We are 15 games into the 2023/24 season and the Toronto Maple Leafs have shown that there is some glaring voids in the current make up of their roster. The fourth line has been atrocious, only showing signs of being ice worthy when the placed Ryan Reaves (who is a -11 by the way) in the press box when the Leafs took on the Canucks Saturday night. The newly formed fourth line looked significantly better as they were a positive contributor with Bobby McMann being called up from the Marlies and slotted in place of Reaves to flank David Kampf and Noah Gregor. The line contributed two goals and three assists including a pair of assists from McMann. The most important stat line, the fourth line was not on for a goal against. This is momumental, as the opposition has been licking their chops every time they see that line dispatched as it has been almost been an automatic goal against.
But as much as the fourth line has been an issue for the Maple Leafs, the defense has been a major issue as well. The John Klingberg experiment has been a hot button topic as most in Leaf Nation feared. TJ Brodie has shown more signs of decline in his play. Mark Giordano has been tasked with too many minutes as injuries have depleted the D corps early on as Connor Timmins, Jake McCabe and Timothy Liljegren have all been absent due to injuries.
McCabe has returned and has looked better then he did early on prior to his stint on the sidelines. Timmins has not seen game action yet in the regular season and is still working his way back. Lilegren is expected to be sidelined for a bit with a high ankle sprain. The only bright spots so far on the back end has been Morgan Rielly’s consistent play and offensive contributions and William Lagesson’s solid play.
Brad Treliving has stated that he wants to do some work to improve the blue line and it is abundantly clear that this is where the primary focus should be at this time. With that being said the Maple Leafs have been linked to their GM’s former employer, the Calgary Flames in trade talks since the offseason and it was amplified ten fold on Friday. Toronto played host to the Flames. One of the names bantered around in trade discussions is Flames hulking defender Nikita Zadorov. Mid way through the game Zadorov laid a big hit on Leafs winger Tyler Bertuzzi. This led to Zadorov’s agent Dan Milstein to post the following on X (formerly Twitter).
This was followed by news that Zadorov had offically requested a trade out of Calgary. To further add fuel to the fire. When someone responded to Milsteins “Dan, can we keep him?” He promptly responded in a quote reply.
Within minutes this sent the internet a blaze. Many fans and even insiders alike were constantly refreshing their social media awaiting what seemed like an imminent move to follow. However nothing had come to fruition. Since this bombshell was dropped things have tappered off a little bit but speculation still runs high as there has been some unconfirmed reports that the Maple Leafs have tabled an offer to the Flames that they can mull over while Toronto is over in Sweden for the NHL Global Series. The Leafs are off until Friday when they take on the Detroit Red Wings at 2pm EST and then play the Minnesota Wild at 8am Sunday morning. They will then fly home and not play again until the following friday when they take on the Blackhawks in Chicago.
As a fan, I would love to see Big Z in the blue and white. The 28 year old Russian D-man brings some much needed size to the backend standing in at 6 foot 6 inches and 248lbs. He plays hard and is solid defensively and contribute a little offence as depicted in the stats above. But his physical play and defensive prowess is main reason for wanting to acquire him. His style of play would endear him with the fanbase much like a guy like Jake Muzzin, Luke Schenn and players of the ilk.
This D corps has been too easy for the opposition to play against. Adding Zadorov would help address that by instilling a bit of concern when the attacking opponent enters the defensive zone if he is on the ice. Also adding him would provide a bit of relief for the likes of Mark Giordano. As stated previously, Gio has had to shoulder a heavier work load recently due to the injuries the blueline has incurred. Giordano has been tasked with multiple games of over 20 minutes of ice time logged. Which is asking a lot of the 40 year old elder statesmen.
Zadorov isn’t the only Calgary blueliner that the Maple Leafs have been linked to as there is interest in Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin. Hanifin’s name has been the least mentioned as most of the rumors have been focus on Tanev and Zadorov. All three of the veteran defenders are on expiring contracts and will be heavily shopped by the Flames as none of the three have intentions of resigning after this season in Calgary so it would be best for them to recoup whatever assets they can get. Toronto isn’t the only team that is interested, nor are they the only team that are in need of upgrades on the back end. This will mean a bidding war will ensue to acquire any of the listed defenders. The key for the Maple Leafs will be not to overpay for what will potentially be a rental. However to acquire any of these players will require them to shed some salary.
Here are a couple potential offers that Toronto could table.
Option #1:
To Calgary:
John Klingberg
David Kampf
Nick Abruzzese
3rd round pick
To Toronto:
Nikita Zadorov (25% retained)
Chris Tanev (25% retained)
Option #2:
To Calgary:
Nick Abruzzese
John Klingberg
5th round pick
To Toronto:
Nikita Zadorov (50% retained)
Option #3: Big Swing
To Calgary:
John Klingberg
Timothy Liljegren
Ty Voit
Nick Abruzzese
Fraser Minton
3rd round pick
To Toronto:
Nikita Zadorov (25% retained)
Noah Hanifin (25% retained)
Elias Lindholm
The first option listed above would upgrade the defence with minimum impact to the NHL roster. Moving Klingberg and Kampf would not negatively impact the roster. Kampf has not played up to the standard we have been accustomed to this season. He has looked better since being placed back on the fourth line. However there are players such as Pontus Holmberg on the Marlies that can slide in place of him on the fourth line. Also moving Kampf sheds more salary and relieves Toronto of the miscue of the extension he recieved in the offseason. Meanwhile bringing both Tanev and Zadorov adds much needed depth and improve the defence corp. Both Tanev and Zadorov bring a sound defensive game along with the ability to contribute a bit more offensively.
The second option listed would be focusing on just getting Zadorov. Once again Klingberg would go back the other way to offset the financial side of the contract. Calgary has expressed interest in Nick Abruzzese as he is a former linemate of Flames prospect Matthew Coronato and the two had good chemistry when they played together for Harvard. Maybe reuniting the two will be reignite this.
The final option would be going for the grand slam and bring both Zadorov and Hanifin to strengthen the backend as well add Lindholm to the center depth providing a three headed monster down the middle. The return for Calgary would certainly deal a blow to Toronto depth but it be the necessary to get the talent in return. Parting with the likes of prospects Fraser Minten and Ty Voit would not be ideal, but that is the cost of business when you look to add the pedigree of talent such as Lindholm, Zadorov and Hanifin. This would catapult the Maple Leafs into a legitimate contender if this were to transpire.
This leads me to another name linked to Toronto. That is none other then Patrick Kane. The future Hall of Famer and three time Stanley Cup Champion has been currently doing his training and off season recovery from Hip resurfacing surgery in Oakville.
As per John Shannon’s tweet on the 14th. Patrick Kane met with the Maple Leafs to start the process to determine where he will play next. Shannon quoted his post after this to advise that other teams that are interested in Kane’s services as well.
With this being said. If Toronto were to make the big swing and pull off the third option of the trades listed above and signed Patrick Kane the roster would feature a significant different appearance.
Potential Lineup:
Knies – Matthews – Marner
Bertuzzi – Tavares – Nylander
Kane – Lindholm – Domi
Robertson – Jarnkrok – Gregor
Rielly – Brodie
McCabe – Tanev
Zadorov – Giordano
Timmins
This would be one of the deepest roster that provides four lines can score. Kane could be elevated into the top six when needed to added that much more of an offensive threat. Sheldon Keefe could run out any of the lines in almost any situation without worry of it being detrimental to the team. On the backend the make up of it provides a more defensively sound corps that will be more difficult to play against but can still contribute offensively. Whether any of these deals become reality only time will tell. According to some sources there has been an offer tabled by Toronto to Calgary and they will circle back to this when the Maple Leafs return back to North America after there trip to Sweden. In the meantime the roster currently assembled is tasked to keep building more momentum as they look to close the gap between them and division leading Boston. One thing is for sure, changes are on the horizon.
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