Two Maple Leafs are starting to draw trade interest around the league
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
According to Elliotte Friedman, the Toronto Maple Leafs could entertain trade offers for Nicolas Roy and Oliver Ekman-Larsson as they look to begin retooling.
With the Toronto Maple Leafs looking towards a retooling phase, there has been a lot of talk about who they will be potentially trading away and what type of return those players can get back.
Bobby McMann could give the team a lot coming back, and Brandon Carlo could be a huge asset if Toronto is willing to eat a bit of salary, however there are two names we can definitively add to the list now.
Teams starting to get interested in Nic Roy and Oliver Ekman-Larsson
According to Elliotte Friedman on NHL Now, the Maple Leafs are feeling out potential trade offers for forward Nicolas Roy as well as defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson:
They're not only talking about potentially the UFAs, but I think people would like to know if a guy like Nic Roy would be available; Oliver-Ekman Larsson too.
There's going to be a certain amount of backlash from Maple Leafs fans if the team were to give away Roy, as he was the piece in the Mitch Marner deal who had a lot of promise. He hasn't been bad, but with the team retooling; he could bring in a hefty haul.
Roy, 28, has 19 points in 52 games (5 goals, 14 assists) while adding a plus-one, 57 hits, and only 6 PIM while winning 53.5% of his face-offs.
He makes only $3-million for this season and the next, so a team wouldn't be committing a lot of money and getting quite a bit in return.
Ekman-Larsson, 34, has turned back the clock this season and has 33 points in 55 games (8 goals, 25 assists) with a plus-one, 46 blocks, 69 hits, and 32 PIM in 20:46; he makes $3.5-million for this season and the next two.
For any contender looking for power-play help on the blueline and someone who has winning pedigree, you can't get much better than Ekman-Larsson and if there are teams desperate enough for help on the back end, he could bring back a solid package.
Everything is on the table for the Maple Leafs except for the usual suspects like Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Matthew Knies.
Toronto has no intentions of making a superstar deal according to reports, but it's clear they have a mind to sell while they can.
So if Nic Roy and Oliver Ekman-Larsson tickle a contender's fancy, no matter how good they've been -- it would be a mistake to pass up a chance to finally recoup assets they mismanaged previously.
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| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 3|1093 ANSWERS Two Maple Leafs are starting to draw trade interest around the league Who would you rather the Maple Leafs traded away? | ||
| Nicolas Roy | 318 | 29.1 % |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | 77 | 7 % |
| Both | 275 | 25.2 % |
| Neither | 423 | 38.7 % |
| List of polls | ||