UPDATE - The Leafs have acquired forward Riley Nash from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 2022 conditional seventh round pick.
The 31-year-old Nash has seven points (2 goals and 5 assists) in 37 games with the Blue Jackets this season. In 578 career NHL regular season games between Carolina, Columbus and Boston, he has recorded 172 points (63 goals, 109 assists), while adding two goals and six assists in 32 career Stanley Cup playoff games.
Nash suffered a lower body injury earlier in the week and is expected to be out four to six week, which means he will be placed on LTIR and increase the Leafs available cap space before Monday's trade deadline, as well as giving them a veteran depth forward for the playoffs.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs lead the North Division by five points and have won eight of their last nine games, but it is uncertain what if anything they will do in the three days leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline. An illustration of why GM Kyle Dubas has been interested in adding a top-six forward revealed itself during Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens, when forward William Nylander was scratched due to entering the NHL’s COVID protocol.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe was forced to insert Ilya Mikheyev in place of Nylander on the second line with Alex Galchenyuk and John Tavares, and that line went scoreless in the contest with the Habs. On Friday at the club’s practice facility in Etobicoke, ON, Keefe reshuffled the top two lines, shifting Galchenyuk to the top line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and moving Zach Hyman with Tavares and Mikheyev.
"Really just wanted to take a chance to get a look at some different things here." Keefe said. "Not having Nylander breaks up that Tavares line that we had liked. It's just a chance for us now to get a look at Galchenyuk, who's been playing very well and seems to have paired very well with John, but now we feel pretty good about the fact that works for us, we want to see what what this would look like."
Nylander has not tested positive and will remain isolated for seven days as a precautionary measure, but his absence shows that the Leafs could use more offensive depth up front in case of an injury in the playoffs. With less than 72 hours until the 3pm deadline on Monday, Dubas is expected to make a move of some consequence to help improve the club, but what move that is will be subject to what teams decide to become sellers.
After missing out of a deal for New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri, the Leafs may be shifting to another veteran forward like Columbus team captain Nick Foligno. The 33-year-old Foligno has a modified no-trade and no-movement clause, but The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline indicates that the Leafs, Colorado and the New York Islanders (before the Palmieri deal) are said to be interested.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and TSN”s Frank Seravalli are reporting that the Leafs could be in on winger Taylor Hall, but not as a first option. The Buffalo Sabres are looking for a first round pick for the former Hart Trophy winner, and his $8 million cap hit would be difficult for Toronto to manage, but if the winger is still not traded on Monday, it is possible that the Leafs could swoop in.
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