Could the Leafs go after DeBrincat and shift their focus to simply outscoring all of their problems?
On Friday, one of the Leafs' Atlantic Division competitors made a significant move to bring in an impact forward, as the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired winger Brandon Hagel from the Chicago Blackhawks for a pair of first round picks and a pair of prospects.
Another Atlantic Division contender, the Florida Panthers, also made a bold move to shore up their blueline, bringing in roughneck defender Ben Chiarot from the Montreal Canadiens for a pair of picks and a prospect.
Now, with the Boston Bruins circling Anaheim's Hampus Lindholm, the Leafs are well behind within their division in terms of impact additions to bolster their roster ahead of what should be an ultra competitive postseason in the East.
There is an outside the box option that the Leafs should consider, even if it means dealing 1st rounders and top prospects. Chicago's Alex DeBrincat.
Now, I know what you're thinking - the Leafs do not need another scoring forward. They need to bolster their defense first and foremost. Well, to that, I'd offer up the opinion that with the addition of Ilya Lyubushkin and the eventual return of Jake Muzzin, the Leafs should be in a much better position on the blueline going forward. There aren't many clear cut upgrades available in net that the Leafs can pursue other than Marc-Andre Fleury - and he may not want to come to Toronto. Why not just go all-in and outscore ALL of their potential shortcomings?
In DeBrincat, the Leafs would be getting a bona-fide NHL sniper who would give the Leafs the single best top-six in the National Hockey League - bar none. The 24-year-old has notched 28 or more goals in 4 of his 5 NHL seasons, including an astounding 41-goal campaign in 2018-19. A total that he is on pace to beat this season.
Per The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta, the Hawks are open to moving DeBrincat, but they are not actively shopping him. Much like with the Brandon Hagel deal, a team would have to come in and blow them away with an offer that they'd be crazy to decline.
Obviously, with DeBrincat on the hook for $6.4M both this season and next, the Leafs would have to either move out some salary or send some back to the Hawks in the deal, but they definitely have the pieces necessary to pry DeBrincat away from Chicago.
| POLL | ||
MARS 19 | 206 ANSWERS Could the Leafs go after DeBrincat and shift their focus to simply outscoring all of their problems? Should the Leafs trade for DeBrincat to simply outscore all of their problems? | ||
| It's genius | 62 | 30.1 % |
| Not worth it | 77 | 37.4 % |
| Chychrun over DeBrincat | 67 | 32.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
