maple leafs

Answering the Kall(gren), Leafs beat Canes; Giordano likely big-name target

Mar 18, 2022 • 11:22 am

Be sure to like HockeyBuzz on facebook!

For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter

*******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.*******

The Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday was opportunistic to say the least, as they were generally outplayed early in the game, but cashed in on their chances and got solid goaltending from Erik Kallgren.

Ilya Mikheyev, Mitch Marner, and Ondrej Kase scored and Kallgren made 34 saves for his second straight win, which moved Toronto four points ahead of Boston and within one point of Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division.

“It took us a little while to get going with our game and we figured that would be the case, just with how Carolina is on top of you and they don’t give you a lot of time to move the puck,… Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “I thought defensively, I didn’t like some of the things we did early in the game. We gave up a couple odd-man rushes early that kind of opened the game up a little bit for them and gave up some chances and shots. I thought we really found our game in the back half of the first period and then certainly the second period was really good for us.…

Toronto was able to win both games without leading scorer Auston Matthews and with a 25-year-old goalie with no NHL experience between the pipes, playing more disciplined defensively and getting more contributions from team captain John Tavares, Marner, and William Nylander.

The Leafs travel to Nashville to take on the Predators on Saturday night in their last game before the NHL trade deadline, and it is expected that GM Kyle Dubas will be burning up the phone lines, but it is still an open question of what deals he will be able to accomplish before 3 pm Monday.

*******

With three days to go, the Leafs continue to be linked to defensive names like Anaheim’s Hampus Lindholm, who is now expected to be traded after he and the Ducks could not come to an agreement on a long-term extension, but the reported asking price in excess of what Florida paid for Ben Chiarot likely takes Toronto out of the running for the pending free agent.

Based on the consistent chatter of the last 48 hours, the Leafs main target is likely former Norris Trophy winner Mark Giordano. The 38-year-old is not the defenseman he was a few years ago, which could mean that Dubas would not have to give up a first-round pick for him, and there is talk that the ex-Flames captain has a short list of where he would prefer to go to that includes Toronto.

Other possible options for Toronto are Philadelphia’s Justin Braun and San Jose blueliner Jacob Middleton.

The 26-year-old defenseman is big (6’3…, 210 lb), physical (62 penalty minutes in 42 games), has played top-four minutes and in a penalty-killing role with the Sharks this season, has a low cap hit ($725,000), and is two years away from unrestricted free agency (if he plays enough games to avoid Group 6 UFA status.

Earlier in the week, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun believed the asking price for Middleton will be a second-round pick and a prospect and that Atlantic Division foes Tampa and Boston have checked in on his potential availability, but in the wake of the Lightning trading two first-round picks and two players to Chicago for Brandon Hagel, that could take them out of the market for a blueline depth add.

*******