After scratching Nino Niederreiter, the Winnipeg Jets may not have a future for him and the Maple Leafs could swoop in and make another splash in the trade market.
Suffice to say, the Winnipeg Jets have not had a great start to the year in terms of off-ice chatter. They have been pretty solid to start the year in terms of on-ice production as they sit 3-1-1 but the Connor Hellebuyck saga hangs like a dark cloud over the franchise.
While we wait and see how that situation develops, there's another one developing that involves a veteran forward who could be on the outs as well: Nino Niederreiter.
Niederreiter finds himself out of Winnipeg's lineup and potentially out of the city altogether
The 16-year vet has been a healthy scratch recently for the Jets, and despite being a solid two-way forward, it seems like the Jets want to have a bit more youth in the lineup. However that's led to some to think that the Maple Leafs should go after him - and it makes sense:
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Niederreiter, 34, has only appeared in two games this season and has zero points but for his career, he has 499 points in 1,032 games with seven seasons of 20+ goals. He's only two seasons removed from a 17-goal, 37-point season with the Jets, and is still an effective two-way forward.
He is a free agent at the end of this season, but does make $4M so investing in him will eat into a good portion of Toronto's newfound cap space. But if he can be a player who slides into the bottom six and provides a scoring punch while adding that defensive game he's known for - it's a plus.
How can Niederreiter fit in the Maple Leafs' lineup?
As stated above, the goal for Niederreiter in Toronto is to ensure that the fourth line is a much better offensive group. While you may think that's counterintuitive given that traditionally a fourth line is just a gritty, less offensively focused bunch, Toronto's fourth line has been bad.
Not defensively, as they have been pretty great at neutralizing opponents, but they almost never have a chance to score or even get any respectable chances. Adding Niederreiter would give that line at least someone who can pop in those loose pucks and add a threat to a physical line.
Brandon Duhaime is a speedy, physical winger but doesn't score much and Teddy Blueger is a solid defensive pivot but isn't known to score much either. Niederreiter at least provides a veteran player with the offensive awareness to elevate the others. Duhaime and Blueger can score, but they need someone to help them out.
He also has over 100 games played in the postseason and though he hasn't been a scoring machine, does have 20 goals and 42 points. If he's contributing help there in the bottom six then it's a huge boost to the lineup.
Niederreiter may be getting older and go against Toronto's new speed-filled lineup. But with the fourth line needing help offensively and having more than enough speed to cover for the veteran - adding him could fly under the radar for the Maple Leafs and turn their worst line into at least a viable threat at times.
Should the Maple Leafs try and make a trade for Nino Niederreiter?
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