Insider reveals how likely the Leafs are to trade five members of the current team
With the All-Star weekend officially in the books, the next big date circled on people's calendars is the March 8th trade deadline, which is now just over one month away.
The buyers and sellers are beginning to establish themselves, but with the Toronto Maple Leafs, it's really anyone's guess at this point whether they'll enter as buyers or sellers. They're probably one hot streak away from being buyers and one cold streak away from being sellers, if we're being honest with ourselves.
The Leafs are currently in a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, with 58 points on the season, but they're nipping at the heels of the Tampa Bay Lightning for 3rd in the Atlantic Division and are only 8 points behind Florida with two games in hand.
During a recent edition of SDPN's Steve Dangle Podcast, TSN's Chris Johnston joined the lads to discuss a wide range of topics. One of the segments that Dangle had set up was asking CJ to weigh in on who is likely to be traded and who is likely to stay put. Dangle asked CJ to use a sliding scale from 1-8 to determine how likely someone is to move at or ahead of the deadline. As you can imagine, there were a few Leafs names thrown out there and each of them fell into a different range.
We'll start with Mitch Marner. Obviously, Johnston said there's a 0% chance of Marner being dealt. The big reason for that is because of his no-movement clause and lofty contract. Matthew Knies' name was also thrown out there, with Johnston quickly shooting that one down as well, saying that there's a 0/8 chance that the Leafs would even consider moving Knies. There were, however, a few Leafs who CJ did suggest could be moved and each had varying likelihoods.
Johnston told fans in attendance that Timothy Liljegren is highly unlikely to move, but that it is possible. CJ suggested that Liljegren moving is approximately a 1/8 likelihood. The next name who could move, again unlikely, is Tyler Bertuzzi, with CJ saying there's about a 25% chance that the Leafs would consider moving him. The big one was Nicholas Robertson. Johnston put the chances of Robertson being dealt as greater than 50%, giving a Robertson trade a likelihood rating of 5/8.
For Robertson, he has been able to remain healthy this season, showing that his durability is not nearly as big of a concern this year. However, even though he's been healthy and productive in the minutes that he has played, Sheldon Keefe still doesn't trust him in a top-6 role. There has been a lot of speculation this year that Robertson might welcome a change of scenery. However, there has been no official trade request submitted.
For now, Robertson remains in the active lineup, but it's really anyone's guess where he fits in with a fully healthy roster or if he's even a consideration for Sheldon Keefe in the playoffs. Robertson was toiling away in the press box as a healthy scratch before injuries to Bobby McMann and Calle Jarnkrok opened up a window for him to get back into the lineup, so will he remain in the lineup when everyone is healthy? Or is he going to be back in the press box in a few weeks? If the answer is the press box, then I certainly think the Leafs will explore trading him, as CJ has suggested. Of course, the only ones who know what Brad Treliving has planned for the deadline is Brad Treliving.
| POLL | ||
5 FEVRIER | 926 ANSWERS Insider reveals how likely the Leafs are to trade five members of the current team Should the Leafs be buyers or sellers at the deadline? | ||
| Buyers | 625 | 67.5 % |
| Sellers | 301 | 32.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
