The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a crunch at centre this season. Franchise superstar and captain Auston Matthews has been shelved for much of the 2024-25 season with an injury that he admitted might not fully heal (from “Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews unsure if he’ll fully get past injury this season: ‘I hope so,”’ The Athletic, Jan. 1, 2025), and as a result, utility centreman David Kampf is playing well above his weight class on the second line.
When Matthews inevitably returns, he’ll push Kampf back to the fourth line, where he should be, but the Maple Leafs will have to admit that their fourth line is a black hole offensively with either Steven Lorentz or Ryan Reaves on it. However, the organization has limited cap space, with current projections having them accruing $1.36 million in trade deadline space. This means management will have their work cut out for them if there are no other long-term injuries.
To make a trade work, they will have to unload contracts or add a third team willing to retain up to 75% of those contracts. It’s a tough situation, but most Cup contenders are in the same spot. With this in mind, here’s a look at three players from the Western Conference that the Maple Leafs should target in a trade:
Mikael Granlund
On a San Jose Sharks team that was expected to be a bottom-feeder, Mikael Granlund has established himself as an offensive force. He has compiled a team-leading 35 points in 39 games and is tied for third in goals (11) behind Tyler Toffoli (15) and future superstar Macklin Celebrini (12). In the past two seasons, he has averaged more than 20 minutes nightly, sporting a career-high of 21:11 this season. He has surpassed the 60-point threshold four times in his career and is on pace for a career-best 71. While he likely won’t beat the 26-goal campaign he had in 2016-17 with the Minnesota Wild, he should pot at least 20 for the third time.
Related: Maple Leafs Need More Production From Morgan Rielly
There is room for improvement on defence, but honestly, that’s not what the Maple Leafs need — they rank fifth in the NHL in 5v5 goals allowed per 60 minutes. Their bottom six could use a play-driving centre to move the talents around. Kampf and Conor Dewar both struggle to drive play offensively, and when the team is healthy, they stifle the bottom-six from reaching their potential in the offensive zone.
Granlund, meanwhile, generates the fourth-most expected goals…
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