Another day, another trade rumour regarding the Toronto Maple Leafs. This time it is about their trade deadline plans as we inch closer to the March 6 Trade Deadline.
According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Maple Leafs could be looking to sell assets, which could lead to them making a bigger splash on Friday. He suggested that they could look at moving some of their unrestricted free agents like Bobby McMann, etc., and then flipping those assets to acquire someone bigger such as Robert Thomas from the St. Louis Blues.
Maple Leafs Looking to Make a Deadline Splash
If the intel that Friedman reported is true, there is a good chance the Maple Leafs will be looking to move out valuable assets at the deadline. If they find a deal that can make a splash and shake up their roster, it would be their overall goal. One of the names that Friedman mentioned was the aforementioned Thomas from the Blues. He would be a good top-six addition. However, if they were to part with players like McMann, Scott Laughton, or even Max Domi, it would worsen their team this season.
Which makes their plan clear. They are heading for a retool, and between the deadline on Friday and the offseason, they will change the personnel. If they were to acquire Thomas, they’d likely try to solidify their top six properly. That would mean they’d need a few wingers who can keep pace with Auston Matthews on the top line and Thomas on the second line. It would also give them the opportunity to move John Tavares down to the third line, which would make their team deeper.
As of right now, they’d have Matthew Knies, William Nylander, and Nicholas Robertson who could all play in their top six. If they added Thomas and another skilled winger, they’d have a much better top six. With Tavares then shifting to the third line, it would allow for Easton Cowan to play on that line, making it significantly stronger.
Related: Insider Suggest Maple Leafs Open to Moving More Players at Trade Deadline
Ideally, a top trade target for the Maple Leafs would be Thomas. But if it wasn’t him that they acquired, they could look at names like Jordan Kyrou of the Blues, or even Vincent Trocheck from the New York Rangers, if he would welcome a trade to Toronto. If they were to go off the board a bit, there are names like Blake Coleman, Brayden Schenn, and Jake DeBrusk on the open market, all of which would offer a significant upgrade to their current top six. Regardless, their deadline plan is clear. They are going to try and make their retool as fast as possible, and that could be kickstarted by making a big splash ahead of Friday’s deadline.
