NHL Trade Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs F James van Riemsdyk

NHL Trade Rumors: TSN’s Darren Dreger Reported Earlier in the Week that Teams are Calling Toronto Regarding the Availability of Forward James van Riemsdyk. The Maple Leafs Would Likely Want a Top-4 Defenseman in Return (Preferably Right-Handed). Let’s Explore 5 Hypothetical Deals for JVR:

NHL trade rumors took an unexpected twist last week when TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that clubs are calling Toronto regarding the availability of forward James van Riemsdyk. The 27-year-old winger carries a $4.25 million dollar cap hit through 2017-18.

Given the Leafs struggles on the back end – especially the right side – most have assumed that any return package would need to include a quality top-four defender. It’s not a slight on KHL transfer Nikita Zaitsev, who in all honesty has exceeded expectations, but there’s a serious drop-off after that.

By acquiring another RH shot that can log heavy minutes, Toronto can slide Zaitsev down to that second pairing with Jake Gardiner (if they want). They might even keep Morgan Rielly in mind while discussing their potential trade options. Fans were hoping he might secure that no.1 d-man tag in 2016-17, but it’s been somewhat disappointing in that sense. Perhaps the answer to getting the 22-year-old going is a new defensive partner that helps take a bit of pressure off of Morgan?

Now obviously, a deal needs to make sense for both sides. Given the current landscape of teams fighting for playoff spots and ahead of expansion, the options are a bit thin. That being said, we’ve got five hypothetical deals that Toronto might be wise to explore.

NHL Trade Rumors: JVR Hypothetical Trade Scenarios

Toronto trades F James van Riemsdyk and G Garret Sparks to Arizona in exchange for D Michael Stone, F Anthony Duclair, and D Kyle Capobianco

In this scenario, Toronto adds a quality RH defender capable of logging 20+ minutes/game.  He probably wouldn’t replace Nikita Zaitsev on the top pair, but instead, slide into that second pairing with Jake Gardiner.  Stone is capable of playing on both sides of special teams (power play/shorthanded), although there’s a catch with the 26-year-old.  He’s set to become a UFA this summer, so getting him inked to an extension would be imperative.

The Maple Leafs also add Anthony Duclair to help replace JVR on the left side.  One could argue that Toronto has a lot more depth at center/right wing, so it doesn’t make much sense to further bolster those positions.  They also add a defensive prospect in Kyle Capobianco.  He’s a highly underrated d-man playing for OHL Sudbury that Arizona could afford to move given the recent emergence of Anthony DeAngelo and Kyle Wood in 2016-17.

For Arizona, they add a quality top-six winger in JVR.  The Coyotes believe they’re ready to start competing, but they could be without Shane Doan next year if he retires.  They don’t exactly have a ton of depth up the left/right side with most of their top prospects serving up the middle.

Not that Arizona would have high expectations for Garret Sparks, but he would be an important piece in the deal to give the Yotes a little extra depth between the pipes with the oft-injured Mike Smith still hanging around.

Toronto trades F James van Riemsdyk and D Roman Polak to Nashville in exchange for D Ryan Ellis and D Frederic Allard

The only reason Nashville would consider a deal like this is if GM David Poile admits he made a mistake with his offensive-defensemen experiment.  Many in the hockey world would call it a failure so far, and I’m sure elite starter Pekka Rinne would agree as well.  This scenario could work for Nashville given the emergence of Matt Irwin.  He’s already seeing an expanded role due to injuries, and has shown some chemistry with Mattias Ekholm.  Replace Pontus Aberg with Roman Polak, the Preds are a much better team.

Adding JVR gives Nashville a much-needed presence in their top six.  The 2nd/3rd/4th lines have been extremely unstable all year with guys like Austin Watson serving on the 2nd line right now.  If they add van Riemsdyk to the mix, it would give them two legitimate scoring lines, and you might even argue it would help balance the bottom six to give them the necessary depth for a deep playoff run.

I imagine that some Leafs fans won’t like this deal.  After all, Ryan Ellis is an undersized (5’10 180lbs) offensive defenseman.  That being said, his two-way game has evolved immensely from the prospect most remember suiting up for Team Canada at the World Juniors many years back.  Ellis leads the Preds in SH TOI/game (2:44/gm), and also serves on the PP (2:15/gm).

The addition of Allard helps balance out the deal, giving Toronto a quality defensive prospect.  Selected in 2016, the 19-year-old already earned himself an entry-level contract.

Toronto trades F James van Riemsdyk and D Connor Carrick to NY Islanders in exchange for D Travis Hamonic and F Shane Prince

Garth Snow needs to do something that gives captain John Tavares a reason to stay beyond 2018.  A simple addition of a lone winger to play with Johnny T might not be enough, but it’s a good start.  With JVR in the mix, it would put less pressure on guys like Michael Dal Colle or Josh Ho-Sang to graduate from Bridgeport.  Instead, the Isles could take a little extra time to properly develop these prospects.

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The addition of Carrick helps keep the Islanders defensive group balanced.  Boychuk and Seidenberg could slide up a spot, while Connor slides into that bottom pairing alongside Calvin de Haan.

Moving a defender makes sense for New York.  As it stands, they’ll only be able to protect (3) of Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic, Thomas Hickey, and Calvin de Haan.  With Hamonic subtracted, the Isles could protect Hickey, and work a side deal for a conditional pick to further protect de Haan.

For Toronto, they add a quality RH defenseman on a cap friendly deal.  He could likely pair up with Morgan Rielly and help take some pressure off the 22-year-old.  The only downside is that Hamonic plays limited minutes on the man advantage, although he leads all Isles defenders in SH ice time.

Fans in New York wouldn’t be too excited over losing Shane Prince.  It was pegged as a sneaky good pickup from Ottawa that had fans in the Canadian Capital upset, and for good reason.  The once highly touted Sens prospect posted five points in 20 games down the stretch in 2015-16, and followed it up 13 points in 31 games so far.  All of that being said, the Isles will struggle to protect the 24-year-old in June’s expansion draft.  Why risk losing him for nothing if he can help get a deal like this done?

Toronto trades F James van Riemsdyk, D Roman Polak, and D Frank Corrado to St. Louis in exchange for D Kevin Shattenkirk and F Ivan Barbashev

For this deal to work, Toronto would need to feel confident they could sign Shattenkirk to an extension.  Whether or not they could do that, who knows?  We’ve seen recent reports suggesting that Kevin has a preference to stay with an eastern US team.  That attitude could always change if he sees a big opportunity to excel with a young, up-and-coming Maple Leafs squad.  Shattenkirk won’t be much help when the team is killing penalties, but he could give Toronto a massive boost on the power play.

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The addition of prospect Ivan Barbashev is a significant piece in this deal.  The 21-year-old was a 33rd overall selection in 2014 with immense potential.  The left-handed shooting center had a tough go of things transitioning in his AHL rookie season with 28 points in 65 games, but he’s since found his way in 2016-17 scoring at a near point-per-game pace with 34 points in 38 games.

Looking at this deal from St. Louis’ perspective, JVR helps bring balance to the roster ahead of a crucial playoff run.  The Blues are ready to be that next team to get over the elusive hump, but they need a little more consistency up front.  Ken Hitchcock is constantly shuffling his lineup to find the right chemistry and we see different players being cycled through the top three lines.  Wouldn’t it be nice if the Blues had a set top line, or even top-six like many other teams?

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Roman Polak would be a welcomed addition re-joining the Blues.  For many fans, it was a tough loss to watch him go in 2014.  His physical, defensive presence is exactly what they need for a deep playoff run.

The addition of Corrado is merely a depth addition.  He could serve as the no.7 defenseman or put him on the short list for call-ups.