With the offseason nearing an end and training camps starting up, the Toronto Maple Leafs are still looking to possibly make moves that could improve their roster, either up front or on defense. While it’s been known that they have been linked to some names like Jack Roslovic, other names that they have been linked to hasn’t been fully corroborated or confirmed.
Recently, there was a report from a semi-reliable source that the Maple Leafs have been in talks with the Utah Mammoth to try and acquire defender Mikhail Sergachev. While I don’t put a whole lot of stock into the validity of this report and it hasn’t been verified by other known insiders or sources, I thought I’d give my take if it’s possible or not for the Maple Leafs to acquire Sergachev.
It does make sense to acquire someone like Sergachev as he brings more offense to the table. As of now it’s just smoke and mirrors, but this report doesn’t quite fit what they’re trying to do and address their main issue at hand.
Maple Leafs Don’t Have Assets to Make Major Move
If the Maple Leafs ever want to bring in a big-name impact player like Sergachev via trade, they need to have the assets. Which makes things difficult seeing as they may not have the necessary pieces in order to do so.
Case and point, the rumour of Brandon Carlo being involved in a trade for Buffalo Sabres forward JJ Peterka, which wasn’t enough to pull off. It was reported that the Maple Leafs were battling hard in order to acquire him, but they fell short and loss the bidding war. That’s why if any deal were to be made in the future, the Maple Leafs will have to pay up and match somehow. Even with Carlo it wasn’t enough as the Mammoth gave up Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan.
If moving a defenseman like Carlo wasn’t enough, the Maple Leafs need to sweeten the pot a little more, which may not happen given the lack of assets. They did make a deal with the Mammoth to bring in a cheaper option with Matias Maccelli which only costed a conditional third-round pick. It’s a move that could have some benefit but some unknowns as he did have a down season.
Related: The Maple Leafs Are Sitting on a Trade: When Will They Strike?
The prospect pool is weak and if they missed out on a big name forward in Peterka, they will surely miss out on an impact defenseman in Sergachev.
Moving Sergachev…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Hockey Writers…