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Derek Neumeier The Hockey Writers

Published on Monday, February 22, 2016

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The Maple Leafs Fire Sale Is Going To Get Ridiculous

News of a trade broke on Sunday afternoon when it was announced that the Toronto Maple Leafs had sent forward Shawn Matthias to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 4th round draft pick and prospect Colin Smith.

While the trade itself, in a vacuum, is somewhat unremarkable (Matthias is a bottom six winger with 17 points in 51 games, Smith is mostly a depth prospect, and 4th round picks rarely amount to much) the move likely signifies just the first of the falling dominoes in what is sure to be a Leafs fire sale of epic proportions.

In what is one of the worst-kept secrets in the National Hockey League, Toronto plans to be major sellers at the upcoming trade deadline on February 29th, and the amount of desirable assets that the Leafs have on hand that they can unload is pretty staggering. The obvious pieces are the eight players that are on expiring contracts and set to become unrestricted free agents in the summer (including, among them, James Reimer, Roman Polak, Michael Grabner and P.A. Parenteau), but other names keep popping up as well. Could Nazem Kadri be available? What about Tyler Bozak?

To put it bluntly, the Leafs are open for business. And that could have some very big implications, not just in Toronto, but around the league as a whole.

The Strong Will Get Stronger

It probably doesn’t need to be said, but the teams that are most likely paying the closest attention to the Leafs fire sale right now are the teams that are already entrenched in playoff positions and are looking to bolster their rosters heading into the playoffs. Teams like Chicago, Washington, Dallas and others fall into this category.

Additionally, teams that are currently sitting on or near the postseason bubble might want to roll the dice to ensure that their seasons get extended. This is what the Avalanche did with the Matthias deal, but don’t be surprised to see others, such as the Minnesota Wild or the Pittsburgh Penguins, to try to get in on the action.

Quite an arms race between top teams could be brewing here, and it would be especially interesting if many of them tap into the same resource to do so.

Could We Finally See The NHL Debut Of William Nylander?

Despite being arguably the best prospect in all of hockey, and maybe even one of the best players in the world outside of the NHL, forward William Nylander has still yet to make his highly-anticipated debut at hockey’s highest level.

The Leafs, wanting to avoid their repeated mistake in years past of rushing players into the NHL before they were ready, have been relentlessly methodical about safeguarding Nylander’s development. The main club has had immense difficulty scoring goals all season long, but has made sure to not risk calling up their most prized prospect before they’re absolutely sure that he’s ready.

Well, he’s ready now. More than ready.

Nylander has been one of the most dynamic players in the American Hockey League all season and is currently sitting at 42 points in 32 games with the Toronto Marlies, even though he’s still just 19 years of age. That’s on top of the prior two seasons of experience that he gained playing professionally against grown men.

If the Leafs unload forwards like Grabner, Parenteau and Bozak then there’s likely to be roster spots to fill. And if Toronto is expecting Nylander to be an impact player for them in the NHL next season (hint: they are), then it makes sense to bring him up now so that he can get his feet wet and be in a better position to hit the ground running in 2016-17.

Leafs fans have been salivating about his NHL debut since the day he was drafted, and they may finally get to see their wish come true in the coming weeks.

Lottery Ticket In The Auston Matthews Sweepstakes

Toronto is poised to add a menagerie of picks and prospects leading up to the trade deadline, but the franchise is hoping that the grand prize of their efforts will come at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft in June: Auston Matthews.

Matthews is considered the de facto top prospect in this year’s draft, with 43 points in 33 games for Zurich in the Swiss A league. An electrifying, game-breaking forward, he’s the type of player that entire teams are built around. And, more specifically, he would be an absolutely terrifying potential future linemate for Nylander and other top prospect Mitch Marner.

The Leafs are currently sitting 29th in the NHL standings, ahead of only the Edmonton Oilers. With the Oilers, bless their hearts, trying their damnedest to finally climb out of the league’s basement, a Leafs team that’s even more barren of experience and skill than it currently is seems quite likely to back into 30th place and the best chance at obtaining the 1st overall pick in the draft. While the Draft Lottery doesn’t guarantee anything (and, let’s be real, the Oilers are probably going to draft 1st overall again because the Hockey Gods are cruel), you can’t really fault the Leafs for swinging for the fences.


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