Before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, we might see a deal involving the Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks. The Maple Leafs have been actively looking for forwards to boost their secondary scoring, and the Ducks can help with that. Being in the bottom third of the league, they will be looking to sell some assets and focus on the future.
However, Toronto will be limited by its cap space. Although Calle Järnkrok has been producing well alongside John Tavares and Mitch Marner in the top six, the team lacks a reliable scorer outside of their core group (Tavares, Marner, Auston Matthews, and William Nylander), and the Ducks have viable options for the Maple Leafs.
Derek Grant
NHL veteran Derek Grant is capable of playing both center and wing. He is 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds; he has size but doesn’t utilize it to intimidate. The Maple Leafs’ lack of size and grit is well-known, and while he may not provide the sandpaper that fans are looking for, he would add size. Considering they have nine players under 6 feet on their roster, he would tie Justin Holl, Ilya Samsonov, and Matthews as the second tallest players on the squad, behind only Pierre Engvall (6-foot-5). At 210 pounds, he would also be the fourth-heaviest member of the team, making him the near-perfect bottom-six player for the Maple Leafs this postseason.
Tavares leads the club in faceoff percentage (57.6%), followed by Matthews (52.5%), and more than half of their zone starts are in the offensive zone (52.8 offensive zone start percentage and 64.8%, respectively). Grant, on the other hand, comes close to matching David Kampf, who has a faceoff winning percentage (FO%) of 51.9% and an offensive zone starts percentage (oZS%) of 30.2%, giving him a defensive zone starts percentage (dZS%) of 69.8%. Kampf is most frequently used by head coach Sheldon Keefe in the defensive zone against the opposition’s top lines. Grant has a 51.2 FO% and would rank as the team’s fourth-best faceoff man. He also has a dZS% of 77%, which would be the highest on the team.
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Grant can be counted on to start plays in the defensive zone, whether he is on the fourth line as the center or winger. That being said, Kampf’s importance to the Maple Leafs, particularly during the playoffs, is also well known; however, adding Grant would surely strengthen their chances.
Grant also makes financial sense. His contract has an average annual value (AAV) of $1.5 million and is set to expire at the season’s end. The Maple Leafs’ ability to manipulate the cap suggests there may not be a need for any kind of retention on the deal, and he should cost no more than a draft pick. Given that he has only played in 18 games with four points (two goals, two assists) this season, the cost shouldn’t exceed a fifth or sixth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Frank Vatrano
As mentioned, Järnkrok has frequently played on the second line with Tavares and Marner. Despite their success, without a replacement, he will continue to play up in the lineup even though the team would be stronger with him in the bottom six. Dubas needs to consider Frank Vatrano, who has the potential to be a 30-goal scorer and also comes with term on his deal.
He has an AAV of $3.65 million and is in the first year of a three-year deal. Vatrano could replace Alex Kerfoot’s contract, which has a cap hit of $3.5 million and is due to expire after the season. Vatrano scores more goals than Kerfoot, but he doesn’t score as many points, which is the difference between the two. With that being said, what do the Maple Leafs need? Secondary scoring, and he would bring that.
Vatrano has scored 114 goals in his career, including a career-high of 24 in 2018-19 with the Florida Panthers. He has scored 13 through 54 games this season and is on track to match his regular-season total of about 18. He would be the sixth-best scorer on the team, joining the other five members of the top six. His fit with Marner and Tavares on the second line is almost ideal. That line needs a scorer, someone with a good shot who can put pucks in the net. That is not to say that both Marner and Tavares haven’t done that this season because they have combined for 42, but they need a shooter.
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Nick Robertson was initially supposed to be the winger on that line, but he is out for the rest of the season with an injury. It would make sense for Toronto to try and trade for Vatrano to fill that spot on the second line, and if they are successful, Järnkrok could shift from the top six to the bottom six, which would strengthen the overall lineup.
Vatrano’s asking price should be reasonable. The Maple Leafs need to manage their cap space for the next few seasons, and Zach Aston-Reese could be included in the deal to help the team balance the money coming in. However, a higher-end draft pick would have to go to the Ducks, as well as a B or C-level prospect, such as Ryan Tverberg. Anaheim might also be interested in one of Toronto’s 2023 third-round picks, like the one they got from the Ottawa Senators in the Matt Murray trade.
The Maple Leafs must address their forward group and, more importantly, their secondary scoring ahead of the NHL trade deadline. That much was evident during the Feb. 11 game against the Columbus Blue Jackets when the bottom six were almost invisible. They would benefit from having another goal scorer in the lineup behind Matthews and Nylander. Adding Vatrano or Grant would be a good fit, not only for the playoffs but also potentially for next season.