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Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas indicated last week that he will take an aggressive approach towards adding before the NHL trade deadline and that the focus of most of his inquiries with other teams have been about acquiring forward help, but according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston over the weekend, the Leafs may be looking at bolstering their blueline between now and April 12.
In spite of the losses of Jimmy Vesey and Travis Boyd on waivers in the last week, the Leafs did get Wayne Simmonds back on Friday and inserted Alex Galchenyuk into the lineup and have more internal answers as potential depth forwards in veteran Kenny Agostino, Alexander Barabanov, Joey Anderson, Adam Brooks and top prospect Nick Robertson (who is currently out with an oblique injury).
Dubas is rumored to be looking for a rental forward who can play in the top-six/top-nine, preferably a left winger to play with John Tavares and William Nylander, but if the cost is too high or if Leafs management is convinced that Galchenyuk can adequately handle the role on the second line, it is possible that they shift their attentions to defense. With the trade of Mikko Lehtonen to Columbus, the Leafs have been carrying six defensemen on their NHL roster. Dubas hinted that the trade was in part to open up a path for potential playing time for youngster Rasmus Sandin, but the 20-year-old has been out with a foot injury since early February.
Kristians Rubins, Mac Hollowell (who were moved to the Leafs taxi squad on Tuesday) and Timothy Liljegren are potential options, but in all likelihood the first fallback in case of injury is Martin Marincin, which is regarded by any keen observer as a disaster waiting to happen.
The Leafs already have an issue when it comes to the expansion draft this summer, with it likely that both Travis Dermott and Justin Holl will be left unprotected, which makes it likely that Dubas will be looking for a veteran rental on the blueline.
It is highly unlikely that Toronto would be in on the pricey market for Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm, with the cost rumored to be in the same neighborhood as what it took to get Jake Muzzin from the LA Kings, or rentals with big cap hits like Erik Gudbranson ($4 million), David Savard ($4.25 million), Mark Staal ($5.7 million) or Brandon Montour ($3.85 million), unless the club trading them retain 50% of their salary.
The more likely targets are defensemen such as Sami Vatanen ($2 million), Dmitry Kulikov ($1.15 million), Jordie Benn ($2 million), or Travis Hamonic ($1.25 million) that the Leafs would have a much easier time fitting under the cap and would not cost them a top prospect in exchange.
The Leafs and New Jersey have traded with each other recently (Anderson for Andreas Johnsson last summer), which increases the likelihood of Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald and Dubas consummating another deal over the next three weeks. Trading for Benn or Hamonic would eliminate the 14-day quarantine since both are in Canada, but the Canucks recent winning streak may make GM Jim Benning hold back on being a seller until closer to April 12.
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— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) March 18, 2021
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