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The Toronto Maple Leafs look to return to their winning ways against the New Jersey Devils in Newark on Friday, after their five-game winning streak was snapped by the Washington Capitals.
The Leafs are expected to go with the same lineup that lost 6-5 to the Capitals in overtime on Tuesday and goalie Frederik Andersen is likely to start both ends of back-to-back games against the Devils and Montreal at Air Canada Center, since the Leafs will be idle after Saturday for five days.
Toronto is just two points behind second-place Ottawa and third-place Boston in the Atlantic Division and three points in back of the Philadelphia Flyers for an Eastern Conference wild card spot. The Leafs have closed ground in the last three weeks, earning points in nine of their last 10 games (6-1-3) and have played the least amount of games (37) of any club in the East.
Where Toronto is in the standings on January 6 in the grand scheme of things is unimportant, but their place 53 days from now could alter how the club approaches the course of their rebuild.
If Toronto cools off and falls behind in the playoff race, you could see GM Lou Lamoriello move out pending UFA defensemen Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak for futures and entertain offers for winger James van Riemsdyk or center Tyler Bozak
If the Leafs continue to have success and stay within a few points of a playoff spot, there could be resistance to making any changes to the lineup and give the current young group the valuable experience of a legitimate playoff run.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated on Friday that the Maple Leafs position on whether to trade van Riemsdyk or Bozak will likely be based on whether they plan to sign either to long-term extensions and not whether Toronto is challenging for a playoff spot, but that the Leafs need to be careful to not sabotage their chances and send the message to their young core group that making the post-season is not important.
Both veteran forwards have one year remaining on their contracts and trading them before the March 1 trade deadline would likely bring back more in return than a deal over the summer, since a contending team would get their services for this year’s postseason run and another full season.
Friedman also floated the possibility of moving rookie forward William Nylander if that was the price that had to be paid to get the defensive help the Leafs so desperately need.
Potential moves of Nylander or van Riemsdyk are all based on the Leafs prospect pool being quite deep at forward and relatively shallow on the blueline.
Kasperi Kapanen and Brendan Leipsic were named AHL All Stars on Thursday and Jeremy Bracco(USA), Martins Dzierkals(LAT) and Carl Grundstrom performed impressively at the recently concluded World Junior.
If there is an opportunity to acquire a defenseman capable of being in Toronto’s top four for the next decade, then the Leafs have to ignore the short-term aspirations of making the playoffs this season and think about being a legitimate Stanley Cup contender two or three years from now, when van Riemsdyk and Bozak will likely be elsewhere.
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Fresh off his victory in the 2017 World Junior in Montreal, Maple Leafs prospect Jeremy Bracco may be headed elsewhere in the OHL.
Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek indicates that the Kitchener Rangers will likely do something with the 19-year-old winger, who
led them in scoring with 51 points (17 goals, 34 assists) before departing for Team USA’s pre-tournament training camp in early December.
The London Knights (owned in part by Leafs Assistant GM Mark Hunter) are rumored to be a potential destination.
After his performance at the World Junior, Bracco is likely sign a pro contract with Toronto in the near future and will be eligible to play in the American Hockey League as a 20-year-old next fall.
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