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 Calgary in exchange for D Dougie Hamilton and F Emile Poirier

Here are two guys that could help Calgary make a serious run in the playoffs.  JVR would fill a longtime need on that top line since Gaudreau and van Riemsdyk both have a bit of versatility to play their off wing.

Polak is hardly a replacement for Dougie Hamilton, but his physical defensive presence would be a welcomed addition.  Calgary would need to mix things up, possibly put Giordano and Brodie together on that top pair (force one to play the right side).  It could allow for Jyrki Jokipakka to slide up on that second pairing with Dennis Wideman, while Polak settles in alongside Deryk Engelland.

For Toronto, they add the defender they should have drafted (along with Tyler Seguin).  Hamilton would likely force Zaitsev down to the second pairing with Gardiner and fills a desperate need for a right-handed shot.

The addition of Emile Poirier is a bit of a sweetener that just hasn’t worked out so far in Calgary.  The 22-year-old was a first round selection back in 2013, but only has appeared in eight NHL games.  Toronto would be hoping that a change of scenery might spark the Montreal-born LWer.

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?