Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli released his first trade targets list of the 2024-25 season, and there’s some interesting names among the 15-player feature, who make various levels of sense for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
GM Brad Treliving is expected to be busy before the March 7 trade deadline. The Maple Leafs executive reshaped his blueline throughout the offseason, and didn’t really do too much up front. Fourth-liner Steven Lorentz and veteran Max Pacioretty were essentially the only additions among the forwards, so from Seravalli’s list, which is defencemen heavy, let’s pick out a few forwards who could wind up on Treliving’s radar before March.
Yanni Gourde
Center, Seattle Kraken
Age: 32
Stats: 20 GP, 2G, 5 A, 7 Pts
Contract: Pending UFA, $5,166,667 AAV
Seravalli’s Scoop: The Kraken have gotten calls on Gourde but don’t appear to be in any rush to move him – though it’s certainly trending in that direction before March 7. Gourde’s production has fallen as steadily as his ice time so far this season. He’s on track for a career-low 26 points over 82 games as new coach Dan Bylsma has used him in a third line role that has cut him back nearly two and a half minutes per game from his average in Seattle. No matter what, he’s still formerly a big contributor to a two-time Stanley Cup winner whom teams will want to acquire.
Don’t let the contract scare you, if the Leafs want the player bad enough, they’ll ask for salary retention, or get a third team involved to help finalize the deal. Gourde would bring a ton of experience to the Maple Leafs’ lineup, having 83 games of playoff experience under his belt, winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Gourde would give the Leafs a veteran for their bottom six, who is versatile to play the wing, or down the middle, and has some jam to his game. The 32-year-old has never lit up the scoresheet, but he’s shown in the past he’s capable of providing secondary scoring, and has consistently killed penalties throughout his career.
Gourde is a career 48% in the faceoff circle, he loves to throw his weight around, and he knows what it takes to win big games. Don’t let the lack of production this season scare you off, he’s not playing a ton and could use a change of scenery to finish off his current contract. Playing for Craig Berube could be a match made in heaven for both the player, and the coach.
Brandon Tanev
Right Wing, Seattle Kraken
Age: 32
Stats: 20 GP, 5 G, 3 A, 8 Pts
Contract: Pending UFA, $3.5 million AAV
Seravalli’s Scoop: The Kraken may be forced to move a forward once defenseman Vince Dunn returns from injury and Tanev is a candidate given the interest in his game. He’s a fierce forechecker with speed and competitive juice that teams crave. He’s also been really productive of late: Tanev has four goals and two assists over his last five games. That makes him an ideal trade deadline target once the Kraken begin to make decisions, but nothing is imminent quite yet.
A Tanev reunion in their hometown? Makes a ton of sense from the Maple Leafs perspective. Why not double down and acquire both Gourde and (Brandon) Tanev? The Kraken’s grinder has been scoring at a reasonable clip this season, currently sitting on a 20-goal pace, a feat he’s never accomplished throughout his 10-year NHL career.
Tanev knows his role, he doesn’t try to do too much, and he’d give the Leafs some more identity within their bottom six. He’s been playing just over 14 minutes per game for the last seven seasons, and would be a huge upgrade for the Leafs third line over Pontus Holmberg, Nick Robertson and Steven Lorentz.
If Treliving wants to add some more ‘piss and vinegar’ to the Maple Leafs, both Gourde and Tanev should be circled off Seravalli’s trade targets list. Their experience and skillsets would mesh perfectly to compliment the Leafs powerful offense and help provide the necessary balance throughout their bottom six to be effective during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Besides Gourde and Tanev, there wasn’t much when it came to a solid fit for the Maple Leafs. There’s zero chance the team hovers around Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks, goaltender Daniel Vladar of the Calgary Flames, or any of the stay-at-home defencemen from the 15 players published. Two-way defenceman Mike Matheson of the Montreal Canadiens is intriguing, but for now, there’s no sense the Leafs are going to add on the blueline.
At the end of the day, there’s high potential Treliving and company pull the trigger and add before March’s trade deadline. Seravalli’s first trade targets list had a couple of depth forwards who bring intangibles to move the needle for the Maple Leafs.
