With the NHL Trade Deadline just days away, I’ve prepared a mini-series where I look at trade targets for the Toronto Maple Leafs in each of the four divisions. Next up is the Pacific Division, which could have the odds-on favourite for the Stanley Cup winner, the Vancouver Canucks. It also has the Edmonton Oilers, Vegas Golden Knights, and Los Angeles Kings, who are all locking up playoff spots.
Related: 3 Maple Leafs Trade Targets From the Metro Division
On the other side, though, there are also the Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, and Seattle Kraken, all of which will be sellers at the March 8 NHL Trade Deadline. Some of them may raise their asking prices like the Flames because Maple Leafs’ general manager (GM) Brad Treliving has a history with the organization. However, don’t panic; there are still options that could be attractive to the Maple Leafs’ front office. With that in mind, here are a few that address their roster needs.
Alexander Barabanov – San Jose Sharks
Remember Alexander Barabanov, Leafs Nation? Well, he has become a proven NHL player for the Sharks and could now be traded ahead of the trade deadline. The Maple Leafs could have some interest in bringing him back to the organization. In the playoffs, you typically need two things: physicality and scoring. Barabanov can put the puck in the net, and although he doesn’t provide the edge that is needed, he does fit in the bottom six on this roster.
In the last two seasons, he scored 39 points and 47 points in back-to-back years. This season, he has dropped off in point production, and that could be a by-product of how the Sharks have done this season. He has 10 points in 38 games, which could make the asking price for him drop significantly. He also has a fairly low cap hit at just $2.5 million, which would make it easier for the Sharks to retain a portion so that the Maple Leafs can make the deal work. Overall, he could fit on a third line with Calle Jarnkrok and John Tavares as secondary scoring options.
Will Borgen – Seattle Kraken
Will Borgen has been a name that has surrounded the Maple Leafs since Sportsnet’s Luke Fox brought up the fit on his Quick Shifts blog. Since then, many fans have talked about the potential fit for Borgen and how it could work out well. He is a right-handed shot that plays a hard physical style game, kind of like Chris Tanev-lite. He gets into lanes and puts his body into shooting lanes to block shots. He also seems to love throwing the body and will hit anything that moves. As I mentioned above, the two things you need in the playoffs are physicality and scoring. Borgen is the opposite of Barabanov. He would bring physicality to the lineup, which is ideal in the playoffs; thankfully for him, if he were to be traded to the Maple Leafs, he wouldn’t need to worry about scoring.
Related: 3 Maple Leafs Trade Targets From the Central Division
This season he has 81 blocks and 153 hits in 62 games, and should get over the 200-hit mark again – last season he had 203. It’s interesting to note that he has contributed 22 points to the team with two goals and 20 assists. This could be appealing to the Maple Leafs. Borgen’s 20 assists could be a direct indication that he could excel when coming out of the defensive zone with a good first pass, which is something that the Maple Leafs’ blue line doesn’t do well overall.
Adam Larsson – Seattle Kraken
Adam Larsson would be a huge addition to the Maple Leafs if they could acquire him from the Kraken. Like Borgen, he is a right-handed shot, but he is an everyday top-four defenceman who could be the pairing partner for Morgan Rielly. At only 31 years old, he is still signed to another season after this one, which was signed when the Kraken started their expansion. Larsson not being a rental and having a cap hit of just $4 million could make sense for the Maple Leafs to find a way to bring him in, and it may even encourage them to use their 2024 first-round pick. The Kraken are a team that is struggling and may be looking to move out some players to re-tool quickly.
Larsson brings elements that work well on the Maple Leafs’ blue line. He isn’t as physical as Luke Schenn was, but he is a true defensive defenceman. This season, he has 126 blocks and 131 hits in 62 games, which would be great to have on the Maple Leafs back end. Even if the asking price is a bit higher, he would be a perfect defenceman to pair with Rielly. Larsson’s game is made for the playoffs as well; just with his physical style of play, he should be a top target for Treliving over the next few days.
There are so many other players around the league that could be trade targets; it seems the Maple Leafs are in on every right-handed shot defenceman. There are a few other right-handed options that could be of interest, like Justin Schultz from the Kraken and Mario Ferraro from the Sharks. Treliving is going to be a busy man this week, sifting through different payers and deciding which ones meet the team’s needs. It would be interesting to see if he goes for rentals for cheap returns or players with term to keep building their backend going forward.