No more Mr. Knies guy, Mario Ferraro as a target, and 2nd round pick options: Leaflets
The playoffs march on, and with it, the inevitable Mitch Marner discourse. My two cents is that Mitch Marner and the Maple Leafs weren’t working. Marner, as the number two guy behind Auston Matthews in a high-pressure market in Marner’s hometown, was a lot to ask of him. Marner on a team that has had recent success in a less traditional market is the change he needed.
As for the Maple Leafs, not having Marner hasn’t worked out for them, but he was far from the only variable in things heading south. The fact that the coach and GM from last season won’t be around next year proves that.
So wish Marner well if you like, cheer against the Knights if you wish as well. The Maple Leafs are past that, and fixing what is broken is the priority, not fretting over Mitch.
Here are some other thoughts…
Trading Matthew Knies
Word on the street is that John Chayka will take calls on anyone not named Auston Matthews. (I’d argue this is a great way to ensure you are only getting serious calls about Auston Matthews.)
Matthew Knies is not named Auston Matthews. He is one of the few big ticket players that could be moved to address the issues on the Maple Leafs blueline, and with trades being explored around Knies at the trade deadline, it’s only natural that his name would come up again.
Trading Knies seems like a bad idea. There are not a lot of Knies-type players around the league, and while the importance of power forwards is often overstated, Knies being the right age to help the Leafs now or be in his prime at the end of a rebuild makes him a valuable part of the Maple Leafs roster.
Knies is a player that other teams will overpay for. Supply and demand is the Maple Leafs’ favour here, and if John Chayka wants to make a hockey trade that improves the Maple Leafs, Knies is a player that could be involved.
The Leafs aren’t light on other players that can be traded, and while most of them won’t yield the return that Knies would, moving on from a young power forward on a good contract seems like a mistake in the making.
Mario Ferraro should be free agency target number one
There is plenty of time until July 1st, and there is no guarantee that Mario Ferraro will be available, but of the players who look to be available today, he might be the best fit for the Maple Leafs.
Ferraro is turning 28 in September, making him one of the younger options that the Maple Leafs could commit to in free agency.
Ferraro brings a balance of puck moving and positional play that addresses the need for a smarter blueline that is tougher to play against. He’s the balance between a veteran and youthful option that would easily fit in Toronto’s top four, if not their top pairing. He’s an upgrade that won’t cost the Leafs as much out of pocket as players like John Carlson or Rasmus Andersson, and he’s more likely to deliver consistent results than Darren Raddysh.
Ferraro is a bit on the small side at 5’11 and is a left shot, not the right shot that the Maple Leafs have been seeking, though if Oliver Ekman-Larsson or Morgan Rielly are on the way out, a left shot is needed just as much as the right.
Defencemen in the second round
There has been some talk about the Maple Leafs needing a top-calibre defensive prospect, and that trading down from the first overall pick is the best way to do that.
Trading down from number one would give the Maple Leafs a great defensive prospect, but their second round pick still gives the Maple Leafs a very good prospect, and that should be the plan.
Xavier Villeneuve, Samu Alalauri, William Hakansson, and Nikita Shcherbakov are some of the defencemen potentially available when the Maple Leafs pick at 60th overall. All are ranked higher than 60th overall, but the draft will have sliders and Mark Leach has a better eye for talent than people who build out draft lists. A solid defenceman to join Ben Danford and Noah Chadwick as the future of the Leafs blueline is attainable without sacrificing the opportunity to add a top-tier offensive talent.