Maple Leafs listed with 12 players to trade before NHL deadline originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Toronto Maple Leafs didn't enter this season thinking they'd be sellers at the trade deadline.
But unless they have a massively impressive next week or so, that March 6 NHL deadline looms large.
The Leafs have a lot of potential players to sell, too. Daily Faceoff's Scott Maxwell lists a dozen possibilities.
The 12 he suggests:
- Simon Benoit
- Brandon Carlo
- Scott Laughton
- Bobby McMann
- Max Domi
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson
- Calle Jarnkrok
- Matias Maccelli
- Nick Robertson
- Anthony Stolarz
- Morgan Rielly
- Troy Stecher
"A late winning streak during a Northwest road trip before the Olympic break has improved the Leafs’ playoff chances," Maxwell writes. "But let’s call it as it is: this team is not like previous versions. Even in the less-than-50/50 chance they make the playoffs, they aren’t a threat to make noise. The better course of action would be to sell off any assets whom the Leafs don’t see as long-term fits and try to recoup some picks and prospects where they can."
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Toronto's roster isn't complete enough at the moment. It could take work to get to a better point, but it's not worth sticking any longer with this status quo.
McMann is likely the prize off the list above, and unless the Leafs can reach an extension with him in the next week, he should go.
"McMann alone could fetch quite the return given his cheap cap hit in a playoff salary-cap world, and Toronto should field calls on several of their depth forwards and defensemen," Maxwell writes.
The Maple Leafs won't trade all 12 of these guys, but this list from Maxwell makes a key point. Toronto is certain to be busy, and it's worth watching to see just what they get up to.
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