The Toronto Maple Leafs will play two more games before Friday’s NHL Trade Deadline.
They’ll face Buffalo tomorrow and the Boston Bruins on Thursday, but the outcome shouldn’t affect what the Toronto Maple Leafs do.
Everyone knows exactly what the Leafs need:
Joseph Woll, a rookie goalie who has recently recovered from a significant injury, looks to be prone to injuries. Ilya Samsonov is poor and should not be on the club come playoff time, therefore a goaltender is essential.
The main question is whether they obtain a reliable starter and use Woll as a backup, or whether they simply replace Samsonov and go with a tandem. I’m fine with either option, but I don’t see how they can pass up the chance to trade for Juuse Saros if he’s available.
The Leafs also require a center to replace Max Domi, who, despite his popularity, is a replacement player who is overpaid at $3 million by approximately $2 million. Max Domi is clearly a burden, and he is the most obvious forward to upgrade.
The third thing, which could easily be placed first, is a defenseman who can move the puck. Hopefully it’s a superstar who can unseat Morgan Rielly and push him into a more acceptable #2 role, but at the absolute least it has to be an above-average puck-mover, as the Leafs blue-line is terrible at moving the puck and only got worse last week.
So, with that in mind, here are three things the Leafs should avoid coming into Friday.
