With deadline now 3 weeks out, Leafs linked to 6-time 20-goal scorer in trade rumour
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving has been scouring the trade market looking to make upgrades on his roster as the March 8th trade deadline quickly approaches, now just 3 weeks away.
Many Insiders have Toronto looking to acquire a defenseman as their most pressing need. When looking at their depth chart, it is the area where they are obviously the weakest. Another area could be at the 3rd line center position.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe has tried many different makeups of his third line, with the most consistent being Max Domi centering and Calle Jarnkrok and Nick Robertson. While the line can be dangerous offensively, it leaves a lot to be desired defensively. In the playoffs, during a line matching scenario, it could ultimately prove to be Toronto's downfall, and thus, an upgrade at 3C is very likely needed.
Daily Faceoff provides an intriguing name that could fix Toronto's hole at 3rd line center. That name belongs to veteran Adam Henrique.
The 34-year-old, has scored 15 goals and 39 points in 51 games for a very bad Anaheim Ducks team. Henrique carries a cap hit of $5.825M and will be a UFA at the end of the season. If the Maple Leafs were to acquire the veteran center, Anaheim would need to retain some salary. The Ducks have over $25M in cap space, so they would likely have no problem helping Toronto out for the right price.
Henrique would provide some extra assurance at the faceoff circle. His faceoff winning % of 53.54 would move him into second place on the team behind John Tavares if acquired.
The Leafs have seen their penalty kill percentage plummet this season going from 81.85% to 78.5%, falling all the way to 22nd in the league. Henrique plays on the Ducks' top penalty kill unit and averages 2:34 in short handed minutes per game. Henrique would certainly help improve the PK in Toronto.
While Treliving's most pressing need is on the blueline, if he can add a player of Henrique's quality for a bargain price, it could be one of the most savvy moves ahead of the deadline.
| POLL | ||
16 FEVRIER | 595 ANSWERS With deadline now 3 weeks out, Leafs linked to 6-time 20-goal scorer in trade rumour If the Leafs were to acquire Adam Henrique at 3C, where should Max Domi play? | ||
| 4C | 128 | 21.5 % |
| 3LW | 288 | 48.4 % |
| 2LW | 179 | 30.1 % |
| 1LW | 0 | 0 % |
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