With the NHL Draft two weeks away and the trade chatter likely to get hot and heavy before, during and after the weekend in Dallas, Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas is likely in contact with a number of teams trying to find a good fit for possible deals.
The Leafs are organizationally deep on the wings, have surplus goaltending with Garret Sparks and Calvin Pickard in the AHL and could afford to give up a high draft pick with the club stocked with young prospects in a deal to obtain help at center to replace the departing Tyler Bozak or significantly upgrade their blueline.
Between now and the Draft, we will take a look at a number of teams that could be a good fit for a possible trade with the Leafs and examine the potential targets on that club’s roster.
The Calgary Flames were among the biggest disappointments in the NHL last season, finishing 11 points out of a Western Conference playoff spot. Bill Peters replaced Glen Gulutzan as head coach, which could help improve the club, but the Flames have to address some depth issues on the wing.
Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk each scored 24 goals and the top two centers are solid in Sean Monahan and Mikael Backlund, but other than Micheal Ferlund, Calgary does not much scoring punch and all attempts to remedy that last season (signing Jaromir Jagr or trading for Chris Stewart) did not work.
Where Toronto could have interest in dealing with the Flames is their deep blueline corps. Toronto native Dougie Hamilton led Calgary defenseman with 44 points last season and is signed through 2021 at a reasonable $5.75 Million AAV.
TJ Brodie has been mentioned in trade speculation after a subpar 32-point season playing with newly acquired Travis Hamonic and GM Brad Treliving might be willing to discuss dealing the 28-year-old with two years left on his contract, with first round pick Juuso Valimaki and prospects Rsmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington and Adam Fox (NCAA-Harvard) in the pipeline.
Another factor could be the Flames being without a first, second, third and fifth round picks in the upcoming draft due to the deals for Hamonic, Michael Stone and Mike Smith and how they migh value getting a first rounder back.
If the Leafs are targeting a top four defenseman such as Hamilton or Brodie, the deal would likely include a first or second round pick and a young winger with a reasonable salary, such as Kasperi Kapanen (on his ELC) or Connor Brown ($2.1 Million).
Another possible target of interest could be big center Mark Jankowski. The 23-year-old scored 17 goals as a rookie coming out of Providence and is a restricted free agent, but the Flames could be willing to move him if they get a comparable winger in exchange.
Here is the latest edition of "The Leafs Convo", please watch and subscribe to our YouTube page.and/or listen on iTunes.
*******
The Toronto Marlies hope to take a stranglehold on the Calder Cup Final series against the Texas Stars in Game 4 of the best-of-seven series at the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, TX on Thursday.
Toronto took a 2-1 series lead with a solid 2-1 victory on Tuesday and may have to play Game 4 without center Frederik Gauthier. The 2013 first round pick suffered an undisclosed injury in the second period on Tuesday and did not return for the third period.
Gauthier skated briefly prior to his teammates on Thursday and head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated the 23-year-old will be a game-time decision. If “The Goat” cannot go, the likely change will be to shift linemate Colin Greening to the middle and insert veteran winger Rich Clune in the lineup.
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»