When I look at the Leafs roster at this present time I see a lot of positives and a couple contracts that irritate me. After weighing some options of positives and negatives, I wondered how important it is or isn’t to play some of these veteran players with the rookies and younger players the Leafs will be icing at the start of the 2016/17 season.

Remember, the only reason the Maple Leafs have these bogus contracts is because they had to take them on to make certain trades go down. Without a doubt these trades sped up the rebuild in Toronto, and more importantly, the culture that Shanahan and Babcock were so determined to change.

Look at the Winnik trade for example: Toronto traded Winnik and a 5th round pick in exchange for Laich and his high cap hit contract, Connor Carrick (who looks to be quite the prize thus far) and a 2nd round pick. Toronto drafted Carl Grundström with the second round pick, Carrick will get a chance to strut his stuff this season for the Leafs (I would imagine), and Laich finishes out his contract with Toronto this season. Overall, this trade could be a huge score for Toronto and is exactly why Laich is on the books this season for 4.5. He’s without a doubt a player I feel Babcock will slot into his lineup as he plays a quality two-way game and has the work ethic that will rub off on his teammates. Toronto will have the options of trading Laich before the deadline, letting him walk at the end of the season, or resigning him if they see he fits their future plans, at a much lower salary hit obviously.

In the Phaneuf trade Toronto had to take on a couple of contracts that are hard to swallow, but will both thankfully be off the books after next season. Greening’s best season was back in 2011/12 and he had 37 points in 82 games. Since then, he hasn’t played a full season of NHL hockey and really, I’d much rather have one of our young guns like Marner, Soshnikov, Hyman, Rychel or Brown in the lineup ahead of Greening. The way I see it, he has no future with the Leafs, but any one of those three could, and who knows what their future holds until they get a fair shot.

Michalek on the other hand has some value and could end up being a decent player for Toronto this season, hopefully one the Leafs could move close to the trade deadline for a pick or prospect to continue to stock the cupboards. Michalek has hand a handful of successful seasons in the NHL and should be able to put up 35-45 points for Toronto playing in a top nine role. With 444 points in 742 career NHL games, Milan has some veteran experience he could bring to the table.

That’s how I would like to see it play out for the Leafs. Find a way to trade or send Greening to the AHL, and insert Laich and Michalek into the lineup to start the season. It’s important to note that injuries happen often and the last thing the Leafs need is to rush prospects up who are not ready, hence the Polak signing.

There is still quite the log jam on forward, especially with the additions of both Martin and Rychel. Mind you, Rychel will have to work hard to earn a spot with the big club.

Where in the world is Joffrey Lupul?

When Lupul came to the Leafs he was a force, playing on the top line with Kessel and Bozak, he put up 67 points in 66 games in 2011/12. Then the lockout happened and Lupul got hurt again, putting up another stunning 18 points in 16 games, eleven of them being goals. He potted three goals in seven games against the Bruins in the playoffs that year, looking like a stud in doing so; hopes were high in Leafs Nation.

Since then Lupul has been rather disappointing, putting up 44 points in 2013/14 with a -15; again missing 13 games that season. Followed by another injury plagued season, playing only 55 games and putting up 21 points, things couldn’t get worse…or could they? 14 points in 46 games last season for Joffrey; hey, wha happen?

Best case scenario, Lupul joins Robidas on the island until his contract is up in Toronto. He’s a player that has really let me down and I don’t see him every getting back to the form that he was once in. I’m intrigued to see what Lou Lamoriello does with Lupul between now and the beginning of the season.

Bozak is a player who has been underrated for years, mostly because he was playing as a number one center on the Maple Leafs. He’s certainly not a number one center, but he’s without a doubt a player that competes hard every game. Bozak is decent at faceoffs, a good two way player, regardless of his plus minus over the years; he’s excellent in the shootout or on a breakaway and doesn’t seem to be a player that comes with any baggage (attitude problems). Bozak was simply playing in a role that was above his talent level, but that was all the Leafs had at the time. He’s a player the Leafs could trade if they wanted to open up the roster spot, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bozak still a Maple Leaf by seasons end while Babcock insulates the progress of Auston Matthews.

With the removal of Lupul and Greening from the Maple Leafs lineup, that would leave open four additional spots for young player additions. Which I’m all about as the Leafs are still in the rebuilding phase and will already have a number of veteran players in the lineup. They really need to see what they have in some of these younger players, and there is no better way than to play them. Unfortunately for Peter Holland, I think he will be the odd man out.

Those four positions to be battled for would likely be filled by Hyman, Marner, Rychel, Soshnikov and Brown.

When it comes to Toronto’s goaltending, we know they are all in on Andersen, as they should be.

Looking for a backup? Toronto should pursue another deal where they take on a bad contract goaltender; possibly Dallas if they are considering dumping Niemi. The Stars are a team that could contend, giving them cap relief of 4.5 million dollars could give the Leafs the opportunity to steal one of Dallas’ quality defensive prospects. They have both Honka and Lindell who are quality defensive prospects and Honka is a guy I’d love to see the Leafs target.

Lou has experience in these types of trades, and this could be one that could continue to trend as we’ve seen through the rebuild.

As it stands now, Toronto has some salary dollars to work with; and dealing with the Western Conference does make deals more likely. Another team that could be worth talking to is Winnipeg, as they have Pavelec who they may be trying to move as Hellebuyck is their man with Hutchinson primed to backup.

There is a lot of time for Lou to make his finishing touches before the Leafs enter training camp, but I expect there to be a few additions/subtractions yet to come.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your week.

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