The most pressing question in front of GM Kyle Dubas is how will the Toronto Maple Leafs approach the upcoming NHL Trade Deadline. The Leafs are on the outside looking in of an Eastern Conference playoff spot at the NHL All-Star break, trailing Florida for third place in the Atlantic Division by two points with the Panthers making up their game in hand in Chicago on Tuesday.
Toronto is expected to get back defenseman Jake Muzzin at some point after the break, but with Morgan Rielly out until at least mid-March, Dubas will likely be scouring the trade market for ways of upgrading his blueline and other areas before February 24.
The rental market is one way for the Leafs to address their immediate needs on defense, but the club’s salary cap issues will limit their options. The club currently has $7.59 Million in available cap space, but that figure includes Muzzin ($4 Million), Rielly ($5 Million), Trevor Moore ($775,000), and Ilya Mikheyev ($925,000) not counting against the cap on long-term injured reserve.
Toronto will have to keep enough or create room under the cap for those players when they are able to return.
There are two downsides to the dealing for a rental. The Leafs would have to pay an inflated price (likely prospects and/or draft picks, but could be players under control) for a temporary fix when the club has the need for more long-term solution on the blueline, and the only way they could potentially add a salary of a pending UFA like Sami Vatanen or TJ Brodie (who are over $4 Million) is to keep Rielly on LTIR until the end of the regular season or to clear another big salary like Cody Ceci to make room.
The other avenue that Dubas could explore is dealing young forwards like Kasperi Kapanen, Alex Kerfoot, and Andreas Johnsson are all under contract for multiple seasons and with the players like Pierre Engvall, Moore and Mikheyev capable of playing higher in the lineup, the Leafs could be willing to trade from the club’s area of strength at forward for defensive help, but it would have to be a blueliner of similar age and/or a similar contract status.
While this is unlikely, Dubas must be prepared for the possibility of the Leafs continuing to struggle in February and falling behind in the race for the playoffs. If that does occur, Toronto has to consider shopping Ceci, Tyson Barrie, and/or Muzzin to get back some of the draft picks that they have dealt over the last 12 months.
The Leafs traded two prospects and their 2019 first rounder for Muzzin, and their 2020 or 2021 top pick to unload the contract of Patrick Marleau.
Although falling out of the playoff race would be perceived as a disaster for a team that had Stanley Cup aspirations, an even greater cataclysm would be for Dubas to not recognize that the team is flawed and recouping some of draft assets.
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