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Buyers market may make Leafs consider rentals on defense

January 13, 2018, 2:08 PM ET [177 Comments]
Mike Augello
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Any reasonable evaluation of the Toronto Maple Leafs after the first half would indicate that goalie Frederik Andersen and a forward group led by Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and James van Riemsdyk are capable of taking the club deep into the postseason, but that the Leafs thin defensive corps is not good enough.

Unless there is a seismic event between now and mid-April, Toronto will finish either second or third in the Atlantic Division and play the Boston Bruins in the first round, but it is difficult to imagine a scenario where they can get past the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Bruins will be a challenge with the experienced core group (Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci and Tuukka Rask) that won a Stanley Cup seven years ago, but the Leafs are capable of beating them in a seven-game series.

The Lightning could be on their way to winning the President’s Trophy and they showed their strength in a 2-0 shutout of the Leafs earlier this month, but injuries to key players such as defenseman Victor Hedman’s torn meniscus (who suffered an injury similar to the one that cost Steven Stamkos most of last season) could weaken Tampa enough to be beatable.

With just over six weeks until the NHL Trade deadline, Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello is likely evaluating the league landscape to see what might be available that can help bolster Toronto’s blueline.

The Leafs have long indicated their preference to address their needs on defense by acquiring someone they have control over or retain for multiple years, but deals for legitimate top pairing defenders such as Erik Karlsson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are more likely to occur over the summer and the asking price for experienced blueliners like Niklas Hjalmarsson or Chris Tanev with term left could be youngsters Connor Brown or Kasperi Kapanen, who they do not want to deal.

Others with term who are reportedly being shopped (Kris Letang, Dion Phaneuf, Brent Seabrook) have cap hits that would cripple the Leafs down the road. With as many as seven teams likely to be sellers before February 26th, Toronto may find that dealing for a player with an expiring contract may be the better course of action.

Names such as Ian Cole, Mike Green and Erik Gudbranson have been mentioned recently in rumors.

Pittsburgh is looking for help up the middle and depth forwards in exchange for the two-time Stanley Cup winner Cole, who will be a free agent that the Penguins can’t afford to re-sign next summer. Detroit’s asking price for Green (selected as their All-Star representative this week) is reportedly a low to mid-first round pick, while the right-handed shooting Gudbranson could draw as much as a second-rounder and/or a prospect in return.

On Saturday, another name potentially entered the field, as The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports that Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson has requested a trade. Johnson’s offensive numbers have declined since scoring 40 points with Columbus three years ago, with just seven points in 46 games this season.

Columbus is 20th in the NHL with 124 goals and has the second worst power-play (13.5%), which means they would be looking for scoring help (perhaps another expiring contract like Tyler Bozak) in exchange for Johnson if they decided to move him.

The recent call up and performance of rookie Travis Dermott has provided the Leafs a possible internal solution to their blueline concerns, but with Mike Babcock’s stubborn reliance on veterans like Ron Hainsey and Roman Polak, it is hard to imagine the Leafs head coach giving a 21-year-old defenseman anything more than a complementary role in the second half and post-season.

That just increases the likelihood that Lamoriello will plug the hole temporarily with a veteran rental before February 26th, as he did a year ago with Brian Boyle.

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