The last eight years of the Auston Matthews era for the Toronto Maple Leafs have been defined by their continuous struggle in the playoffs. While the Maple Leafs have seemed to fix their defence and goaltending is very good when healthy, their most vulnerable area has shifted to their offensive lineup and scoring woes, especially down the middle.
The Maple Leafs once again find themselves amongst the top teams in the league, with the team being 1st in the Atlantic Division, 2nd in the Eastern Conference and 5th in the league which means they will once again most likely be looking to upgrade at this year’s trade deadline.
With John Tavares entering the latter years of his career and Matthews having questionable health concerns while William Nylander and Mitch Marner have career years, the Leafs management team must shift their focus to finding a solid stable third line centre who can step up when injuries become an issue and help boost a bottom-six that the Leafs will desperately need to better if they have any hopes of making a deep playoff run.
Let’s take a look at some of the possible options the Maple Leafs could target at the 2025 NHL trade deadline.
Options currently available on the trade market
1. Yanni Gourde: Seattle Kraken
With one year left on his contract at a cap hit of $5.16M, Yanni Gourde is a very likely trade option for any team looking to add centre depth at the deadline. The two-time Stanley Cup champion is having a bit of a down year in Seattle with just six goals and 10 assists in 35 games.
While he is currently day-to-day, the 33-year-old could be a solid option for the Maple Leafs as he has a proven track record of being physical and being a playoff scorer, having 42 points in 83 career playoff games. Recent reports suggest that he is willing to waive his modified no-move clause for the Maple Leafs according to Pierre Lebrun. Gourde would be a solid option that would slot in nicely with the current bottom-six.
2. Scott Laughton: Philadelphia Flyers
The Greater Toronto Area-born player who played for the Oshawa Generals is another homegrown target for the Maple Leafs. With a cap hit of only $3.0M and another year left, Laughton would be one of the more affordable options for a Leafs team that does not have a ton of cap space.
What makes Laughton one of the more dynamic options for the Maple Leafs is his ability to play on both the centre position and wing which allows the Leafs to move him around according to the needs of the lineup. Laughton brings a style of play that both Craig Berube and Brad Treliving can appreciate with hard-hitting, gritty and physical play that translates well into what the playoffs demand. Laughton would be a solid third line centre option for the Maple Leafs at a reasonable price for a team right at the cap ceiling.
3. Brock Nelson: New York Islanders
Brock Nelson might be one of the top centres available at the deadline this year. His cap hit of $6.0M with a 16-team no-trade list makes him one of the more difficult players to move and it would be quite the hurdle for this Leafs management team to pull off a trade for this calibre of player. What the leafs would get with Brock Nelson is a player who has scored more than 30 goals in the last three seasons while also being named to Team USA for this year’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
This would essentially give the team two options for a second-line centre in Tavares and Nelson. The team would be able to place the better player at the time on the second line while having an all-star calibre centre on the third line. While this is a dream scenario, the trade package for Nelson would be massive and the Maple Leafs would need to move heaven and earth to be able to afford him.
4. Ryan O’Reilly: Nashville Predators
This is an ideal match that not many people seem to be giving much attention to. Insider Elliotte Friedman says the Preds have no plans to move the 33-year-old centre unless the offer is too good to pass on and it is a move that O’Reilly agrees to, but the fit is perfect.
Bringing O’Reilly back would make sense for both the Maple Leafs and him considering he was an integral part of helping the Maple Leafs get to the second round in the 2023 playoffs. This would also allow O’Reilly to reunite with Berube who both won the 2019 Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues. With a cap hit of $4.5M, O’Reilly would make a lot of sense for this team if the Preds are willing to work on a trade.
What should the Maple Leafs do?
While there’s still time before the trade deadline it is clear that the Maple Leafs do need to make an upgrade before heading to the playoffs. This team finds themselves amongst the top teams in the regular season once again, hopefully adding some depth can help them get over their postseason struggles. Scoring has been there issue forever, and it’s time to finally put the problem to bed.
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