Top 3 players the Toronto Maple Leafs should trade after disappointing season
After yet another humiliating playoff loss, expect the Toronto Maple Leafs to make some huge changes.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are heading home early after yet another postseason failure. They remain the only NHL franchise who hasn’t won a playoff series in the salary cap era. This season, the Leafs didn’t even make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as they lost in the play-in round to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It’s clear that changes need to be made in Toronto. Their current way of doing things is simply not working. They’re committing over $40 million to four forwards and that’s simply not sustainable given their roster’s needs.
Expect the Leafs to be quite active this offseason. Last summer, they traded Nazem Kadri for Tyson Barrie and Alexander Kerfoot. That clearly wasn’t enough. The Leafs have a lot of work to do if they want to become Stanley Cup contenders. Here are three players they should trade as they try to retool their talented roster.
1. Andreas Johnsson
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The Leafs signed Kerfoot, Andreas Johnsson, and Kasperi Kapanen to virtually identical deals last summer. Johnsson got a four-year deal worth $3.4 million annually. Kapanen is the most useful member of the trio, so it makes sense to keep him.
Kerfoot is a useful defensive center who can produce at a respectable rate, so trading him makes little sense. That leaves Johnsson, who’s a bit expendable.
A huge reason he’s expendable is because of Nicholas Robertson, who proved he’s ready for a spot on the NHL roster after an impressive showing against the Blue Jackets. He can do what Johnsson can do (and likely more) at a much cheaper price.
Packaging him with a draft pick for a top-four defenseman makes a lot of sense. Personally, I think the Leafs should target New Jersey Devils defenseman Damon Severson. The Devils could use someone like Johnsson and I don’t think the Leafs would need to add much to the deal to make it work.
2. Frederik Andersen
Frederik Andersen has given the Toronto Maple Leafs four solid seasons, but it’s time for the Leafs to part with him. He’s proven he’s not the goalie who’s going to take them to the next level. His track record in elimination games is simply horrendous. Andersen has never won a single Game 7 (or Game 5 this year) in his career.
Furthermore, Andersen is coming off a very poor regular season for the Leafs. Usually, the regular season is when he shines. But this year, Andersen posted a .909% save percentage, by far the worst of his career.
Also, he’ll turn 31 years old in October. Age isn’t kind to goaltenders and Andersen’s already starting to show signs of declining. With just one year left on his deal, the Leafs need to explore trading him and try to get an upgrade.
Even with the stagnant salary cap, several teams are going to be looking to add a goalie. Andersen is one of the better options available. Heck, considering he only has one year left on his current deal, he might be the next best option behind Robin Lehner. Would you rather take a risk with signing Braden Holtby or trade for Andersen? Exactly.
The Calgary Flames would make a lot of sense for him, as they need a goalie to pair with “Big Save” David Rittich. Though I think they’d probably prefer to go after a cheaper option or maybe even re-sign Cam Talbot.
3. Mitch Marner
The Big Four era isn’t working out for the Toronto Maple Leafs. They haven’t won a playoff series in four years. Yes, you can point to the Washington Capitals, who were patient with their core. But at least their core won some playoff series even before they won the Stanley Cup in 2018. Something’s not right with the Leafs core and it needs a shakeup.
John Tavares has a no-movement clause, so you can rule him out. There’s no way in heck the Leafs should consider trading Auston Matthews, who was by a significant margin their best forward in the regular season and postseason. That leaves William Nylander and Mitch Marner.
I’ll concede that Marner is likely the better player of the two. However, Nylander’s contract is much better than Marner’s. Nylander proved this season he’s worth his $6.962 million cap hit. If anything, he proved he’s worth more.
Marner is the better player of the two, but the difference between Nylander and Marner is honestly not that big. It’s certainly not big enough to justify Marner’s $10.893 million cap hit.
Clearing his cap hit would give the Leafs the cap flexibility required to pursue some upgrades. Maybe they could target Robin Lehner (assuming they trade Andersen). Perhaps the Leafs could go after Alex Pietrangelo, who would give their blueline a huge boost. If you want cheaper options, how about Brenden Dillon and Sami Vatanen?
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Marner’s cap hit is probably going to scare most teams away. But he’s one of the most gifted and talented forwards in the league. I think the Leafs will find a fair trade out there. Even if Toronto has to retain $1 million or $2 million in the trade, getting Marner’s contract off the books would be huge.