Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
If things go from bad to worse for the Maple Leafs this season and they decide to wave the white flag, they do hold several pieces to trade that’ll help them retool.
It’s not the season that the Toronto Maple Leafs nor their fans wanted, and with a lot of expectations coming into the year; they have truly fallen short.
Craig Berube’s job may be on the line, several players could be on the chopping block, and the team will need to take the next few games very seriously if they want to try and ensure they are still in the playoff race come the new year and while things can change, for Toronto it’s much harder.
So they could decide to get rid of a few names who have expiring deals, or are good enough to dish off for retooling assets.
Let’s take a look at who could be in play.
Toronto’s list of potential trade candidates
While the Maple Leafs aren’t going to go full-on rebuild and trade William Nylander and Auston Matthews; they could deal a large chunk of players.
Here’s a group that could feasibly bring back enough picks and pieces to at least retool (on top of a new head coach):
– Brandon Carlo
– Scott Laughton
– Bobby McMann
– Oliver Ekman-Larsson
– Morgan Rielly
That’s a lot of players, but they all do offer enough for contenders and at varying costs, Toronto can really recoup some assets if they play their cards right.
Carlo, 29, is currently recovering from foot surgery and has been out of action since Nov. 13. He has not really shown the level of shutdown defense as Toronto hoped for especially considering they traded a first-round pick and Fraser Minten for him.
He has no timeline for a return, and only has two assists in 18 games, along with 34 blocks, 12 hits and a plus-two rating; he currently makes $3.48-million and holds a three-team no-trade list.
Laughton, 31, was also traded for last season along with Carlo, though he came from Philadelphia in exchange for you guessed it; another first-round pick as well as prospect Nikita Grebenkin.
He’s missed a month of the season already but has put up four points in 16 games (3 goals, 1 assist) to go along with a plus-one, 30 hits, and 10 blocks. He is signed for $1.5-million and is a free agent this summer.
McMann, 29, has shown glimpses of his ability and is a very solid secondary scorer, and loves to hit. The only issue is that he is getting older and if Toronto is hitting the reset button; they need to get younger.
At only $1.35-million he’s a steal, and could offer a team a lot of flexibility throughout the lineup, especially ones needing a speedy and aggressive power forward.
In 33 games, he’s posted 16 points (9 goals, 7 assists) with 72 hits but also has a plus/minus of zero as his defense has taken a hit.
In 32 games he’s posted 22 points (6 goals, 16 assists) while adding 27 blocks, 44 hits, and a plus-one rating and also only makes $3.5-million for the next three seasons but does have a 16-team no trade list.
Finally we come to the biggest fish worth the most in Morgan Rielly.
Rielly, 31, has been pretty much what you expect from him. Some offensive flair with not much defense. He has 23 points in 33 games but also has a minus-seven rating and 50 giveaways already.
It may seem a disservice to the longest-tenured member of the roster, but if the team is shifting gears then he deserves a shot to win elsewhere.
While there are other names like Matias Maccelli, Max Domi, Simon Benoit, and others who could be traded, if the Maple Leafs really wanna shake things up they have a handful of options to do it with.
Previously on Hockey Patrol