The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a lot of moves this free agency; which include completely changing their starting goaltenders, signing Calle Jarnkrok, and adding defencemen Victor Mete and Jordie Benn. but now there is a problem for general manager Kyle Dubas, as the team has a logjam at defence, and has no cap space to sign free agents Pierre Engvall and Rasmus Sandin. Despite all the changes, the Leafs may need to make another trade.
Rumour: The Maple Leafs are in a tough spot, and may trade a player in order to sign free agents Engvall and Sandin, according to James Mirtle.
There’s pretty clearly a trade coming for the Leafs after the Jarnkrok signing. Their cap situation is now too tight to sign RFAs Engvall and Sandin.
But who goes? And for what?
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) July 15, 2022
Maple Leafs May Trade Player
After making a ton of overall changes, the Leafs are in a tough spot, and now need to make a trade in order to sign some key free agents.
The most likely trade in this scenario would be getting rid of someone on defence. they have an over-abundance of players, and the majority of people rumoured to be traded, are on defence. One player that has been rumoured to be traded for a while, is Justin Holl. Holl, 30, has spent the majority of his professional career with the Leafs organization. he spent the first 3 years in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies, where he would win the Calder Cup with the organization in 2018.
Another possible scenario would be trading forward Alexander Kerfoot. Kerfoot, 27, was acquired by the Leafs in the Nazem Kadri trade and hasn’t really made the impact that people thought he would. He has had a negative +/- all four years that he has been with the team. The Leafs could build a solid trade package with him, and send it to a team looking for a third line centre, in exchange for draft picks, and prospects.
“They’re on to me..” pic.twitter.com/x4NTnmv5BR
— Aaren (@FrawLeafs) July 15, 2022
What This Means
The Leafs need to make their decisions very carefully, as their moves have been okay up until this point. Signing Jarnkrok to a long-term deal may not have been the smartest idea, and because of that, the Leafs are now forced to make a trade. Who they trade may have a negative effect on their performance, and considering that star forward Auston Matthews only has two more years left on his deal, the pressure is a lot greater than it was before.
