The Toronto Maple Leafs may not have had the right package or were not willing to move some of their young forwards in a deal for defenseman Sami Vatanen last week, but that does not mean that GM Lou Lamoriello will not be willing to pull the trigger to get a top four defensemen if another opportunity presented itself.
Drew Doughty’s comments in an interview with The Athletic last week once again tantalized Leafs Nation with the possibility of the two-time Stanley Cup winner playing in Blue and White after his contract with the Kings expires in 2019, but the chances of him, Erik Karlsson or Oliver Ekman-Larsson reaching the open market are not something that Toronto can keep their fingers and toes crossed for.
That should be the lesson learned by the failed attempt to bring Steven Stamkos to the Leafs in the summer of 2016.
Acquiring defensive help of a short-term variety will always be an option and names like Mike Green, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Erik Gudbranson and Ian Cole will be on the radar between now and the trade deadline, but the Leafs have indicated in the past that they would prefer to bring in someone who they can retain for multiple years, rather than give up young assets or draft picks for temporary fixes.
One situation that may provide an opportunity for the Leafs is that of the struggling Buffalo Sabres. The Atlantic Division rival has lost nine of their last 10 games and is dead last in the NHL with a 6-17-4 record.
On Hockey Night in Canada’s Saturday night headlines,
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Sabres are sending signals throughout the league that they are open for business on the trade market and are willing to listen to offers on anyone except young center Jack Eichel.
In spite of dipping into free agency for winger Kyle Okposo, trading for scoring forwards Evander Kane and Ryan O’Reilly and drafting Sam Reinhart and Eichel, the Sabres continue to have trouble generating offense (currently last with 56 goals) and have a defense that has been constantly decimated by injuries.
One player that could be available and might be an enticing target for the Leafs is defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. The 23-year-old defenseman was in the top five in average time-on-ice (26:28) last season and is a legitimate top-pairing blueliner who has scored more than 40 points the last two years.
The Sabres may be ready for a house-cleaning under rookie GM Jason Botterill and head coach Phil Housley, with pending free agents Kane(UFA), Reinhart (RFA) and Robin Lehner (RFA) all possible trade chips, but the club’s continuing difficulties after dismissing GM Tim Murray and head coach Dan Bylsma has swung the focus onto the players.
With Buffalo potentially headed for another rebuild or at least a retooling, Botterill is not going to be willing to move a young foundation piece like Ristolainen unless the Sabres can acquire assets that will benefit them as much in the long run. Buffalo traditionally does not deal with the Leafs (the last major trade was the Dave Andreychuk – Grant Fuhr deal in 1993 and Toronto was in the Western Conference at that time), but when a team is looking to shed payroll and looking for the best return, being division rivals can fall by the wayside (ex. Dion Phaneuf to Ottawa).
Ristolainen would provide cost certainty with his existing deal ($5.4 Million AAV until 2022), something that would be of value to the Leafs with a number of contracts coming up and would immediately upgrade the Toronto blueline, but a deal would likely cost them a young forward of some value.
Would William Nylander be an intriguing possibility for the Sabres (with younger brother Alex one of their top prospects) or might Botterill prefer a package of prospects, including names like Timothy Liljegren and Kasperi Kapanen???
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Maple Leafs 2017 second round pick Eemeli Rasanen was selected as one of 28 players for the preliminary roster for Team Finland for the upcoming 2018 World Junior Championships in Buffalo, NY.
The 18-year-old blueliner has 21 points (3 goals, 18 assists) in 26 games for the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL, but will have face a tough challenge to make the Finnish roster, with first round picks Miro Heiskanen, Juuso Valimaki, Olli Juolevi, Urho Vaakanainen and Henri Jokiharju also selected.
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