The Toronto Maple Leafs in the last week have completed their season-long quest for 30th place in the NHL standings and have signed Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly to six-year contract extensions. This is indicative of a busy offseason that could be more impactful than any in recent memory, where anything may be possible.
It is once again time to go to Twitter and the comments section of my column to answer the questions foremost on the mind of Leafs Nation.
A – It is highly doubtful that the Maple Leafs would trade the top pick, since Auston Matthews has the size and skill commensurate with a top line NHL center, something that Toronto has been missing since the days of Mats Sundin.
Columbus is likely looking for a big guy up the middle to replace the traded Ryan Johansen, but not by trading a young blueliner like Seth Jones or Werenski.
The only scenario that seems feasible regarding trading the top pick is if Arizona wanted to move up to get the Scottsdale, AZ native and had a pick in the top three. That would allow Toronto to acquire a top prospect like London’s Christian Dvorak or 2015 third overall pick Dylan Strome and still select a Jesse Puljujarvi, Patrik Laine or Matthew Tkachuk.
A – The dream scenario of both winning the lottery and signing Steven Stamkos in free agency is not as far fetched as you would think. Toronto has a 20% chance of winning the top pick and if they selected Matthews, it would give them the flexibility of moving William Nylander to the wing, which is something that Mike Babcock expressed an interest in doing when the 19-year-old was called up in late February.
With Nazem Kadri signed to a long term contract extension and the possibility of Matthews and Stamkos being added to the fold, Tyler Bozak will likely be on the trading block. One of the main motivating factors for Stamkos to potentially leave Tampa is Lightning coach Jon Cooper’s shifting him to the wing during last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs and at times this season.
Part of the negotiations to bring Stamkos to Toronto would have to include some assurance from the Leafs that he will be played up the middle.
A – The Leafs may sign a stopgap free agent or two to bolster the blueline or add size, but the post-deadline opportunity and success of Connor Brown, William Nylander, Nikita Soshnikov and Zach Hyman leads me to believe that they will start next season in the NHL.
The club already has players with expiring contracts in Milan Michalek, Colin Greening, Matt Hunwick, Brooks Laich and Jonathan Bernier, which gives them the opportunity to continue adding draft picks with rental deals at the trade deadline.
A – The type of deal you describe is very possible, since the Leafs have seven second-round picks in the next three seasons. The most likely target for that type of trade would be a defenseman, who is either a restricted free agent, a year or so away from unrestricted free agency or with a team that needs to jettison someone due to salary cap reasons.
Another scenario that is likely to play out is the reverse of what happened last season. The Leafs traded down using Nashville and Philadelphia’s first(acquired from Tampa) to get two extra draft picks that were used to select Jeremy Bracco and Martins Dzierkals.
The Leafs have 12 picks in the upcoming draft and may use a couple of their extra picks to move up from the 20’s (where the Penguins first will likely be) into the middle of the first round if there is a player that Director of Player Personnel Mark Hunter has targeted.
A – Adding a top defenseman and a goalie will be high on the Leafs shopping list, but finding either on the trade market is easier said than done. GM Lou Lamoriello’s success with the Devils was built on a foundation of strong goaltending with Martin Brodeur and when Brodeur declined, New Jersey acquired Cory Schneider from Vancouver.
Head coach Mike Babcock’s dissatisfaction with goalie Jonathan Bernier throughout the season means that Lamoriello will be looking to acquire a future backstop, whether it be an established netminder like Anaheim’s Frederik Andersen or a young promising prospect like Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray.
A – Assuming your scenario is Matthews, Jesse Puljujarvi and Patrik Laine as the top three picks, the most probable pick for the Leafs would be Matthew Tkachuk of the London Knights. In spite of Cape Breton’s Pierre-Luc Dubois moving past Tkachuk on the NHL’s Central Scouting Rankings this week, the Tkachuk – Hunter connection through London and the success that the son of NHLer Keith has had playing on a line with Leafs top pick Mitch Marner is too much to ignore.
A – Extremely doubtful, since the Leafs are nowhere close to being a contending team. Signing a player such as Sean Monahan to an offer sheet would be pointless since Calgary would match it and the only way to make a team not match is offering a contract so pricey that the compensation would be a 1st, 2nd and 3rd($3.6M to $5.47M) or two 1st’s, a 2nd and 3rd($5.47M to $7.3M).
A – Lucic would address the size issue for the Leafs, but again Toronto is not at the point where signing a 28-year-old power forward with nine seasons of wear and tear for over $6 Million per season would make much sense.
From “.HOHO.” (in the comments) - Mike what chance (percentage) do you think the Leafs have of getting all 4 of the following.... Matthews, Stamkos, Zaitsev and Vesey?
A – That’s too much for Leafs fans to hope for, but there could be an interesting domino effect if the Leafs win the lottery. Zaitsev is a lock to sign with Toronto. If they win the lottery and select Matthews, which could remove some doubts about Stamkos joining a team years away from contention. The prospect of playing on the wing of either might be a determining factor for Vesey to choose Leafs over Boston.
I’ll say 10% they get all four. Best-case scenario, they get three of the four.
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Listen to "The Convo" with myself and CTV's Norman James, as we discuss the contract extensions of Morgan Rielly and Nazem Kadri:
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