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The Toronto Maple Leafs have 40 games left in the regular season and the club playing the most rookies in the NHL are currently occupying an Eastern Conference playoff spot.
How the Leafs do over the next six weeks will determine whether their bid for the post-season is legitimate or just a preview of things to come a year or two from now.
It’s time to take some questions from the comment section of my column and from the world of Twitter when they’re not talking (about Donald Trump) about the Blue and White.
Q - From WingmanWillie (in the comments) : Do you think the leafs will do anything to acquire a defenseman during the season?
A – The only scenario I see playing out for Toronto in terms of acquiring a defenseman is making a deal for someone young and controllable for the foreseeable future.
Even if the Leafs are in a playoff spot before March 1, GM Lou Lamoriello will not mortgage the future and trade prospects or draft picks for short-term fixes. If a team like Anaheim is willing to move one of their young blueliners in a deal for forward help, the Leafs could jump at the opportunity.
A – The Leafs scouting staff is still in evaluation mode and won’t make final determinations about 2017 draft prospects until after the regular season and it’s a waste of time targeting someone specific when they don’t know where they’ll be picking.
Things are so fluid and tight in the league that a bad couple weeks could move them from pick in the late teens or 20’s to a top 10 selection.
That being said, the Leafs organizational depth is mostly at forward and more specifically on the wings. That would lead me to believe that they would be looking for the best available defenseman in the first, but where are they currently are in the rebuild, the philosophy may still be to select the best player available, no matter what position.
Q – From MaximusAurelius(in the comments) :
Looking at the expansion draft, which team and which players are the Leafs most likely to make a trade with/for in order to get their minimum of 2 exposed forwards?
This is assuming JVR, Kadri, Komarov, Martin and Bozak all protected.
On D, no issues (Marincin or Carrick left exposed), but at F need to have two F's exposed.
A – The Leafs have time and many ways to meet the qualifications set forth by NHL for Expansion exposure (2 F’s and 1 D who have played 40 games in the NHL this season or 70 games in this and last season).
As you correctly pointed out, either Martin Marincin or Connor Carrick will be the defenseman exposed, but right now the only forwards that qualify are those they do not want to lose.
It is possible that veteran Leo Komarov (one year left at $2.95M) or Matt Martin (three years left at $2.5M) could be made available, but they are both like by Mike Babcock and important leaders for the young club.
Lamoriello could acquire a forward in a deal to help meet the criteria, but the likely path is for them to offer a Ben Smith or Byron Froese(who are both a dozen games away from the 70 game mark) a one-year deal before the draft in June.
A – The Leafs are looking to keep their young assets, with their prospect pool heavy at forward, you could see a Jeremy Bracco or Kasperi Kapanen swapped for a young defenseman, but the only way that Toronto pursues your scenario is if they are unable to move a veteran in James van Riemsdyk or Tyler Bozak for a top-4 or potential top-4 defenseman.
Q – From Kinger34 (in the comments) : Where do you see the Leafs at when it comes to the trade deadline? Buyers? Sellers? Both?
Who do you expect to see moved out?
A – Two possibilities; If they are in a playoff spot, they will do next to nothing with their existing roster and just let the season play out. They will not add players unless it costs them a pittance.
If they have fallen out or are fading from the race, veterans Roman Polak and Matt Hunwick will be on the rental market and Lamoriello will pursue offers for van Riemsdyk and Bozak, if they bring back the return that they are looking for.
A – Would Shattenkirk improve the Leafs blueline?? Immensely.
Will the Leafs will trade for him before March 1 or sign him this summer? Probably not.
TSN’s Darren Dreger indicated during the week that the cost to sign Shattenkirk will be in the neighborhood of $7 Million per season on a seven-year deal.
Toronto is a much more attractive destination for free agents now that there are potential young stars here in Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and they will have the cap space to get it done, but the Connecticut-born Shattenkirk has been rumored to be destined for teams in the Northeast like Boston or the New York Rangers.
A – Vancouver is in need of defense (as veteran Alex Edler and Chris Tanev have both spent significant time on IR this season), which means trading young blueliners Ben Hutton(currently injured), Stecher or Tryamkin is highly unlikely. In fact, if the Leafs waived former Canuck Frankie Corrado, they would likely put in a claim.
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The Toronto Marlies snapped a four-game losing streak with a 7-4 win in Hartford on Friday.
Brett Findlay scored a hat trick, Kerby Rychel had four assists and defenseman Andrew Nielsen scored two goals and one assist.
The game was the first of a six-game road swing for the Leafs AHL affiliate, who play in Bridgeport on Saturday and Springfield on Sunday.
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From the morning skate
Morgan Rielly’s spot on the top pairing was taken by Martin Marincin at the morning skate on Saturday. Marincin will play with Nikita Zaitsev against the Ottawa Senators at Air Canada Center. Marincin missed five weeks with a lower body injury and replaces Frank Corrado in the lineup.
Frederik Andersen makes his third straight start for the Leafs, while Mike Condon will go in his 12th in a row for Ottawa.
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