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The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to be involved and interested in adding a player at the NHL Trade Deadline in just under two months, but will have to manage a tight squeeze up against the salary cap, even though veteran defenseman Jake Muzzin is on long-term injured reserve.
The Leafs currently have just under $2 million in available cap space, and according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, will explore the available defensive market, but unless Toronto trades off one of their own rentals, GM Kyle Dubas will be limited in how much a potential blueline acquisition makes if he also intends to add a top-nine forward.
Dubas, Team President Brendan Shanahan, Jason Spezza, and the club’s scouting staff held meetings in Philadelphia over the weekend to plot strategy and target potential acquisitions well in advance of March 3.
The Leafs have an advantage over many teams with a dual offensive threat up the middle in Auston Matthews and John Tavares, an excellent checking center in David Kampf, and a promising rookie in Pontus Holmberg, but in planning for a potential first-round match with Tampa Bay, Toronto may believe it is beneficial to add a veteran up the middle and move Kampf down to the fourth line and have a plan in place other than shifting Alex Kerfoot or Pierre Engvall to the middle if they run into injury issues going into the postseason.
Here are six potential center targets for Toronto before March 3:
Ivan Barbashev (St. Louis Blues)
Salary - $2.25 million
Contract Status – signed through 2022-23
With Toronto needing size and sandpaper in their top nine, Barbashev is made to order. The 27-year-old was a crash-and-bang specialist in the Blues run to a Cup in 2019 and scored a career-high 26 goals last season, but this year he has just six goals in the first half.
Oskar Sundqvist (Detroit Red Wings)
Salary - $2.75 million
Contract Status - signed through 2022-23
Also part of the 2019 Blues squad, the 6’3”, 208 lb. forward was dealt to Detroit last season as a salary dump in the Nick Leddy deal. As with Barbashev, the Wings would have to retain some salary to make things fit for the Leafs.
Nick Bjugstad (Arizona Coyotes)
Salary - $900,000
Contract Status – signed through 2022-23
The former Florida Panther first-round has become a journeyman in the second half of his career, playing for Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and the Coyotes the last four seasons. The 6’6” forward is not particularly fleet of foot, but can play both center and wing, has 10 goals for Arizona this season, and would be easy to fit under the cap making less than $1 million.
Ryan O’Reilly (St. Louis Blues)
Salary - $7.5 million
Contract Status - signed through 2022-23
The former Conn Smythe Trophy winner will be out until mid-February with a broken foot but is expected to be on the block if the Blues are not in the playoff race. O’Reilly is an excellent two-way forward having a bad season, which might keep the asking price for GM Doug Armstrong down (as well as his $7.5 million salary), but the cost may rise to have St. Louis retain salary or reduce the cap hit by involving a third team in the deal.
Lars Eller (Washington Capitals)
Salary - $3.5 million
Contract Status - signed through 2022-23
Similar to O’Reilly, Eller’s availability may be contingent on whether the Caps stay in the playoff race and if Nicklas Backstrom can remain in the lineup after a long stint on the injured list. The 33-year-old won a Cup with Washington in 2018 and would give Toronto another excellent faceoff man (currently winning 54% of his draws).
Sean Monahan (Montreal Canadiens)
Salary - $6.375 million
Contract Status - signed through 2022-23
Acquired along with a first-round pick from Calgary as a salary dump, Monahan recovered from off-season hip surgery and produced offensively (17 points in 25 games). The 28-year-old has been out just over a month with a lower-body injury unrelated to his hip issues and is expected to be back before the All-Star break. Any deal involving Monahan would require the Habs to retain 50% of his $6.375 million salary. There has been talk of Montreal having interest in re-signing him.
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The Leafs have placed defenseman TJ Brodie on injured reserve. The 32-year-old missed nearly a month with an oblique strain and this time around has a rib injury, according to SI’s David Alter.
Toronto recalled forward Bobby McMann on Tuesday. The 26-year-old Alberta native has 15 points (8 goals, 7 assists) in 17 games for the Toronto Marlies and was named AHL Player of the Week on Monday after scoring three goals and three assists in three games.
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