The Toronto Maple Leafs will need to assure Auston Matthews that they can remain competitive
Nick Kypreos of the Toronto Star: Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews is over his slow start and back to his normal self. It’s not known what had been affecting his play. Regardless, can he take them on his back and into the playoffs?
Matthews has two years left on his contract, and there is pressure on the Leafs to build a Stanley Cup contender. He’s obviously seen the organizational changes, the lack of prospects and draft picks. Could Matthews ask for a change of scenery, similar to Matthew Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes?
The Maple Leafs will need to show Matthews that they can still be legit contenders. They the have the goaltending, capable defenseman and depth scoring.
New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton does check some boxes that the Leafs need. The cost to acquire could be high and he does have some issues in his game.
NHL Rumors: Dougie Hamilton and New Jersey, and Rasmus Andersson and Boston
Top 30 Trade Watch List
The Fourth Period: A list of the top 30 players that could be traded before the March 6th NHL trade deadline, and a few bubble players.
1. Artemi Panarin, LW – New York Rangers
2. Kiefer Sherwood, LW – Vancouver Canucks ** Traded to SJ
3. Dougie Hamilton, RD – New Jersey Devils
4. Alex Tuch, LW – Buffalo Sabres
5. Brayden Schenn, C/LW – St. Louis Blues
6. Luke Schenn, RD – Winnipeg Jets
7. Blake Coleman, LW/RW – Calgary Flames
8. Andrew Mangiapane, LW/RW – Edmonton Oilers
9. Vincent Trocheck, C – New York Rangers
10. Mario Ferraro, LD – San Jose Sharks
11. Steven Stamkos, C/RW – Nashville Predators
12. Justin Faulk, RD – St. Louis Blues
13. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C/LW – Carolina Hurricanes
14. Ryan O’Reilly, C – Nashville Predators
15. Boone Jenner, C/LW – Columbus Blue Jackets
16. Carson Soucy, LD – New York Rangers
17. Eeli Tolvanen, LW/RW – Seattle Kraken
18. Ryan Strome, C – Anaheim Ducks
19. Timothy Liljegren, RD – San Jose Sharks
20. Nazem Kadri, C – Calgary Flames
21. Jonathan Marchessault, RW – Nashville Predators
22. Jamie Oleksiak, LD – Seattle Kraken
23. Connor Murphy, RD – Chicago Blackhawks
24. Pavel Mintyukov, LD – Anaheim Ducks
25. Mattias Maccelli, RW/LW – Toronto Maple Leafs
26. Michael Bunting, RW/LW – Nashville Predators
27. Brad Lambert, RW – Winnipeg Jets
28. Max Domi, C/RW – Toronto Maple Leafs
29. Ryan Hartman, RW – Minnesota Wild
30. Jordan Kyrou, RW – St. Louis Blues
NHL Rumors: New York Rangers – Panarin, Trocheck, Soucy, Schneider, and Zibanejad
Bubble List
Jordan Binnington, G – St. Louis Blues
Charlie Coyle, C – Columbus Blue Jackets
Jordan Eberle, RW – Seattle Kraken
Conor Garland, RW – Vancouver Canucks
Dawson Mercer, RW – New Jersey Devils
Sam Montembeault, G – Montreal Canadiens
Trevor Moore, RW – Los Angeles Kings
Ondrej Palat, RW/LW – New Jersey Devils
Elias Pettersson, C – Vancouver Canucks
Owen Power, LD – Buffalo Sabres
Morgan Rielly, LD – Toronto Maple Leafs
Andrei Svechnikov, RW – Carolina Hurricanes
Mika Zibanejad, C/RW – New York Rangers
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