With 13 days until the NHL Trade Deadline, one of the main tasks before GM Kyle Dubas is not only to recognize the Toronto Maple Leafs areas of need, but to prioritize them by determining which are the most important and whether they can be addressed before February 25.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated last weekend that the Leafs are not willing to deal top prospects Rasmus Sandin, Timothy Liljegren or their 2020 first round pick after giving up a top prospect in Carl Grundstrom and their 2019 first round pick for Jake Muzzin earlier this month, and The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun believes that the Leafs are still open to the possibility of making another trade if it is a hockey deal (money in, money out) or if it is not costly.
Here are the five areas of the club, rated on a scale of 1 to 10 for need and likelihood of being addressed before the deadline:
Top 4 Defenseman - (Need: 8, Likelihood: 2) - Muzzin has provided an upgrade as a defense partner to Morgan Rielly, allowing Ron Hainsey to partner with young Travis Dermott, but every time Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev are on the ice, most Leafs fans are anticipating disaster. The field of available top-four options has narrowed with the St Louis Blues recent success, likely eliminating the availability of Alex Pietrangelo, Colton Parayko and rental Jay Bouwmeester.
The rental blueline market is weak with the exception of Detroit’s Niklas Kronwall and the 38-year-old is a left-hand shot who reported wants to stay with the Red Wings. Carolina continues the most likely source of a right hander who can play on the top two pairings, but the Leafs do not want to give up young scoring wingers in Andreas Johnsson or Kasperi Kapanen in a deal for Brett Pesce, Justin Faulk or Dougie Hamitlon.
Depth Defenseman - (Need 6, Likelihood 7) - If Option A is not available or too costly, Option B would be to acquire a veteran right hander to play on the bottom pairing or even as an extra defenseman depending on who Dubas brings in. Cost will be an important factor, as someone like Adam McQuaid (NYR) may cost a third round pick, while someone like former Leaf Roman Polak would likely take a mid-rounder to reacquire.
Depth Forward - (Need 8, Likelihood 9) - The need and likelihood of adding a depth forward to play on the fourth line is high because it is clearly something that Mike Babcock wants and may be a relatively inexpensive add for Dubas. An example of that was the Montreal - L.A. deal involving Nate Thompson on Monday. The Kings only received an upgrade from a fifth to a fourth round pick in exchange for the 34-year-old center, with the Habs picking up the tab on the remaining amount of Thompson’s $1.65 Million salary.
The chatter about Babcock favorite Luke Glendening may be an indicator that the Leafs head coach wants to upgrade from Par Lindholm and Freddy Gauthier, but there may be more economical options that can Dubas can provide an upgrade.
Backup goaltending - (Need 5, Likelihood 2) - You can say that if any contending club loses their starter, their goose is cooked. What Toronto has to be concerned with is the inconsistent play of Garret Sparks and how that will affect the usage of Frederik Andersen down the stretch. The backup has lost three of his last four starts and Babcock will likely use his starter in every non back-to-back game with the Atlantic Division playoff race being so tight. That might not be the case if the Leafs had a trusted veteran like Curtis McElhinney.
Top 9 Forward - (Need 1, Likelihood 3) - The Leafs are top heavy in skilled offensive talent in their top nine and the rumors of Toronto pursuing Carolina’s Michael Ferland may have to do mostly with Babcock’s desire to add a “heavy” player, but also might reflect a lowering of the asking price for the rental power forward. It is inconceivable that the Leafs will get involved in adding a big rental like Mark Stone, Artemi Panarin or Matt Duchene.
********
The Leafs start the Western leg of their six-game road trip in Denver on Tuesday against the Avalanche, who have lost seven games in a row have fallen out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Head coach Mike Babcock will make only one lineup change, inserting Frederik Andersen for Garret Sparks, but will shake up his lines slightly, moving Andreas Johnsson up to the third line with Nazem Kadri and William Nylander, and shifting Connor Brown down to the fourth line with Par Lindholm and Frederik Gauthier.
*******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.*******
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»