Toronto Maple Leafs Need Defense and a Center
Justin Bourne of Sportsnet: As Bourne writes, the clock is ticking on Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving with the March 7th Trade Deadline approaching. He has seen teams like the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning improve, while the Maple Leafs have yet to upgrade their defense and center positions.
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The Maple Leafs have many upgrade options. While some of the options will be costly, they need to adopt the mindset of other teams and go for Cup or Bust, so they can’t regret any decisions. Brayden Schenn could cost Toronto way too much. It does not sound like Ryan O’Reilly will go anywhere. So, what are the other options?
The Maple Leafs could go to Philadelphia and try to get Scott Laughton and Rasmus Ristolainen. Laughton has one year left at $3 million, while Ristolainen has two years left at $5.1 million. There would be some cap gymnastics to work out, but it makes sense to fill in a 3C and a top-four defenseman.
Ryan Donato and Connor Murphy are Chicago options. Donato makes $2.2 million, while Murphy makes $4.4 million, and Toronto would have to get creative in that trade.
With Gourde off the board, the Leafs could go get Jamie Oleksiak, who has one year left at $4.6 million and is the type of player they need.
Edmonton’s Goalie Option Maybe in St. Louis
David Staples of the Edmonton Journal: As Staples writes, in an interview with Steve Valliquette of MSG Networks, the Edmonton Oilers, despite the reports, are not going to solve their goalie problems in Anaheim. Despite John Gibson wanting to play for a contender, his injury history is a concern for Oilers GM Stan Bowman.
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Instead, Valliquette suggests that the Oilers should go after St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington. Binnington was excellent for Team Canada at the Four Nations Faceoff. He also won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and knows how to get it done in the big moment.
But with the Blues in the playoff mix, Binnington might not be available. Bowman has stated he does not see anything better than Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard out there, so the focus could be on defense rather than goaltending.
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