Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving has been busy this offseason trying to upgrade the talent level on his roster. There’s been some heavy lifting completed, especially on the blue line and while the Leafs remain an unfinished product, perhaps there’s no bigger concern on Toronto’s roster than its lack of depth at centre.
Treliving’s attention seemed to be set solely on the Maple Leafs back end to start the summer as the team used the majority of their cap space to sign Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. There were no issues with the approach as a facelift was much needed and the two veterans will play significant roles next season trying to get this team over the hump.
Treliving was also busy securing goaltender Anthony Stolarz on a multi-year deal and hopes he’s the perfect tandem partner for Joseph Woll. The two unproven goalies will push each other for minutes and at this point it’s anyone’s game for starting opening night.
The strategy to focus on the blue line and another goaltender made a ton of sense as the Leafs’ biggest holes were defensively and the likes of Tanev and Ekman-Larsson will surely help, but at this point of the offseason, something needs to be done to add another centre to Toronto’s lineup.
As it stands currently, the Maple Leafs have Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Pontus Holmberg and David Kampf as their likely 1-4 C’s. Max Domi, signed for four more years, is another option but it’s not likely he plays bottom-six minutes, so if Tavares is lining up down the middle, Domi likely heads to the wing — for now. Meanwhile, Fraser Minten was given a cup of coffee in the NHL last season, is coming off a very strong year in junior and will likely push Holmberg and Kampf at training camp.
Besides that, there aren’t many options for Craig Berube to consider. Ideally, there’s more internal competition at training camp up front and as it stands right now, that’s not the case at all. Treliving should consider his options and look to add at least one more forward who is versatile to play both down the middle and on the wing.
Maple Leafs have a couple of routes to take
How exactly can Treliving address the need? For starters, Nick Robertson wants out and this could be the perfect way.
Robertson has been frustrated with his playing time in Toronto and from all accounts his relationship with the organization is in rough shape. It’s been reported he’d prefer to be traded this offseason and with 20-goal potential and still just 22 years old, there’s a bit of value to work with on the trade market.
Moving Robertson is risky, but it’s not the end of the world for the Maple Leafs. Matthew Knies, Domi and Bobby McMann will push for top-six left-wing minutes, meanwhile Easton Cowan, Connor Dewar, Minten, and even Alex Steeves could push for the bottom-six slots.
Robertson’s minutes are replaceable and given his playing style and the fact he’s 5-foot-9 and gets pushed off the puck very easily at times, he’s not necessarily a perfect fit for a Berube run hockey club anyways. In an ideal world, he’s traded for one of two things.
Either a forward who is around the same age and is also looking for a change of scenery, or, Treliving moves Robertson for a veteran right-handed centremen, who is a penalty-killing machine and can win timely faceoffs. Toronto hasn’t had much for right-handed centres since Jason Spezza retired and it would help balance out the lineup to add one heading into next season. Timely faceoffs on their strong side, another penalty killer to add to the mix, if these two areas could be addressed by a Robertson trade, it could go a long way to help Berube balance things out.
As for the secondary scoring, it feels like Knies is ready to jump into a bigger role after his Stanley Cup Playoff performance last season so don’t be too concerned about losing the potential goal-scoring of Robertson. Adding a more defensive-minded versatile forward could do wonders for this roster.
Free-agent market is limited, so is the cap space
With the mysterious case of Jani Hakanpaa on defense and the unknown contract status, and with Dewar still in need of a contract for next season, the Maple Leafs currently sit with just under $1 million in projected cap space. Considering that’s likely Dewar’s money, Treliving doesn’t have much to work with financially to add a centre. There also isn’t much left on the free-agent market.
Tyler Johnson is a possibility but a less than ideal fit considering he doesn’t kill penalties and is only a part-time centre. Chris Tierney is from the area and has shown a strong ability to win faceoffs, and can help kill penalties, not right-handed, however one of the few options to consider. Is he an upgrade though? Not likely.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, much like Tierney is in the category of the ‘best of the rest’, and could be someone who the Maple Leafs consider on a professional tryout agreement ahead of training camp. He’s 38 years old though and it’s likely a player like Minten would be a better option for next season. Still, PTO’s come with no commitment, so it’s food for thought that doesn’t cost anything to sample at training camp.
At the end of the day, the Maple Leafs need to add another centre. In a perfect world he’s right-handed, can play in the middle-six, kill penalties and wins more than 50 percent of their faceoffs. Swapping Robertson will be the team’s best option to add someone who can help move the needle as the free-agent market has already been picked over.
If the 22-year-old winger doesn’t want to be a Leaf, why force him to be? There’s lots of depth on the wing in Toronto, but the same can’t be said down the middle. It’s time to re-allocate some resources.
