According to David Pagnotta, the Toronto Maple Leafs have their next trade target in mind and it has everything to do with beefing up the blue-line.
The Maple Leafs already made a huge splash this season by acquiring Kirill Marchenko from the Blue Jackets in exchange for Matthew Knies (with other pieces being swapped as well). It was a brazen move by GM John Chayka as he continues to prove he's willing to do whatever it takes to win.
Many fans were upset that Knies was traded away and though he's a fantastic player, there is a chance that Marchenko is the key piece needed to elevate Auston Matthews and therefore the rest of the team - if the captain's at his best, then the rest will follow.
Toronto may have another trade up their sleeve
But they may not be done quite yet, and with Max Domi, Elvis Merzlikins, and Dakota Joshua on the LTIR, they now suddenly have $7M in cap space to work with (so long as they stay on LTIR) and according to David Pagnotta, they have a plan.
They're a looking for a top 4 guy, They've been a little bit more aggressive on that hunt recently.
This seems to also confirm reports that surfaced recently that both Darren Dreger and Chris Johnston also supported, which is that the Maple Leafs may not be done making deals.
It isn't surprising given that the team has invested so much in trying to win this season, and the fact they were willing to trade Knies shows that Chayka is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to giving away assets he feels could bring in the right fit.
What would Toronto target - offence or defence on the blue line?
Well given that the team added Darren Raddysh this year, the offence is a lot better than it was, but you can never have too much help. There's a potential to bring in a name like Roman Josi from Nashville - he's getting older, and the Predators need to get younger soon.
He could provide an offensive boost without sacrificing defence, and then would allow Morgan Rielly to move down the lineup. However, focusing a bit on Rielly - they should try and give him the proper help.
A Raddysh and Rielly pairing is not really feasible long-term, especially defensively. It would be smarter for Toronto to split up Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev and put them with Rielly and Raddysh but then you break up your best shutdown duo.
If Toronto wanted better defense without sacrificing the offence alongside Rielly then perhaps a look back at Dougie Hamilton would be a good fit. He can move the puck, he's a great second power-play guy who can swap with Rielly (and provide better help in case of an emergency).
It's really anyone's guess though as to who Chayka would target but one thing is clear - he's not shy about making the big move to shake things up for the Maple Leafs.
Do you think the Maple Leafs are going to make another blockbuster trade?
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Maple Leafs have found the perfect free agent to pair with Matthews and Marchenko