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Tinkering Trades Or Major Moves; Sunday’s Rumor Roundup

January 25, 2015, 2:08 PM ET [1376 Comments]
Mike Augello
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
As is always the case this time of year, the Toronto Maple Leafs are at the center of trade chatter leading up to the NHL trade deadline, but unlike the last few years when the talk was focused on the unlikely acquisition of a #1 center, Toronto appears poised to moves a number of players prior to March 2nd as part of a roster reorganization under Team President Brendan Shanahan.

Shanahan and the rest of his management team assembled in sunny Arizona over the All-Star break to plot strategy for what changes can be implemented over the next five weeks. The Leafs 3-14-0 collapse since mid-December has them closer to attaining a top-five draft pick in the 2015 NHL Draft than getting back into the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Toronto will definitely be shopping pending free agents Cody Franson, Mike Santorelli, Daniel Winnik, David Booth and Korbinian Holzer and could be trying to move Jake Gardiner, Tyler Bozak or Joffrey Lupul (who have significant term left on their contracts), but it is still unknown whether the club’s hierarchy will contemplate trading team captain Dion Phaneuf or leading scorer Phil Kessel now, during the summer or at all.

Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported prior to the break that sources throughout the league expect Toronto to be active in the coming weeks and that one NHL scout believes that the team is considering a “big” move.



It is impossible to determine exactly what this big move could be, but there appears to be no one on the Leafs roster that is safe from being shopped. A trade involving Kessel or Phaneuf in season would likely result in Toronto having to take back a contract of significant size and term (such as Mike Richards from the LA Kings) as opposed to moving either player over the summer, when cap restrictions are not as concrete.

A consideration for when the Leafs start moving players is the upcoming draft, which is said to be the deepest since 2003. Toronto does not have their 2015 second round pick (traded in the deal for Jonathan Bernier) and will likely be able to get that in return for Santorelli or Franson, but it is possible that Franson could garner a greater return from a contending team as a right-handed shooting, power-play defenseman with a reasonable salary.

If Toronto wants to position themselves to have a higher percentage chance of winning the Connor McDavid sweepstakes or better positioning themselves to select young prospects like Dylan Strome, Mitch Marner or Pavel Zacha, moving key players like Santorelli and Franson could happen well in advance of March 2nd.


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Rumor Roundup

From now until the deadline, every rumor involving Leafs players will be collated and evaluated for realism and value.

Sportsnet’s Mike Johnston lists Anaheim, Los Angeles, Dallas, Colorado and Edmonton as potential landing spots for Dion Phaneuf if Toronto decides to move their team captain.

The most unlikely on this list is Edmonton, in spite of it being Phaneuf’s home town, the Oilers are as much of a train wreck as the Leafs are currently and are not a top defenseman away from being a playoff team. Los Angeles has cap concerns and needs to open space to re-sign Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli, so swapping Richards for Phaneuf does not really rectify that situation. Anaheim makes some sense as a possible destination with over $6 Million in cap space opening up this summer with veterans Sheldon Souray and Eric Brewer’s contracts expiring, as well as Dallas, whose blueline is in need of bolstering after moving Sergei Gonchar to Montreal.

Colorado appears to be the best fit, as they are deep in quality forwards but do not have much on defense past Eric Johnson and Tyson Barrie. The Avs are in a quandary with Ryan O’Reilly, who becomes a UFA at the end of next season. The Leafs have long been rumored to be interested in the 23-year-old center and a deal involving Phaneuf and O’Reilly is not out of the realm of possibility.

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Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press indicates that the Red Wings are extremely interested in adding a right-hand shot defenseman prior to the deadline. While GM Ken Holland would like to acquire a long term solution by trading for Buffalo’s Tyler Myers or Carolina’s Justin Faulk, Detroit does not appear to be willing to trade young NHLer’s Tomas Tatar or Gustav Nyquist or prospects Anthony Mantha or Dylan Larkin in a deal, which may have them turning towards Cody Franson.

A case could be made that with Johnny Boychuk and Mike Green not being moved, Franson is not only the best right-handed shooting defenseman available, but the best defenseman available in this trade market. The Leafs will look to maximize their return for Franson, but the depth and quality of Detroit’s organization allows them to trade a high 2015 draft pick and a prospect for a rent-a-player without much concern.


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In his weekend column, the Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons says that the easiest Leaf to trade would be James van Riemsdyk, that Dion Phaneuf can be moved but the return would not for equal value.

The easiest players to trade are the ones you want to keep. Van Riemsdyk has produced consistently since being acquired from Philadelphia for Luke Schenn in 2012 and in spite of his defensive flaws, the 2007 second overall pick is a good value at $4.25 Million per season. The only way that trading van Riemsdyk(who is under contract until 2018) makes sense is in exchange for a #1 center or a top pick in this year’s draft to select a #1 center.

Trading Phaneuf is not going to be easy, but it is widely perceived that his departure will be a care of addition by subtraction for the Leafs. The value that would be gained would not only be the players/prospects/draft choices sent to Toronto in the deal, but the clearing of Phaneuf’s $7 Million salary from their payroll.


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