On November 13, 2024, in Washington, D.C., the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrated their victory over the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena, as captured by Geoff Burke for Imagn Images.
While the Maple Leafs boast an impressive roster capable of competing with elite teams like the Rangers, Stars, Hurricane, and possibly the Jets, they remain a step behind. The team’s key needs are a reliable third-line center and a high-caliber defenseman to solidify their lineup and elevate their performance.
They are just missing those two things. And, as it happens, there are one of each on (likely) non-playoff teams that – with the proper salary retention – could fit into the Leafs lineup.
I’m talking about Zach Werenski and Nazem Kadri.
2 Trades for the “Missing Pieces” to put the Toronto Maple Leafs “Over the Top”
Nazem Kadri is an ex-Leafs player who forced his way off the team with his ridiculous behavior, but he’s since gone on to win the Stanley Cup and would likely be welcomed back with open arms. It’s hard to imagine a better for for the current team – both in terms of what they actually need and in the classically romantic sense.
Bringing back Kadri would take this team full-circle, and how fun would it be for the declining but still good Kadri and Tavares to co-author a trip to the Stanley Cup finals?
This would be all the more likely if the Leafs added Werenski – a high-end defenseman who is exactly what they are missing. Werenski is super-star defender who is likely available because his age and injury history doesn’t jibe very well with Columbus’ timeline to contention.
So how can the Leafs get this done? Well, it would take a ton of creativity and luck to make it happen, but let’s see if we can make it work. (all cap info puckpedia.com).
