"It's Black Friday and in the spirit of that, it's time for Brad Treliving to start offering up some deals to rival GMs on Maple Leafs. Is it too early to say blow it up and shift into selling mode for the Maple Leafs? Possibly, but if the Leafs aren't there yet it seems like they are a couple weeks of mediocre hockey away from the conversation shifting from pessimistic to realistic."
"Say what you will about Treliving, but some of his re-signings have hit the mark. Knies has continued to improve this season in a year where a lot of Leafs have taken a step back and as one of the youthful options in the lineup that can bridge the Matthews-Nylander-Tavares era to the next one, keeping Knies around seems pretty obvious especially when you remember how long this organization spent looking for a player like Knies before he was drafted."
The Maple Leafs face a potential shift toward selling mode if mediocre play continues, prompting evaluation of who to trade, buy, or swap. Two players are labeled untouchable: John Tavares, protected by a full no-movement clause and strong performance, and Matthew Knies, on a team-friendly long-term deal and showing improvement as a youth bridge to the next era. William Nylander is considered borderline untouchable with a full no-movement clause and the possibility of becoming the franchise's all-time points leader. Trades hinge on contract clauses, player value, organizational needs, and potential barriers to movement.
Read at TheLeafsNation
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]