Leafs Q & A – November 25th Edition (maple leafs)

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Leafs Q & A – November 25th Edition

By Mike Augello

Nov 25, 2016 • 11:23 am

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The Toronto Maple Leafs three-game losing streak has them at 8-8-4 one-quarter into the 2016-17 season, three points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets and New Jersey Devils for the Eastern Conference wildcard spots and four points ahead of the New York Islanders, who are at the bottom of the Conference standings.

The 5-4 shootout loss in Newark on Wednesday was encouraging, in that rookie Auston Matthews scored twice to break his 13-game goalless streak, but once again showed the club’s inability to hold a lead and play effective defensively.

It’s time to answer your Leafs questions from the wonderful world of Twitter:

A – The Leafs have to expose at least two forwards and one defenseman who have played 40 games this season or 70 combined games over the last two seasons. Toronto has many young forwards that will be exempt since they have not played more than two professional seasons that players like Matt Martin and Leo Komarov could be exposed.

On defense, the whole purpose of giving Martin Marincin a two-year deal was to be under contract for the expansion draft.

My suspicion is that Toronto will lose Martin or a young player like Josh Leivo, who has not been able to get a legitimate chance at playing regularly in the NHL.

As for who is traded first, the odds are that it will be Peter Holland, as there are rumors already that the Leafs are looking to trade him, but since he has played little under Mike Babcock, I would not expect to get much in return.

A – The approach this season thus far from Mike Babcock is to put his young players in key situations and hope that they learn from their mistakes. They’ve made a lot of them 20 games in, but they will improve with experience.

Trades or acquisitions via free agency will be the direction that Toronto will need to use to upgrade on the blueline, because it is likely that Nielsen and/or Dermott are another year or two away from being ready for the NHL. GM Lou Lamoriello will be looking for a way to make a defensive acquisition happen before the trade deadline, but the odds are that it will be after the season.

A – The Leafs do not need another Morgan Rielly, they need at least two defenseman who can compliment and provide support, which allow offensive-minded defensemen like Rielly and rookie Nikita Zaitsev to be more creative and help cover up for them when they make mistakes.

In other words, it would be great if the Leafs could acquire Oliver Ekman-Larsson or sign Kevin Shattenkirk, but finding the next Niklas Hjarmalsson and Jake Muzzin would more than do.

How do they do that? Maybe the answer is out there in a trade, but more than likely it will come down to scouting and talent evaluation.

Hjarmalsson was a fourth round pick in 2005, played two seasons in the SEL before coming to North America and has been a rock for the Hawks in their three Stanley Cup championships.

Muzzin was a Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick who went unsigned and was signed by the Kings in 2010 and has been a solid partner to Drew Doughty.

A – I think Toronto has one top end defenseman in Morgan Rielly. The jury is still out on Nikita Zaitsev, even though the signs are encouraging after 20 games. If you are including Jake Gardiner as one of that pair, then you are mistaken.

A – Frederik Andersen, who overcame a slow start and has played great in November. An honorable mention to Tyler Bozak, who with James van Riemsdyk and Mitch Marner makes up what has been the Leafs most consistent line.

A – Doubtful that the Leafs would be interested in Ryan Murphy. The former Canes first rounder is just 23 and is speedy, but Toronto already has enough speed on the blueline in Rielly, Gardiner, Zaitsev and Connor Carrick.

A – GM Lou Lamoriello would not be going through all these roster contortions if there was not an interest in getting a long look at Leivo this season or keeping him around as a possible expansion draft submission next summer.

A – The Leafs are early along in their rebuild. Let us assume that they are not making the playoffs and not finishing 30th overall, there are three defensemen in the upcoming draft that are considered top 10 candidates in Timothy Liljegrin, Callan (son of Adam) Foote and Nicolas Hague.

Surely Mark Hunter and Toronto’s scouting staff are looking closely at them and others, but they will not deviate from taking the best player available.

A – Yes…..if the Leafs are getting a comparably aged defenseman in return.

Toronto is not going to trade young assets for quick fixes or players with expiring contracts. There are not that many teams with a stockpile of blueliners, but many teams are just as desperate to find a scoring forward as the Leafs are to find defensive help, so trading Kasperi Kapanen or Brendan Leipsic for a 20-to-23 year old blueliner is possible.

A – A report earlier this month from TSN’s Bob McKenzie was mid-to-late November, so next week would seem to be the deadline for that informed opinion to come true. *******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.*******

Note : Continue to check back to my column on Hockeybuzz throughout the day for the latest Leafs updates or on Twitter

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