For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter The Toronto Maple Leafs kicked off the 2018 offseason with a housekeeping move of sending unsigned prospect Nolan Vesey to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2020 seventh round pick on Friday, but over the next month it is expected that GM Kyle Dubas will be busy reshaping the club more in his image and addressing their areas of need. On Wednesday, TSN’s Frank Seravelli released his Trade Bait list which includes the top 25 most likely players or assets to be dealt over the summer. The list includes players that the Leafs may be interested in pursuing, including defenseman Erik Karlsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Noah Hanifin, Justin Faulk, Dougie Hamilton, Jacob Trouba, Rasmus Ristolainen and Chris Tanev. There were no Leafs listed in Seravelli’s Top 25, but if Toronto is successful in acquiring a much-needed top four defender on his list in a trade, they will have to give up assets (and perhaps more than one) to make that happen. Here is a list of the top five most likely to be part of a deal this summer:
1. Jake Gardiner - Pos - LD, Age - 27, Cap Hit - $4.025 Million, GP - 82, Pts - 52 (5G, 47A), Contract - UFA in 2019 More to do with his contract status and career-high 52 points than his train-wreck performance in Game 7 vs. Boston, the Leafs are in the same position with Gardiner that they were with James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak last summer, with one year left on their contracts. One of the few mistakes that Leafs management has made in the Shanahan era was keeping the two veterans and not dealing them for assets before or at the NHL Trade Deadline. That error should not be compounded this summer on Gardiner. If Dubas is interested in signing the 27-year-old to an extension, it will likely cost him more than the $5 Million AAV being paid to Morgan Rielly (and that may not be wise with his obvious defensive shortcomings). If however Toronto does not have designs on re-signing, deals with teams looking for a blueliner at a set price point (Trouba is an RFA), for a puck rusher/power play quarterback (Vancouver), or a more signable option than the defenseman they have (Ekman-Larsson) may be interested in Gardiner.
2. Kasperi Kapanen - Pos - RW, Age - 21, Cap Hit - $863,333, GP - 38, Pts - 9 (7G, 2A), Contract - ELC until 2019 Kapanen may be a victim of depth at the Leafs strongest position (RW), playing behind Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Connor Brown. If Nylander moves to the middle, that might affect the 21-year-old’s status, but currently he is a speedy and useful talent being underutilized on the fourth line. Teams looking for young and inexpensive talent will likely want Kapanen included in any deal for defensive/center help and with Toronto stockpiled on the wing, that is a price that they are likely to pay.
3. Garret Sparks - Pos - G, Age - 24, Cap Hit - $675,000, GP - 43, GAA - 1.79, Save % - .936, Contract - RFA in 2019 With a number of teams looking for goaltending help, Sparks (winner of the Baz Bastien Award - the AHL’s answer to the Vezina) is low-risk, high-reward option and someone that Toronto may have to move this summer. Frederik Andersen is unquestionably the Leafs #1 starter next season and head coach Mike Babcock is unlikely to choose Sparks over veteran Curtis McElhinney coming career-best numbers. Unless Dubas decides to keep three goalies on the NHL roster, Sparks will not get through waivers coming off a spectacular AHL season and the 24-year-old believes he is ready for the NHL, it just may not be with Toronto. 4. Matt Martin - Pos - LW, Age - 29, Cap Hit - $2.5 Million, GP - 50, Pts - 12 (3G, 9A), Contract - UFA after 2020 Martin represents the only consistent toughness of the Leafs roster, but the 29-year-old played only three games after the All-Star break and his role on the team was undone by the need for more skill and speed on the fourth line. The big winger has two years left at $2.5 Million AAV, but on July 1 is due a $1.5 Million signing bonus. It is very possible that teams looking for size and toughness in the post-Tom Wilson era will be interested in Martin with only a short term left on his contract. Perhaps the GM who signed him in Toronto…..
5. Connor Brown - Pos - RW, Age - 24, Cap Hit - $2.1 Million, GP - 82, Pts - 28 (14G, 14A), Contract - RFA after 2021 Similar to Kapanen, Brown could be a victim of the Leafs depth on RW for teams looking for someone more established than the 21-year-old former first round pick. Brown scored 20 in his rookie season and dropped to 14 goals (mostly due to being shifted from line to line by Babcock), but that is reflective of the trust the Leafs head coach has in him and why his being moved would only make sense if Dubas is able to bring back a significant defensive upgrade. *******
The Toronto Marlies and Texas Stars face off in a pivotal Game 5 in the Calder Cup Final at H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, TX on Saturday. The best-of-seven series is tied 2-2 after the Stars veteran core group evened the series in a 3-2 victory in Game 4 on Thursday. Toronto outshot Texas 31-18 in the contest, but the only offense that the Marlies could muster was a pair of goals forty seconds apart late in the second from Dmytro Timashov and Andreas Johnsson. In spite of injury concerns before the game, center Frederik Gauthier did play in Game 4 on a line with veteran Colin Greening and rookie Pierre Engvall. There are no indications that head coach Sheldon Keefe will deviate from the lineup he has used throughout the series.
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