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The Toronto Maple Leafs finish up a three-game homestand against the division-rival Boston Bruins at Air Canada Centre on Saturday, hoping to extend their home winning streak to nine games. The 4-3 shootout victory against the New York Islanders on Thursday was a costly one for Toronto, as Auston Matthews suffered a shoulder injury late in the game and did not practice with the club on Friday.
Leafs head coach Mike Babcock indicating that he was waiting for test results to determine the extent of the injury on Friday and was not able to provide any more specifics after the morning skate on Saturday.
“He’s fine. He’s injured. He’s fine. He’s going to get better. He’ll be back soon.” Babcock said. “We always tell you day-to-day. That usually means 10(days) and we go from there. As fast as we can get him back, ready to play and healthy, that’s what we’ll do.”
The Leafs made some line adjustments with Matthews absent on Friday, shifting linemate William Nylander to the middle and moving up winger Connor Brown to the top line, promoting rookie winger Kasperi Kapanen to the third line with veterans Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk and installing Josh Leivo on the fourth line with Dominic Moore and Leo Komarov.
Babcock confirmed on Saturday that Leivo will be in the lineup against Boston (making his first start since December 31 in Las Vegas) and that veteran Roman Polak will take Connor Carrick’s place on the bottom pair with rookie Travis Dermott.
Toronto trails Boston by one point for second place in the Atlantic Division, but the Leafs have played the most games (63) in the NHL, while the Bruins are at a league-low 58 games.
Boston are led by the Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak line, who have combined for 159 points (71 goals, 88 assists) this season and are the top three scorers on the Bruins roster.
The goaltending combo of Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin are leading the race for the Jennings Trophy, having surrendered just 142 goals against. Rask is expected to get the start for Boston, who have been in Toronto since Wednesday after their road swing through Western Canada.
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Make sure to check back throughout the next 48 hours for the latest rumors, news and analysis on the Leafs leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline.
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All indications are that the Maple Leafs shopping list in advance of the NHL Trade Deadline is focused on adding depth up the middle and a top-four defenseman, but that the price to acquire each will determine whether they are successful or not.
The injury to Matthews may provide more motivation for GM Lou Lamoriello to add a center, but the cost that Pittsburgh paid in the Derick Brassard deal (a 2018 first and prospect goaltender Filip Gustavsson) and a lack of rental options (most mentioned names have Mark Letestu and Tomas Plekanec) are likely to drive up prices to a greater level than they were at this time last season, when the Leafs gave up a second round pick for Brian Boyle.
The option of Detroit’s Luke Glendening could be the direction that Toronto goes, as long as they can get the Red Wings to lower their reported price from one of the Leafs two second-rounders in the 2018 Draft to a lower pick or player.
The Ryan McDonagh speculation continues to percolate, with Boston, Tampa Bay, Toronto and now Florida (according to Sportsnet’s
John Shannon) interested in the Rangers team captain.
All indications are that the Leafs are more interested in adding a defenseman with term remaining and not dipping into the rental market, where veterans Mike Green or Jack Johnson are drawing the asking price of a first round pick minimum. That option would only be viable if the cost drops significantly before 3pm Monday.
McDonagh is likely to cost as much as a first round pick, a top prospect and an additional pick or prospect. The price tag for other blueliners with term remaining (such as Niklas Hjalmarsson or Chris Tanev) would be less, but they are more second pairing options while McDonagh is a legitimate top-pairing defenseman.
With the value of young inexpensive defensemen at a premium, it is likely that Toronto will try to avoid including rookie Travis Dermott or 2017 top pick Timothy Liljegren in any trade.
Dermott has impressed in his 20-game stint with the Leafs and has two more years on his entry-level contract, while the 18-year-old Liljegren needs at least another year in the American Hockey League, but his skill set is NHL-level already.
Having inexpensive defensemen on their ELC will be necessary for Toronto to counterbalance the salary of adding top-four blueliner (especially if they intend to sign him to an extension) or plan on re-upping Jake Gardiner this summer.
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