The Toronto Maple Leafs are a team that should be pushing all of their chips into the centre of the table and going for it almost every year. This year is no exception and with key pending free agents like John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and Matthew Knies, this puts even more pressure on the Leafs front office to go for a deep Stanley Cup run.
I have written about what the Toronto Maple Leafs needs are and some of the trade chips that General Manager Brad Treliving and the front office have in their pockets. I feel like it is important to note any assets that may be deemed "untouchable" as well.
The definition of what players fit the label of untouchable varies from person to person with many claiming that if Wayne Gretzky was traded, then anybody can be traded. This is technically true but it leaves out important context surrounding the Gretzky trade and also gives the word a very literal definition.
I would define an untouchable player or asset to be a player that is for all intents and purposes, off the trade market and unavailable, unless such an incredibly lopsided offer was made. Auston Matthews would be one such player, it would take extenuating circumstances for Leafs brass to make him available in a trade and would likely take a large price tag.
Who Is Untouchable?
Auston Matthews
Matthews was the Leafs first overall pick in 2016 and is bound to retire as the greatest Maple Leafs player of all-time. He is also the newly named captain and is on the first of a four-year contract paying him $13.25 million, the highest caphit of any player league-wide.
Logistically, trading his contract would be difficult, especially with a no-movement clause (NMC). It is also considered one of the most team-friendly deals in hockey and Matthews is, at worst, a top-three player alive. There just is no reason the Leafs would ever want to trade him right now.
Then adding in all of the sentimental reasons, trading Matthews would make no sense unless the Leafs could acquire another similar caliber player and then some. Even then, it would be a hard sell, which makes him about as untouchable as it gets.
Matthew Knies
Knies is the clear face of the future of the franchise, although not everyone agrees.
He was seemingly untouchable a few years ago when he was brought into trade discussions with the Chicago Blackhawks and I do not think that has changed. He is the best forward prospect that the franchise has developed since Matthews, Marner, and Nylander became NHL regulars.
This season is his sophomore year and he is on pace for over 30 goals and nearly 60 points over an 82 game span. Although it needs to be mentioned that he is scoring on 24% of his shots and that is impossible to do long-term.
He is only 22 years old, making him the youngest Leaf on the roster and yet is the fifth most productive on the team by ten points. As I said, the Leafs could in theory part ways with Knies but it would take a very large offer for the club to even consider it. He is a player that would be hard to replace and with the likelihood that he can give another decade of good hockey to the franchise, it makes little sense to trade him.
Joseph Woll/Anthony Stolarz
The Maple Leafs have spent much of the past few decades with very little success between the pipes. There have been some shining moments and a few short years of solid goalkeeping but for the most part, it has been a gong show.
This year however, with Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz splitting the crease, the Leafs have two of the league's best goaltenders. Both of them rank in the top-20 in terms of GSAA and top-15 of GSAx. Stolarz himself ranks top-5 in both categories as well as leading the league in SV%. At least for this season, trading either one makes no sense and should not be considered in anyway aside from few very extreme circumstances.
There are a few other players that would be hard to trade or who the Leafs should not trade but these four are the ones that I feel would be harder to replace and would cause the most harm if they were dealt.