While trade rumors are the rule and not the exception with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the approaching American Thanksgiving holiday traditionally marks when NHL general managers begin to address their club’s shortcomings after careful evaluation for the first quarter of the season.
Toronto has already made one deal to address their need for depth up the middle by acquiring 22-year-old center Peter Holland from Anaheim last weekend, but in spite of the Leafs record improving to 13-7-1 with a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders Tuesday night, GM Dave Nonis may be willing to further tinker with his roster to shore up some areas of need.
Dave Nonis is on the Burke Balcony, taking in MCC practice. On his phone constantly, which might explain why nervous Leafs have so much jump
— Lance Hornby (@sunhornby) November 20, 2013Carolina Director of Hockey Operations Ron Francis was again at Ricoh Coliseum on Tuesday to view the Toronto Marlies 3-2 victory over Charlotte, which goes to further the speculation that the Hurricanes are scouting veteran defenseman John-Michael Liles.
Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported on Tuesday that the Leafs may be considering a one-for-one swap of Liles for veteran Canes blueliner Tim Gleason. Both players have two years remaining on their current deals and have comparable cap hits(Liles - $3.875 Million, Gleason - $4 Million) and Gleason has been in the Carolina lineup the last two games, after sitting out 16 of the first 21 games with concussion issues and an upper body injury.
Kypreos also indicated that the Leafs are interested in Flyers center Brayden Schenn and that Philadelphia, who is interested in acquiring a puck rushing defenseman, may be intrigued by Toronto’s Jake Gardiner.
The continued rekindling of trade speculation between Philadelphia and Toronto is reminiscent of the year-long rumors that popped up before the James van Riemsdyk – Luke Schenn deal finally happened. The components for a mutually beneficial deal may be in place. Gardiner has not followed up his impressive playoff performance against Boston last season with a similar level of success this year(four assists in 21 games) and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the 2013-14 season.
Philadelphia is well stocked up the middle with Claude Giroux, Vincent Lecavalier and Sean Couturier, who are all under contract for at least the next two seasons, while Schenn(who leads the Flyers with 13 points) like Gardiner is in the last year of his entry-level deal.
Toronto is well stocked with offensive defensemen ( Cody Franson, Dion Phaneuf, rookie Morgan Rielly and minor leaguer TJ Brennan) and also have a deep prospect pool with Andrew MacWilliam, former first round pick Stuart Percy, Swedish import Petter Granberg, 2011 draft pick Tom Nilsson and 2012 second rounder Matt Finn(who signed a three-year entry level deal with Toronto yesterday) in the pipeline.
This depth allowed Nonis to swap Jesse Blacker to Anaheim for Holland on Saturday. With Rielly showing he is fully capable of playing in the NHL at 19 years old and Gardiner expecting a pay raise and long term extension in the same year that the contracts of Phaneuf and Franson are up, the likelihood of trading the slick skating defenseman before the trade deadline or over the summer is sure to go up.
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Center Nazem Kadri returned to practice on Wednesday and centered the line with van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel, with newcomer Peter Holland moving to the checking line in between Mason Raymond and Nikolai Kulemin. Tyler Bozak also skated as an extra forward, which may indicate that head coach Randy Carlyle will exercise some caution and not push Bozak and his injured hamstring back into the lineup on Thursday against Nashville.
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