maple leafs

Leafs may be challenged to make more moves on deadline day

Mar 21, 2022 • 11:21 am

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The Toronto Maple Leafs made their move in advance of Monday’s NHL trade deadline, acquiring former Norris Trophy winner and Toronto native Mark Giordano, along with forward Colin Blackwell from the Seattle Kraken two second-rounders and a third-round pick.

The 38-year-old Giordano was pleased with the move to his hometown club and believes he can help the Leafs defense and improve their chances in the postseason.

"I grew up in Toronto and you're a Leaf fan growing up the whole time and cheering for the Leafs, and then as I turned pro and got into Calgary and on a different team, you sort of hope that the Leafs don't win because you're kind of jealous of your hometown team winning the Cup," Giordano said in a media availability on Sunday. "Now that I'm I'm able to get back to Toronto and be a part of it, it's a great opportunity for myself to be a part of something special."

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The addition of Blackwell appears to address the Leafs reported desire for a depth forward. The 28-year-old played effectively as a third/fourth liner with the Rangers last season (22 points in 47 games) and the transition to Toronto should be easier with former Harvard teammate Alex Kerfoot on the roster.

"(Alex) was the first one who FaceTimed me when it started coming out online," Blackwell said. "Kerf's a really good friend of mine and I played with him for many years in college. I love the way he plays and just having guys like him who are not only great players but great character guys off the ice as well, many of the people that have already reached out to me saying 'looking forward to get going', I just know what kind of group of guys they've got there and I just can't wait to get going."

The moves that Leafs GM Kyle Dubas made prior to the trade (sending Nick Robertson down to the Marlies, waiving goalie Petr Mrazek and forward Kyle Clifford, and trading defenseman Travis Dermott to Vancouver) opened up enough space to bring on Giordano at 50% of his $6.75 million cap hit and Blackwell at $725,000, but if Toronto is to make any moves before the 3pm deadline, it will likely take some cap contortions on the part of Brandon Pridham.

It is highly unlikely that anyone will claim Mrazek with two years remaining at $3.8 million, and in the short term the Leafs need to clear the $1.125 million by burying the veteran in the minors, but other moves may be at foot to clear more space.

A) The health status of forward Ondrej Kase will be known when the Leafs practice on Monday. Kase collided with Preds forward Matt Duchene, staggered to the bench, and did not return to the 5-3 loss to Nashville on Saturday.

Kase (who has a history of concussion issues) could be placed on LTIR, which would give the Leafs more room to maneuver.

B) In spite of saying they will bring him back prior to the start of the playoffs, defenseman Jake Muzzin could remain on LTIR for the rest of the regular season and that would allow even more space to make another impact move.

C) The trade of Marc-Andre Fleury to Minnesota ends the possibility of the Leafs finding an upgrade. The signing of Harri Sateri is likely a move to provide an experienced hole-filler to play with the AHL Marlies while Erik Kallgren remains up, with Joseph Woll injured for the second time this season. If Dubas decides to add another goalie to the mix, it would likely be close to the deadline when the prices go down on Joonas Korpisalo or Craig Anderson.

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