The scene is set for a Leafs trade this week
Brace yourselves, Leafs Nation, because there are still a number of days remaining until we are once again watching Leafs hockey. Coming out of the All-Star Break, the Leafs are on a bye week, with their first game back not coming until February 10th against the Columbus Blue Jackets.\
While this lengthy gap between games can seem a bit daunting, it actually provides the Leafs with a prime opportunity to get some work done away from the ice. While many teams are back at it on Monday, the Leafs aren't back in action until Friday, which means that Kyle Dubas and company will be able to scout a few additional games and perhaps use the time off to swing a deal.
We know that Dubas likes to get his business done well ahead of the deadline in order to provide the new player(s) with some additional time to become acclimated to the new system and to get comfortable with their new teammates. Last year was a bit of an outlier, but Dubas was accruing cap space for much of the year to allow him to make the moves he wanted to make. This year, the Leafs don't have the luxury of accruing cap space, since they're using LTIR for cap relief, which means that a deal can be completed at virtually any time.
As far as who the Leafs have been connected to so far, we've heard names like Ryan O'Reilly, Patrick Kane, Timo Meier, Jakob Chychrun, Jake McCabe, Ivan Barbashev, Max Domi, Vladislav Gavrikov and Luke Schenn come up in conversation. There are also a handful of intriguing names who may also end up being available who have not been linked to the Leafs as of yet, such as Dylan Larkin, Shayne Gostisbehere, Brendan Lemieux and there were even a few rumours that Alexis Lafreniere could be had out of New York for the right price.
Call me crazy, but with 5 more days off until the Leafs play again, I could see Dubas completing at least one trade to get the ball rolling.
| POLL | ||
5 FEVRIER | 2 ANSWERS The scene is set for a Leafs trade this week Will the Leafs complete a trade this week? | ||
| Yes | 2 | 100 % |
| No | 0 | 0 % |
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