Be sure to like HockeyBuzz on facebook! For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter The Toronto Maple Leafs have many options when it comes to the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft next Tuesday. With Toronto drafting 15th overall, GM Kyle Dubas is well-positioned to select one of many quality forwards available in the middle of the first round, but if the club is looking to add to their defense, they are likely not positioned high enough to pick one of the two top-ranked blueliners in the draft class. Jamie Drysdale of the OHL’s Erie Otters and Jake Sanderson of the US National Development Program are expected to go in the top 10 and moving up might cost the Leafs at least their second-round pick (44th overall), but if they are interested in blueliners who are projected to go in the lower half of the first or early second (Braden Schneider, Jeremy Poirier, Kaiden Guhle or Ryan O’Rourke), GM Kyle Dubas may be willing to trade down in the first to bring back one of the third-rounders traded in the deals involving Nazem Kadri and Jack Campbell. Dubas has other options based on having 11 picks in the draft. After not selecting in the third, Toronto has a pair of fourth-round picks (106th and 122nd overall - their own and the Golden Knights selection from the Garret Sparks deal), a fifth (153rd overall - the Vegas pick from the three-way deal for Robin Lehner), three sixths (168th, 177th, & 180th - their own, Carolina from the Patrick Marleau deal and Colorado from the Kadri deal) and three in the seventh (189th, 195th, and 212th - acquired from San Jose for Eric Fehr, Minnesota for Fedor Gordeev, and from St. Louis for a 2019 seventh-rounder). If the Leafs choose to stay at 15 to pick Swedish winger Noel Gunler, University of Wisconsin center Dylan Holloway, Mavrik Bourque of Shawinigan, or Hendrix Lapierre of Chicoutimi, they might be able to move up in the second round using one or two of their extra lower picks if one of the defensemen they like is still on the board. Another possibility is using one of the lower picks in a deal for a player under contract not wanted by another team or for the rights of a player slated to become an unrestricted free agent, as Montreal did by acquiring the rights of defenseman Joel Edmondson from Carolina for a 2020 fifth-rounder. *******
The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported on Wednesday that the Leafs will not be making an offer to pending free agent defensemen Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci before the beginning of free agency next week.
Barrie, 29, is expected to draw significant interest from a number of clubs looking for a power-play quarterback and a disappointing 39-point campaign in Toronto last season.
Ceci had only eight points (1 goal and 7 assists) in 56 games, but according to LeBrun Toronto might circle back if the 26-year-old does not receive a lot of interest on the open market. The Leafs currently have only Justin Holl and Timothy Liljegren as right-handed blueliners for next season. Ceci played the bulk of last year played in a top-four role alongside Morgan Rielly, but if he is willing to take a one-year deal at significantly lower than his 2019-20 salary ($4.5 million AAV) to play on the bottom pairing, it might make sense as a depth move.
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