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Marlies force Game 7, Target of opportunity #2 – Oliver Ekman-Larsson

May 15, 2017, 6:28 PM ET [188 Comments]
Mike Augello
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The Syracuse Crunch and Toronto Marlies will go to a seventh game to decide their North Division Final series, as Andrew Nielsen's power play goal at 11:33 of the third period gave the Marlies 2-1 victory in Game 6 at Ricoh Coliseum on Monday.



Nielsen and rookie Carl Grundstrom scored on the power play after Syracuse's Michael Bournival opened the scoring with a short-handed goal early in the second period.Kasimir Kaskisuo made 27 saves for the victory.



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Over the next few weeks, we’ll be taking a look at various players that the Toronto Maple Leafs could be targeting when the off-season begins. The players in question are not being looked at based on rumors, but more because of their contract status, their team’s situation regarding depth at a certain position or protecting players in the upcoming expansion draft.

The Arizona Coyotes have been in a constant state of rebuild since making the Western Conference Final in 2012, moving out players with expiring contracts for young assets and draft picks.

Second-year GM John Chayka added veteran free agent defenseman Alex Goligoski on a five-year contract, forward Jamie McGinn for three years and re-signed blueliner Connor Murphy for six years last summer to provide stability and experience, but the future core of the franchise are all under 22-years-old (Dylan Strome, Lawson Crouse, Clayton Keller and Jakob Chychrun).



Team captain Shane Doan displayed a level of frustration at the club selling off pending UFA’s Martin Hanzal and Michael Stone at the trade deadline, as it is a sign that Arizona are years away from putting a winning team together.

Other veterans, such as All-Star defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, may recognize that reality and will look to move on after his contract expires at the end of the 2018-19 season.

Selected one pick before Toronto chose Nazem Kadri in 2009, Ekman-Larsson is generally accepted as one of the best blueliners in the NHL (scoring 12 goals or more five times in his seven-year career).

With the dearth of defensive options available in free agency this summer, Chayka may see an opportunity to maximize the return he can get for Ekman-Larsson during the summer or possibly at the 2018 trade deadline with term still left on his deal.

From the Toronto perspective, trading for a defenseman with one-to-three years left on a contract may be more advantageous than signing a free agent, who will likely be looking for a longer-term deal of four-to-seven years.

The Leafs have a stockpile of young forwards from which they can deal and not cause any negative repercussions. Dealing for a defenseman with a short-term remaining would also keep their salary cap clear down the road when they have to extend Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander.

The cost for Ekman-Larsson might be prohibitive, which may scare teams off, but there will be a team willing to pay for a difference-making blueliner to take a run at the Cup over the next two seasons and perhaps more, if they can extend Ekman-Larsson.

Is Toronto one of those clubs?

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