Are the Leafs' recent roster decisions evidence that they're looking to move one or two of their roster players?
Anyone who has been keeping a close eye on the team this season knows just how many players that Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe has utilized in the lineup. Aside from the bevy of defensemen that the Buds have deployed this season, there have also been a revolving door of depth players moving in and out of the bottom six.
The Leafs, in years past, have been one of those teams who has trusted a very limited number of players. Over the last year or two, however, Keefe has put an emphasis on getting different looks. This year, it has led to a lot of young players, such as Pontus Holmberg, Bobby McMann, Joey Anderson, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev and others getting a look at the NHL level, just as GM Kyle Dubas had inferred during the summer.
All of this leads us to only a few limited conclusions. Either the Leafs are showcasing some of their younger players so that they can use them in trade packages or they're trying to get these young players accustomed to the team's systems so they can move on from some of the team's higher-priced depth pieces. TLN's Nick Richard had stated on Tuesday that he felt as though it may be the latter.
With the deadline now just under 6 weeks away, the Leafs have some huge roster decisions to make ahead of their upcoming playoff run. With rumours that the Buds are looking at adding multiple impact pieces at the deadline, they may have no choice but to move on from some of the pricier depth options and replace them with lower cost options for cap reasons. As an example, the Leafs can open up a few million in cap space by replacing Alexander Kerfoot ($3.5M) and Pierre Engvall ($2.25M) with players either on entry-level deals or who carry lower cap hits. This would go a long way in being able to pursue deals for higher priced players such as Timo Meier or Ryan O'Reilly, among others.
In recent weeks, we've seen Kerfoot sinking down lower on the roster. While this could simply be Keefe looking for some different combinations and help his players to build chemistry with one another to give his team some more flexibility? Perhaps. But it could also be that he and GM Kyle Dubas want to get a look at what the roster is like without Kerfoot by slowly phasing him out. At this point, there have been no actual reports stating that Kerfoot is on the block, but there's no denying that opening up $3.5M in cap space could be a real difference-maker for the Leafs come the deadline.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 25 | 805 ANSWERS Are the Leafs' recent roster decisions evidence that they're looking to move one or two of their roster players? Will the Leafs trade Kerfoot or Engvall before the March 3rd trade deadline? | ||
| Yes | 624 | 77.5 % |
| No | 181 | 22.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
