Kyle Dubas has made a number of moves going back to last summer to position the Toronto Maple Leafs to contend for a Stanley Cup, but injuries, new players not meeting expectations and continuing defensive difficulties have the Leafs with a precarious hold on an Eastern Conference playoff spot with less than a week before the NHL trade deadline.
The Leafs GM indicated recently that the path he takes prior to February 24th will be determined by how well his club plays, but their 4-4-1 record this month leaves Dubas with more answers than questions and further evidence that Toronto as currently situated is not ready for prime time.
The trade market has picked up over the last few days, with winger Tyler Toffoli being sent to Vancouver, Blake Coleman to Tampa Bay, and rental defensemen Andy Greene, Marco Scandella, and Brenden Dillon going to playoff contenders New York, St. Louis, and Washington.
The common thread in all these deals has been the high price that buyers have paid. Toffoli yielded the Kings a 2020 second round pick and a highly regarded prospect in Tyler Madden, Coleman cost Tampa Bay former top pick Nolan Foote and a 2020 first rounder, while the experienced blueliners cost the Islanders, Blues, and Caps a second round pick and an additional pick or prospect.
With defensemen dropping like flies, the options for Dubas are dwindling. The Leafs have cap maneuverability with Andreas Johnsson being placed on LTIR, but is there anyone that they could add that would make a significant difference? Dealing for a blueliner signed for additional years may be easier to accomplish in the summer (unless it is someone known to be available like Colin Miller or Shayne Gostisbehere) and the best rental option might be former Leaf Ron Hainsey.
With the Leafs already having traded their first and third in 2020 and another conditional pick in 2021, it is unlikely that Dubas trades another high pick in a deal and maybe looking for a depth blueliner for a mid-round pick and/or a prospect like Jeremy Bracco.
The Leafs playoff situation will not be any clearer in six days, which begs the question of whether Toronto might go the opposite way and see what interest there would be in pending free agent Tyson Barrie. The Leafs and Jake Muzzin are reportedly close to signing an extension. Cody Ceci is out indefinitely and likely not going to be brought back, but Barrie is a power play quarterback that might attract a lot of suitors, especially with his $2.75 Million AAV.
Dubas could recoup a first round pick and/or a top prospect for Barrie, but moving him with Morgan Rielly not expected back for another month would be an admission that Toronto have given up on their playoff hopes. With the prospect of facing either Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington, or Pittsburgh if they make the post-season, making a playoff run is a long shot, but it is hard to imagine the Leafs GM choosing any other path than trying to improve his chances before the deadline, even if it is a tweaking or insignificant move.
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Toronto opens up a home-and-home series against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday. The Leafs previous visit was a 6-1 pasting on November 16 in Kasimir Kaskisuo’s NHL debut.
The club demoted Mason Marchment back to the American Hockey League on Tuesday, and will make three lineup changes for the Pens, inserting Frederik Gauthier, Dmytro Timashov, and Martin Marincin in place of Egor Korshkov, Marchment, and Timothy Liljegren. Frederik Andersen will get the start.
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