The Toronto Maple Leafs probably won their third straight game last night against the Montreal Canadiens. I am writing this on Saturday afternoon, so please forgive me if they lost!
With the assumed win, the Toronto Maple Leafs will at the very least, keep pace with the Florida Pantherse who lead the Atlantic by three points heading into the Monreal game. The Leafs have a game in hand, but after a so-so start, just the fact that the Atlantic is still up for grabs is a great sign.
The Leafs clearly have a problem with centre depth and a lack of a number-one defenseman, but they are getting by and showing that with some reinforcements that they could be a real contender. This is especially due to the great goaltending and the great play from their ancient number-one pairing Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev.
What form will those reenforcements take? Who knows? But we can speculate!
Toronto Maple Leafs Rumours, Trade Ideas, Etc.
The Leafs are rumoured to be looking for a spot for Matt Benning, and they clearly need to make some kind of roster move because they also have Dewar returning, Myers not playing, and Jarnkrok coming back soon.
Auston Matthews is injured right now, which creates room, but the rumour is that he'll be back soon so the Leafs will only be able to push a decision on their roster down the road so much.
Nick Robertson remains a frustrating source of stupid rumours. I don't know why people are so quick to bail on a 22 year-old prospect who is cheap and playing well. Robertson doesn't take up any cap-space and has almost no trade value, so trading him is nonsensical. He has way more value to the Leafs than any other team, and bailing on his potential will just embarass the team down the road.
David Kampf is also in rumours, and this makes sense. The Leafs can replace him with Pontus Holmberg, and his salary is over $2 million, so getting rid of him will be helpful. The Leafs could probably get a low pick for Kampf too, so that's a bonus.
Calle Jarkrok has been out all year and hasn't really been missed. His return just makes it harder for higher scoring and higher potential players to get ice time, so I speculate that he is the one who will be traded. He will bring back a pick and significant cap savings.
It will be interesting to see what the Toronto Maple Leafs actually do.