NHL Trade Speculation: 5 Hypothetical Deals That Make Sense For Both Sides
By Ryan Ritchie
St.Louis Blues trade D Kevin Shattenkirk to Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for F Leo Komorov, F Byron Froese, and D Rinat Valiev
Here’s a deal that could work for both sides. The Maple Leafs add an established top four right-handed defenseman; St.Louis adds a quality winger capable of playing any role asked of him, bottom six depth, and a near ready NHL defender. Of course, Toronto would need to feel comfortable they could sign the 27-year-old to a new contract for this to work.
Expendable Options
There are two important things to remember here. First, the St.Louis Blues will inevitably be forced to trade Kevin Shattenkirk at some point this season. Kevin is set to become a UFA next summer and has been deemed expendable following the emergence of Colton Parayko in 2015-16.
For the Maple Leafs, a time will soon come when difficult decisions must be made. They’ve got numerous prospects vying for the same spot (at several positions) and there’s just not enough room for the plethora of young players in their system. If Toronto is ready to trade anyone, it’ll be guys they’re familiar with so they know exactly what’s going out the door. The last thing Leafs management wants is to repeat old habits of giving up on players only to watch them blossom elsewhere.
Why Komorov, Froese, and Valiev Makes Sense
“Uncle Leo” is a fan favorite in Leafs nation. He’s a solid mix of skill and grit in rare company with the likes of Alex Ovechkin and Jamie Benn for power forwards who can score a healthy amount of goals and be among the league leaders in hits. Imagine the chaos Leo Komarov would cause in a seven-game playoff series for St.Louis.
Byron Froese was a surprise emergence in 2015-16 for the Maple Leafs. He spent the majority of the year with the big club serving in a limited bottom six role racking up five points in 56 games. Byron will never light up the score sheet, but he’s a very responsible two-way forward that plays a sound all-around game.
Valiev is the only player that still has question marks regarding what type of player they project to be in the NHL. The reason Toronto can afford to lose Valiev is because they’ve already got Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner serving a 1-2 on the depth chart (on the left side). Hunwick sits at third, although he could see time on the right side; then there’s Martin Marincin, Travis Dermott, and Viktor Loov. It doesn’t leave a lot of room for Rinat Valiev. Chances are that Valiev is a bottom pair defender anyways, something you can easily fill if a hole opens.
Why Shattenkirk Makes Sense
Everyone knows how important it is to Mike Babcock to have proper defensive pairings (left-handed vs. right-handed shot). There wasn’t much he could do in 2015-16 about that, but he does at least have a few more options this season.
As it stands, they’re top RH shots include Roman Polak, Nikita Zaitsev, Frank Corrado, and Connor Carrick. Even if KHL transfer Zaitsev emerges into a top four defender, the Leafs are still missing a quality blue liner that can log big minutes.
At just 27-years-old, Shattenkirk is still young enough to blend with other Leafs rebuild pieces such as James van Riemsdyk (27), Jake Gardiner (26), and Nazem Kadri (25). He can assume those top four minutes and would also give Toronto a massive boost on special teams (both PP and SH).