For a variety of reasons, this week could prove to be the perfect time for the Maple Leafs to finally pull the trigger on acquiring a defenceman.
Most importantly, in addition to the whole salary cap thing, John Klingberg and his future this season is firmly attached to this entire situation. By all accounts, the Leafs should get a better understanding at some point this week on what the definite prognosis is on the 31-year-old, who signed a one year, $4.15-million deal with the team on July 1st. In essence, if he’s deemed unable to return, Toronto will have a concise answer and can proceed accordingly with the allotted cap space. They can either keep Klingberg on LTIR for the balance of the season (which is likely) or potentially include him in a trade moving forward. The key here is getting clarity – one way or another – on his status.
Additionally, with two games over the next six days, the Leafs are in the midst of yet another quiet stretch in their schedule. Weirdly, the first quarter of the season has been filled with those, but suffice it is to say, that’s about to change in a big-time way. Assuming the alignment of everything trade-wise, now’s as good a time as ever to pull off such a move without disrupting the main roster. Between the numerous practice days and the light slate, Sheldon Keefe would have minimal issues intergrading the new player(s) into the lineup.
In recent days, aside from Nikita Zadorov, who was dealt to Vancouver on Thursday night, the Leafs have most commonly been linked to the likes of Calgary’s Chris Tanev and Philadelphia’s Sean Walker, among others. Of course, it takes two to tango, and at this point, aside from San Jose and Chicago, as far as I know, no one else has really punted on their postseason aspirations just yet. For what it’s worth however, I’m told the Leafs are working hard to get something done.
We’ll see where it goes.
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