The Toronto Maple Leafs are becoming a team to watch on the NHL’s trade market.
The Leafs currently have all 23 active roster spots filled, have sent both defenceman Jani Hakanpaa and forward Connor Dewar to the AHL for conditioning stints, and also have veteran forward Calle Jarnkrok, who doesn’t appear too far away from game action. Needless to say, something has to give in Toronto.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli discussed the Maple Leafs’ looming roster decisions on Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live and shed some light on how the Maple Leafs could navigate their roster crunch. “I’ve said it before, Leafs fans can continue to hate, or whatever it might be, Nick Robertson was a healthy scratch this week and remains a candidate to be moved if the Leafs can find the right value in return for him. He’s been unable to be elevated in that Leafs lineup for any sustained period of time,” said Seravalli.
“So, when you look at their roster and you realize that the only player who is waiver exempt in that group is Matthew Knies, and he ain’t going anywhere, that means the Leafs either need to waive players to make room for both (Hakanpaa/Dewar), or they need to make a trade. Keep an eye on the Leafs, the other shoe has to drop on these guys if they are healthy on the other end of this conditioning stint.”
Robertson has appeared in 10 games for the Maple Leafs this season, scoring just one goal and has yet to record an assist. After leading Toronto in goal-scoring during the preseason, he hasn’t been able to find consistent production under Craig Berube, who has challenged the 23-year-old to concentrate more on playing without the puck and his attention to detail defensively. Robertson is a pending restricted free agent, carrying a $875,000 cap hit this season.
Pontus Holmberg is another forward who could become a trade candidate. The 25-year-old is a pending restricted free agent, earning $80o,000 and has averaged 12:46 of ice time per game under Berube. Holmberg plays a much more defensively-focused game than Robertson, however, both have value on the trade market for different reasons.
Recently acquired defenceman Matt Benning and rarely used blueliner Philippe Myers are also two potential trade candidates, with Hakanpaa’s return looming and Conor Timmins playing well to start the season.
As Seravalli points out, something has to give in Toronto. The Maple Leafs are getting healthy; they have too many NHL contracts on their books, and it’s very possible another trade is announced in the coming days.
