Even before Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews was sidelined with an injury, it was apparent that the team needed some more depth at the center position.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have Auston Matthews and John Tavares which gives them one of the best 1-2 combos in the NHL. They also have a bunch of decent fourth line centre options in Kampf, Holmberg and Dewar. What they don't have is a third-line centre.
We've seen them try out players such as Max Domi, Pontus Holmberg and David Kampf on the third line with no success. The best they have had so far is rookie Fraser Minten to help fill the void
The rest of this season, between now and the trade deadline, will be about the Leafs management group deciding if they want to stick with Fraser Minten or go outside the organization for an upgrade.
The Toronto Maple Leafs top 3 trade candidates to upgrade at centre
As a result, it is imperative that they add another legitimate NHL center to their roster at some point this season. We are not talking about any passable plug-in third or fourth-line center, but instead an really good one that could play up and down the lineup wherever the player is needed. That way, the flexibility would give the Leafs many options on how they would want to deploy the center while maintaining the flow and effectiveness of their successful system thus far.
Therefore, let’s take a look at 3 high-end center candidates that the Maple Leafs can acquire through the trade route in the coming weeks. These players will likely come big contracts, so the Leafs will need the prospective team to retain some salary to make things work. Nevertheless, netting any one of these potential difference makers could be vital to the Maple Leafs success going forward.