If there is one thing this Maple Leafs team is gaining experience in, its overtime. A league leading 13 OT points which has the Leafs with a total of 69 points which is the total they amassed all of last season. Quite the improvement overall, considering there is still 21 games remaining in the season and the Leafs are not only in the hunt for a playoff spot, but in reach of first in the Atlantic Division.

If only they squeezed out a win against Montreal throughout the season the Buds would be tailing the 16-wheeler and have front row seats to the cliff dive that is destined to come.

Where is “the Orchard” Mitch Marner?! He’s a game changer and the Leafs could surely use him as soon as possible.

Toronto will be away this week on a Western Conference road swing, playing against San Jose tomorrow night followed by a Thursday/Friday double header against Los Angeles and Anaheim. All three teams on the road trip are fighting for a playoff spot in some way or another, but have all been floating around the .500 mark in their last ten games. The Leafs need to come out of the gates with speed and try to score a quick one and silence the home teams crowd. When the Buds are playing well on the road they seem to get a first period goal and set the tone. Toronto is 13-10-7 on the road, and 4-3-3 in their last ten games.

With trade deadline looming, what if anything is in store for the Maple Leafs?

It seems that all signs are pointing to a very quiet deadline for Toronto. But that certainly doesn’t discount the chance that something percolates over the next couple days and a contending team offers a large payment for one of Toronto’s players. Now I’m not talking one of their young studs in Matthews, Marner or Nylander. I’m talking about a veteran forward like Bozak or Van Riemsdyk.

If the right deal came, I really think that Lamoriello would have no issues in moving either of these forwards, as long as the deal improved the Maple Leafs of the future, and near future. With this core group of young gun’s the Leafs management team can see the team is much closer competing than they are continuing a slow rebuild. This is the tricky part, when the players are in place and big decisions have to be made whether the player and their salary going forward is going to be the right fit or not. We all know the salary cap hell that some teams experience and you can be that Shanahan and Lamoriello will weigh their options properly when and if a decision needs to be made for such a trade.

JVR and Bozak are both signed going into next season at 4.25 and 4.2 million. Both contracts are very affordable and without question both players have value. James has more value than Bozak, but it all depends on what a team needs and of course what the price would be to acquire either player.

The Leafs don’t have a ton of players to sell off, they wisely chose to keep their young players and play them all season rather than have Michalek, Laich, Greening, etc. Could you imagine?

Personally, I think the Leafs will stand pat unless a juicy offer is put on the table and Lamoriello and the boys can’t resist it. I also think the Leafs have big plans to take a stab at defender Kevin Shattenkirk in the offseason. A top three veteran defender who can dominate on the power play seems like someone the Leafs could certainly use.

Wednesday is March 1st, so we shall if anything unfolds…

Until then, it’s time to prime up for Tuesday night’s game versus San Jose.

Brent Burns seems to be the production horse for the Sharks right now, leading the way with 27 goals, 38 assists and a +21 rating. Leafs will likely face Martin Jones in net and will certainly have to play a responsible two-way game as the Sharks can score goals but have been excellent at keeping the puck out of their net. Couture and Pavelski are two other’s the Leafs will have to smother if they want to slow down San Jose’s offense.

It’s a big week for Toronto on the road and it would be a perfect time to start a winning streak to solidify their position in a playoff spot.

Thanks for reading; I hope you had a great weekend.

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