Ex-NHL Executive Pushing the Maple Leafs to Acquire Former Norris Trophy Winner Roman Josi
Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
An ex-NHL executive is urging the Maple Leafs to push their chips in and and pursue a blockbuster trade for Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi.
Despite an overhaul of the blueline in the off-season that saw Leafs GM Brad Treliving bring in Jani Hakanpaa, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Chris Tanev, there are still questions about the defense corps in Toronto.
The latest discourse has revolved around trading the longest tenured Leaf Morgan Rielly amid a season of struggles on both sides of the puck.
It's not just Rielly struggling, with the team as a whole failing to produce lately, scoring just 1 goal in each of their past three games and continuing to have difficulty with the man-advantage.
Given the team's struggles, fans and some Toronto media have begun to contest the Leafs' biggest need is no longer a center, but an upgrade on defense -- someone who can produce some offense from the back end.
On Thursday's episode of the 'Toronto Sports Rush' podcast, former NHL executive and long-time colour commentator Pierre McGuire revealed that Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi would solve a number of issues on the back end for the Maple Leafs.
"In terms of defensemen, it would definitely be a power-play type defenseman. I'm not afraid to tell you this because I don't think Barry Trotz would take it personally in Nashville and I don't think the player would take it personally. If I were Toronto, I would be calling Nashville, especially as they slip more and more out of the playoffs, and say what's the price for Roman Josi? What does it cost to get Roman Josi? That's the player, if you were to ask me what is a fit for Toronto, he's a fit for Toronto. He's an elite puck mover, he breaks your forecheck, he can handle major minutes. He can run your power-play, he can shoot the puck through a wall. He's not going to be intimidated by big moments. He's been in a Stanley Cup Final... He's a fit. I don't think they're trading him, but if you ask me one name that I would have on my wish list for Toronto, he would be one of the guys."
The 34-year-old is currently in the fifth year of an eight-year deal that kicked in for the 2020-21 season and carries a $9.059M cap hit. The second-round pick from 2008 can play in all situations and play heavy minutes as McGuire noted and would give the Leafs another shooting threat on a very disjointed power-play.
While the Preds aren't likely to trade their captain, it wouldn't be the first time they've done it, as they traded Shea Weber to Montreal for P.K. Subban in a deal that shocked the hockey community years ago.
The acquisition cost would be substantial and the Leafs would have to move out a significant amount of money as well, but if they are able to add a legitimate top-pairing defenseman that is widely considered to be one of the best in the NHL, it is certainly worth a phone call at the very least.
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