Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
According to the Ottawa Citizen’s Bruce Garrioch, the Senators could be in the mix for a couple of players to boost their lineup with Toronto able to help them out.
If Toronto becomes sellers at the deadline that means they are going to have a lot of potential names they can trade and get quite a decent haul back all things considered — including a couple of first round picks.
However, it now becomes a question of what teams can offer the best package and with the Maple Leafs searching hard for at least a first-rounder if they are making trades; that narrows things down considerably.
Maple Leafs could find asset haul from unlikely source
Though, if they are out of the race and it becomes an urgent matter they may need to work with one of their most bitter rivals, and frankly — the return could be pretty solid.
According to Bruce Garrioch, the Senators are still in the market to improve their lineup despite being towards the bottom of the Atlantic Division, and are looking for two pieces specifically:
League executives have told the Ottawa Citizen that the Senators have been searching the market for a right-shot defenceman who can play in the top four and a top-six winger.
For the Maple Leafs, that seems like a pretty easy list to fill considering they could dangle both Bobby McMann and Brandon Carlo in a deal to send them to Ottawa.
In return, Toronto could get Ottawa’s 2027 first-round pick, and depending on if the team decides to retain salary on Carlo’s deal, they could walk away with as many as four picks in total — with three coming this season.
What Toronto can end up with if they decide to do business
Ottawa owns a second-round pick as well as three third-rounders including Florida and Washington’s picks. Both those teams aren’t exactly crushing it right now, and they could be decent middle of the road selections or be used in a future deal to bring in a bigger name.
McMann would be able to slide into the top-six with ease and would offer a lot of scoring, physicality and speed to a lineup that already boasts some speedsters like Tim Stutzle and Dylan Cozens, and we could see him replace Ridly Greig as the body-checking scorer on the second line.
Carlo would be an improvement over Nick Jensen in both age, size, and still gives Ottawa a right-handed defender to work with.
A shutdown duo of Carlo and Artem Zub would give the Senators a duo that loves to block shots and be intimidating presences in the defensive end.
If Toronto was looking to bring in a prospect from the Senators as opposed to adding an extra pick, they might look at Stephen Halliday which would be a fantastic young option with very similar traits to McMann but a much better defender.
Or they may look at a more immediate option in Cameron Crotty, a hulking 6’3 defenceman who shoots right and has brief NHL experience though is older at 26.
It feels a bit weird to have the Maple Leafs gift the Senators help, especially with how close the two are in the playoff race.
But if Toronto ends up faltering ahead of the deadline and it becomes a fire-sale of sorts then it might be worth seeing if their provincial rivals wouldn’t mind doing a rare bit of business.
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