four defenseman who averages 18-20 minutes a game. Oleksiak normally finishes a season with over 100 hits and 100 blocked shots. His hit totals are low this year (39), but he has 106 blocked shots.
Oleksiak has one more season on his contract after this season, but his salary cap hit is $4.6 million is insane for what he brings to the table, which is size and nothing else. , which is a bit high for the Leafs. However, if they need to find the cap space. Oleksiak is the fifth best defenseman on the Seatle Kraken, a team with a worse blue-line than the Leafs. He has negative value, according to the Athletic's Player Cards, and likely isn't an upgrade on anything the Leafs have.
Brock Nelson
Brock Nelson is a large (6'4, 210 Lbs) 33-year-old centerman. He has 15 goals and 17 assists for 32 points in 49 games this season. As a pending free agent, Nelson would be a rental if the Leafs choose to trade for him. He has 50 points in 78 playoff games. His value is (again, according to the Athlietic's Player Cards) similmar to what Matthew Knies has done for the Leafs this year. (That's pretty good).
Acquiring Nelson will be tricky for the Leafs. He has a salary cap hit of $6 million. If the Leafs could get Nelson's salary retained, he'd be a great pickup. Without moving into superstar price ranges, Nelson represents about the best upgrade you could hope to get.
Brandon Tanev
Brandon Tanev is the brother of Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev. He is a 33-year-old left-winger who can hit (104 hits) and block shots (81 blocked shots). Tanev is averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time this season. He has eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in 50 games. He has extreme negative value and is nothing but a fourth liner.
Tanev is a pending unrestricted free agent with a salary cap hit of $3.5 million, which is outrageous for a player who has less impact than any random AHL call up would have. He has a ten-team no-trade list, but one would assume that list doesn't include his hometown team, the Leafs. An opportunity to play with your brother on the team you grew up cheering for is a rarity that one should never pass up. The Leafs however should not let sentiment dictate how they build their team.