Team: 2021-22 Toronto Maple Leafs

Initial Creation Date: Mar. 18, 2022

Published: Mar. 18, 2022

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

- Seattle trade:
The asking price for Giordano is HIGH, no question there, and no one to blame for the precedents more than Kyle Dubas himself, especially after the deal Florida made for Ben Chiarot. SO, if the Leafs are to get a defenceman to add some insurance on that end for the playoffs and help the goaltending out, trading Dermott, a 2nd, and the next 2 years 1st's makes sense in todays culture of overpaying at the deadline. as for Donskoi, he was VERY good his entire career in both San Jose and Colorado, he's struggled a lot this year as Seattle has been grinding the bottom of the Pacific but a change to a playoff team with an already talented offence might awaken the dorment beast inside of him, and it was between Mikheyev and Engvall for him and Engvall seemed like the guy that fits the least with the Leafs anymore. Mikheyev has worked well with Kampf and Kase and Robertson, Kerfoot, and Bunting are staying, seems Pierre has reached his ceiling with us and to no fault of his own, he could thrive in Seattle and I'd wish him all the best. And hey, if either of them don't work out, the retention on them is enough to bury them in the minors and clear more cap no problemo.

- Detroit trade Part 1 (at the deadline):
Like Toronto, it looks as if the Wings are in a bit of a pickle themselves with goaltending. The difference? Detroit has a bunch of cap space to spend on if they wanted to. Petr Mrázek is definitely having the worst season of his career, but nothing in past seasons has shown to suggest that this has always been who he is, no, he's actually always been a decent, average goalie, weird style, but good enough to get the job done and for a reasonable contract. Perhaps a change in scenery for him as well could work well for both teams, Detroit gets a goalie with a good reputation and character, Toronto dumps some cap. How does Toronto convince them to make this deal though by taking away their AHL starter? Retaining his salary, and adding in Hutchinson to replace Pickard. Despite what NHL fans know of Hutchinson he's not actually that bad in the AHL, his save percentage is still fairly above .900 and perhaps a change to Grand Rapids could be what he needs to get back to the better shape he used to be in, something to think about is all I'm saying. And Detroit would kind of need both of them anyways with Greiss being 36, a UFA, and Nedeljkovic just not being any better than what Mrazek currently is. if anything, they're off-season trade pieces they can use.

- Detroit trade Part 2 (Off-Season/Draft):
This one could be packaged with Mrazek and Hutch but I don't really see that happening with the Leafs in need of all the defensive help they could get, hence it would probably go after the playoffs in my eyes. The Leafs need draft picks this year, they can't go in with just one or even nothing, but no ones giving up early picks for Holl, and not many non-playoff teams have mid-late picks, enter Detroit again, Colorado and Vegas' 4th rounders could be so late they're basically early 5ths, plus Holl retained when a player of his calibre could play with DeKeyser on the top til Seider develops a little more? Sounds like a no brainer to me to be honest. Toronto ships half Holl's contract out for more cap room, Detroit would still have 6 outta 7 of their own picks plus Washingtons 2nd, so its still a very good draft for them. with both these deals I'd expect them to actually make the playoffs next year the way the team would look on paper at least compared to the rest of the Atlantic outside Florida, Tampa, and Toronto. Bostons reign is long over, Buffalo, Ottawa, and ESPECIALLY Montreal, still need to develop far more than Detroit needs to, and I don't see NYI, Columbus, or Pittsburgh even being that good next year, so the path to the Wild Card is pretty simple for the Red Wings if both these were to happen in my mind.

How does this affect the Leafs at the start of next season though? Well, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Mikheyev, Lyubushkin, and Clifford all walk in Free Agency, Spezza and Giordano probably Retire, and Kase could get offer sheeted or perhaps traded for better picks than what would present from the original RFA agreement considering his performance this past season. All that would be to make room for Muzzin being back in the lineup (though I can see him being shipped out in the summer honestly considering all his injuries), Rielly's extension, and to be able to sign Campbell to an extension. Who could fill out those old slots on D and line 4? Simmonds is still a great guy to have there, could rotate with Joey Anderson on RW who's racking up points on the Marlies, Brett Seney and Alex Steeves, the other Marlies top scorers, could fill the LW and C positions on line 4. and Joseph Duszak is killing it too, AND A RIGHT SHOT, he could fit into 3rd RD no problem honestly. if there's still room/Muzzin is traded, Filip Kral is the next best choice to fill that LD spot hands down. So essentially, the Leafs would be fine still. There's nothing to worry about when their affiliate teams are always developing good players from drafts years prior.

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