The Leafs and Canucks are in a position to help each other out with a significant trade
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks are both approaching training camp above the NHL's salary cap, so we know there are moves coming. From the Canucks' perspective, they have some LTIR candidates in Michael Ferland and Tucker Poolman combining for $6M that would take care of their cap overages. From the Leafs' perspective, a trade is necessary to clear space - and with 8 NHL defensemen on the roster (not including RFA Rasmus Sandin), I think we can project where the subtraction is going to be.
We know that a move is coming to unjam the blueline in Toronto, but who is the mostly likely candidate to move? We know that Muzzin has a full NTC until next summer, so it's unlikely to be him. Rielly, Giordano, Liljegren, Mete and Benn just signed new deals, so we know it won't be them. Brodie is arguably the Leafs' best defensive defenseman, so we know it's not going to be him. That just leaves Justin Holl and the aforementioned Sandin.
It's really anyone's guess who's going to move, especially if a Sandin holdout becomes a reality. Until Sandin signs or is nearing a resolution, I doubt we'll see a Holl move, so we seem to be in a bit of a holding pattern.
There was an interesting proposal tossed out on Tuesday by a colleague of mine who writes for another website. The Hockey Writer's Alex Hobson revealed a potential trade that could make sense for both the Canucks and the Leafs involving both Rasmus Sandin and Vancouver native Alexander Kerfoot.
In his piece, Hobson reveals that the Canucks are pretty thin for defensive prospects behind Jack Rathbone and could benefit from adding a young defenseman like Sandin. Meanwhile, the Leafs have needed help on the wing on the top six for a couple of seasons now and Conor Garland, who happens to be one of the most underrated point producers in the league, could be just what the doctor ordered for the Leafs.
Garland has 4 years remaining on his current deal, which carries a $4.95M cap hit. The 26-year-old winger posted a career high 52 points in 77 games for the Canucks last season, but with the additions of Andrei Kuzmenko and Ilya Mikheyev this summer, the top 6 is getting mighty crowded. I could see a scenario in which Garland becomes available - and it does include a move for a young defenseman like Sandin.
Obviously, for such a move to make sense for the Leafs, they'd have to clear some space or send a contract back, which is where Kerfoot comes in. Kerfoot has 1 year remaining at $3.5M. Hobson also threw out the idea of having a third team entering the deal to retain a small amount of salary on Garland's contract, but that would cost an additional asset, so perhaps the Leafs could simply look to move Justin Holl's $2M cap hit and roll with 7 NHL defensemen next season in Rielly, Brodie, Muzzin, Liljegren, Giordano, Benn and Mete as opposed to 8.
There's also a pretty decent likelihood that the Leafs could pull another asset in the deal aside from just Garland, especially with Sandin's ceiling being as high as it is and the cost of top four defensemen blowing up over the past few seasons.
To be honest, I'm not quite sure what to expect from GM Kyle Dubas, but we do know that since we're still currently over the cap, he's not quite done. Since he often pulls off moves and signings that nobody saw coming, there's also the chance that he has other plans.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 23 | 603 ANSWERS The Leafs and Canucks are in a position to help each other out with a significant trade Would Conor Garland be a fit in the Leafs' top six? | ||
| Yes | 400 | 66.3 % |
| No | 128 | 21.2 % |
| Don't care, just win | 75 | 12.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
