Brad Treliving's off-season seemed to have focused solely on the back-end and goaltending with very little interest in upgrading his forward corps. Perhaps it was strategic based on the Leafs' hopes that Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann can take a step, as well as the potential of Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan making the team out of training camp.
Regardless of the initial reasoning, their bottom-6 leaves something to be desired and Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman believes there's a solution to that problem. In his recent "32 Thoughts" article, Friedman made a brief mention that the Maple Leafs are potentially brewing up a storm and considering left-wing options:
While Friedman doesn't elaborate or give much detail, the left-side does need a little bit of a boost as currently the Maple Leafs have Pontus Holmberg and Connor Dewar on the left-wings, according to Daily Face-Off's line combinations.
The Maple Leafs have a shade over $1.2 million remaining in projected cap space and still have to deal with the disgruntled Nicholas Robertson, who requested a trade earlier in the summer, despite being handed a qualifying offer. The wheels are seemingly in motion, so stay tuned for a potential late-summer move from Treliving and the Maple Leafs.
Source: Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman32 Thoughts: A collection of late off-season notes
Source for remaining UFAs: Daily Face-OffTop remaining free agents: The best 2024 UFAs still on the board
POLL | ||
25 AOUT | 927 ANSWERS NHL insider reporting that the Toronto Maple Leafs are currently engaged in talks to bolster one area of need Which left-winger would you prefer the Maple Leafs target? | ||
Max Pacioretty | 104 | 11.2 % |
Nick Cousins | 404 | 43.6 % |
Someone more significant via trade | 338 | 36.5 % |
Other | 81 | 8.7 % |
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