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Trade Winds Picking Up, Reimer Returns, Leafs Vs Canadiens

February 27, 2013, 12:53 PM ET [1892 Comments]
Mike Augello
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
With the calendar reaching the end of February and the NHL trade deadline just over a month away, NHL General Managers have begun to open themselves up to the possibility of making deals. On Tuesday, a pair of significant trades went down that may help teams that will compete with the Maple Leafs for one of the eight playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

The two deals involved players going back to the clubs that drafted them, with the Los Angeles Kings moving winger and former Flyers 1st round pick Simon Gagne back to Philadelphia for a conditional mid round pick and the Dallas Stars trading former Hab Michael Ryder and a 3rd round pick to Montreal for winger Erik Cole.

The Gagne deal gives Philadelphia a known commodity, who is a savvy veteran and can play a complementary role, while Ryder’s acquisition appears to be more because his contract expires at the end of this season, while Cole is signed through the 2014-15 season.

These deals show that moving players who have term left on their current deals is not an impossible task and that pending free agents can attract significant return from the right team.

With Toronto’s injured players beginning to return to health, the trade avenue may be an opportunity for the Leafs to make upgrades.

Finding suitors for center Tim Connolly may be difficult for Leafs GM Dave Nonis, but it is not an impossibility if the club agrees to eat a pro-rated amount of his $4.75 Million salary, while moving veterans Mike Komisarek or John-Michael Liles may necessitate taking back a player with an equal or greater cap hit.

The most difficult decisions could be with pending UFA’s Clarke MacArthur and Tyler Bozak.

MacArthur has played mostly the second and third line duty and has eight points (4 G, 4 A), but has seen more ice time and played better filling in for the injured Matt Frattin. With Frattin scheduled to return next week, MacArthur will return to a lesser role and might be deemed expendable if the Leafs can obtain a decent draft pick or prospect for him.

Bozak has a integral role as the center for the Kessel line and taking most of the club’s defensive zone draws, but the improvement of Nazem Kadri and his potential salary demand over the summer could be a reason to shop him before April 3rd.

Another possible option is the trading of Cody Franson, who is a restricted free agent at the end of the season. He currently leads all Leafs defensemen blueliners with 11 points and is second only to defense partner Mark Fraser in plus/minus with +11. With the bevy of young defenseman in the pipeline for Toronto and the expectation that it will be costly to re-sign Franson over the summer, it could be an option to move him while his value is at it’s highest.

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The Leafs made one roster move in advance of tonight’s game versus Montreal, as goaltender Jussi Rynnas was returned to the Toronto Marlies, as James Reimer has been activated off of injured reserve and will backup Ben Scrivens tonight.

With back to back games tonight and tomorrow, Reimer could to action tomorrow night in Uniondale against the New York Islanders.

Colton Orr returns to the lineup after a three game absence due to a lower body injury and will likely play with Nazem Kadri and MacArthur on the third line, while Jay McClement moves back to center the fourth line with Frazer McLaren and Mike Brown.

Ryder is expected to play for Montreal and Carey Price will start in goal.

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