Team: 2020-21 Toronto Maple Leafs

Initial Creation Date: Sep. 19, 2020

Published: Sep. 19, 2020

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

2 TRADES TO MAKE THIS TEAM BETTER

notes

- tried to be as realistic with the trades as possible. I can't see the GM's of either teams not considering this offer if proposed. Fans might carry emotional weight to the trades but on paper, tried to keep it close to reality and practicals.

- yes if TOR gets Lafreniere then we have problems in 3-4 years. ok, let future Dubus take care of that. Might mean Marner goes OR Lafreniere goes. Either way, you will get a return for either as they enter their Prime. OR, use Lafreniere's pending contract resigning as pressure to other expiring players to sign a contract earlier.

- Wayne Simmonds is trending now, but I would much rather give that spot to a Barbanov or Korshkov to try them out for the first half of the year. Maybe even Hallander. Barbanov is a for sure play. and I would like to see Korshkov as a regular on his last year of RFA.

- For people that say HOLL is not a 2nd pairing DEF. correct, HOLL is a perfect 3rd pairing DEF. However, HOLL does decently well with Muzzin so that is a good shutdown 2nd pairing. (B grade, not A grade) and Lehtonen playing on RD is an unknown yet. If Lehtonen makes strides on RD, then can move up to 2nd RD and move HOLL down. If Lehtonen is serviceable as a 3rd D then huge win for TOR. If hes better on LEFT SIDE + Sandin is shaky at the start and needs a year of development then we can move Lehtonen to 3rd RD and have enough cap space to find a 3rd pairing RD. (Liljegren stepping up would be a dream as well)

- Robertson is NOT a 2nd line frwd. I don't care what fans think after this playoff run. He is 3rd line material to play against other team's 3rd or 4th liners. Don't rush his development. But, he IS NHL ready I feel.

- Mikheyev would shine much better in a 3rd line role vs 2nd line. He will have more time to make plays and his weakness will be less apparent. Also, he can add a bit of grit and play the Hyman-role with Robertson who is very young still.

- Engvall at 4th C is whatever. Not even worth discussing. Servicable.

- Spezza at 3rd C I think is a problem for now. And I don't feel confident putting Hallander up there and making an all-rookie line. That could be disastrous. Luckily there is some cap space to find a "Kerfoot" like player for that space mid season if needbe. If Hallander can make the move, then problem solved.

- Kuemper is a great trade of Dubus exploiting Yotes troubles. With the abundance of goalies in FA this year, I think teams would be less likely to give up assets to Yotes. Yotes perspective, they maintain an All-Star goalie as starter for 1 more year before huge painful rebuild. + they gain a decent pick which I think is a gift.

- NYR trade, I believe that is very tough to say no to for NYR GM. It isn't as marquee as drafting Lafreniere, but the sum of its pieces make much more sense than a "future Panarin replacement". Keep Panarin as the marquee player and Kakko as the future spotlight.

- i dont think we need more RD depth. This is very strong set up. Lehtonen will be a stud judging from how hes performing so far in Europe. But, if we do there is around 3-4 mill in cap space to make moves before trade deadline. Better to see how these new players fit into their roles for a bit.

- LTIR players are injury relief and rotation players.

As always, would love to hear your comments and feedback and criticism. It is all good and would love to read insight to improve this mockup. And if you support then let me know as well!

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