Out goes Hutch, in comes Jack

Kyle Dubas couldn’t wait any longer.

About an hour after his team had another two points get away, largely because of more ineffective goaltending from Michael Hutchinson, Dubas sprung into action on a hopeful solution. Just before midnight on Wednesday night, the Leafs acquired 28-year-old Jack Campbell from the L.A. Kings, along with big, heavy depth forward Kyle Clifford. Trevor Moore and two third-round picks (one of them conditional) went the other way in the deal, which will see the Kings eat 50 percent of Clifford’s $1.6 million cap hit and salary.

The move was overdue, and also the second time Dubas has dealt for Campbell, a first-round pick of the Dallas Stars nearly a decade ago. When he was still running the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Dubas took a massive swing on Campbell — two players and six draft picks went to Windsor — that ultimately backfired with the Greyhounds missing the playoffs.
Now the Leafs GM, Dubas is counting on Campbell, who’s yet to live up to his draft-day hype in the NHL, to stem a longstanding point of weakness.
Campbell carries a cap hit of only $675,000 this season. He’s signed for two more seasons after that at $1.65 million on the cap.

It’s still unclear how long Frederik Andersen will be sidelined with a neck injury that kept him out on Wednesday night in New York. Regardless of whether it’s through the weekend, with a back-to-back looming against the Ducks and Canadiens, or longer than that, the Leafs had to find someone more capable than Hutchinson. The 29-year-old surrendered three goals or more for the 11th time in 15 appearances this season in the most recent loss to the Rangers.
In nine of those games, including Wednesday night, opponents scored three or more in one period.
It was the fourth goal in particular at Madison Square Garden that really burned the Leafs. Auston Matthews had just cut a 3-1 deficit to one when, 34 seconds later, Pavel Buchnevich flung a shot straight through Hutchinson’s pads.

It was the kind of shot that’s gone in too frequently on Hutchinson.
 “The fourth goal was pretty defeating and devastating, frankly,” Sheldon Keefe said after the 5-3 loss, which kept the Leafs outside the playoff picture. “We just didn’t have anything from there.”

Two days earlier, stepping in for an injured Andersen for the final two periods, Hutchinson couldn’t keep the puck out in a game the Leafs lost but dominated. The fact that it was two points lost against the Panthers, a team the Leafs are battling for a playoff spot, made it all the more damaging.
The Leafs couldn’t keep taking chances on Hutchinson that way. Their postseason hopes are too tenuous for that. And Hutchinson’s stumbles, coinciding with sometimes leaky defensive play, has cost them games on at least a handful of occasions. This was not a recent concern, but one that’s been simmering all season. The Leafs even sought another option before things got going, but Michal Neuvirth, a goalie with a history of injuries who was signed to professional tryout, couldn’t stay on the ice at training camp in Newfoundland.
Hutchinson got the job by default. And struggled.

Then the Leafs coach, Mike Babcock, apparently had enough of Hutchinson by the second week of November. A day after the goalie helped cost them a chance at two points with a wobbly effort in Chicago, Hutchinson was placed on waivers. Kasimir Kaskisuo, who hadn’t played a game in the NHL, was recalled from the Marlies to take his place, and it was the Finn who ultimately started Babcock’s penultimate game as head coach.
That night, in his NHL debut, Kaskisuo got rocked for six goals in Pittsburgh. Hutchinson was recalled soon after Keefe replaced Babcock and while he turned a slight corner, he was clearly overmatched for what the Leafs really need from a backup: a goalie who can absorb some of Andersen’s load, and not just on certain nights against certain opponents in ideal conditions.
That the Leafs front office didn’t spring into action sooner has put their season at risk. It might just cost them a playoff spot even if Campbell is able to solidify the position.

It’s also been an area of concern for the organization for two seasons now, ever since Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard were both plucked off waivers in the fall of 2018. Then in his first season as Leafs GM, Dubas chose to protect Garret Sparks, the reigning goalie of the year in the AHL, a decision that while process-approved (a 25-year-old up-and-comer over an aging career backup) ultimately backfired.
Sparks produced a lowly .902 save percentage and was banished (temporarily) just before the playoffs while McElhinney shined elsewhere.
And while Hutchinson did OK last season in a handful of starts after he was acquired from Florida, he had no recent track record of NHL success and looked questionable right from the first days of the preseason this past fall.

All told, since the start of last season, the Leafs’ collection of backups has produced a 14-22-2 record, for a miserable .395 points percentage, with an ugly .896 save percentage.
Overlooking the backup has been costly that way.
The Leafs’ front office might argue that what was out there wasn’t much better, if better at all, than Hutchinson. And there might be some truth to that, with Casey DeSmith, who was available on waivers at one point this season, posting a mediocre .905 save percentage in the AHL so far this season. They’re also paying four core stars a huge chunk of money, and had one of those contracts (Mitch Marner) up in the air until mid-September.
But there had to be a better solution than Hutchinson and perhaps that guy will be Campbell.

Hailing from Michigan, Campbell was picked 11th overall in 2010 by Dallas — one spot before Anaheim grabbed Cam Fowler at No. 12 and five picks before St. Louis took Vladimir Tarasenko at 16.
It didn’t pay off.
Campbell made it into only one game for the Stars before getting crumbs behind Jonathan Quick with the Kings in recent years.
He shined with a .928 save percentage in 31 appearances last season before coming back down to Earth with a .900 clip in 20 games this season. He stopped 26 of 28 shots in his last start for the Kings on Jan. 30, a win over Arizona.
The Leafs might need him to shoulder a serious load if Andersen is out more than a few days, the kind of stretch that could just determine their playoff fate. They really just need a goalie who can give them a chance to win most nights, not one who costs them games with weak goals at inopportune times. Can Campbell be that guy? An upgrade on Hutchinson?
Dubas is betting he can be.
That Campbell is signed beyond this season increases his potential value to the Leafs — if he can do the job.

Campbell is under contract for one year longer than Andersen, whose deal with the Leafs expires after next season. It’s perhaps in part why Dubas preferred him over some of the other options out there, most of them rentals; the organization gains an extra layer of security. Their two goaltenders for next season are now pinned down for $6.65 million on the cap, a very reasonable price tag provided Campbell can do the job behind Andersen. (He’s easily buried if not.)
For the time being, Campbell will slide into the starter’s role. Once Andersen is healthy enough to play, Campbell becomes the No. 2 and Hutchinson lands back in the No. 3 hole he’s more suited to play — an emergency option for NHL duty who plays most of his games in the AHL.
Clifford replaces Moore, meanwhile. He’ll bring the Leafs a different element up front, a bigger body (6-foot-2, 211 pounds) with two Stanley Cups worth of experience.

 He’ll be an easy choice for fourth-line duty and might even chip in with the odd bit of offence (six goals, 14 points this season).
But this was about Campbell, and a trade Dubas needed to make.

It might be too late. It might not work. It might also end up saving the Leafs season.

Leafs blow a tire in th third

Every NHL team that has visions of raising the Stanley Cup at the end of the season must have an elite No. 1 goalie.

Not only must that goaltender be a force who helps his team clinch a playoff spot. he also has to step up huge when the chips are down in the post-season.

On Monday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost a big game against the Florida Panthers — and some ground in the playoff race — in part because starting netminder Frederick Andersen went down with what the team is calling an upper-body injury.


The 30-year-old Leafs veteran endured a blow to his head and neck area in the first period when he was bumped by Florida’s Frank Vatrano and did not return for the start of the second period.
He will be reevaluated Tuesday morning, but if Andersen is forced to miss an extended period of time, you might as well stick a fork in Toronto’s playoff chances. As glowingly as the players in the Leafs dressing room speak of backup Michael Hutchinson, I don’t think he is capable of carrying the load for the team.

Entering Monday’s game, Andersen has a 24-9-6 record with a 2.87 goals-against average and .910 save percentage and has averaged 35 wins a season in his three-plus years with the Leafs so it is easy to see how valuable he is to the organization.


As of right now, the Maple Leafs are on the outside of the playoff race, one point behind Florida for third place in the Atlantic Division and one point behind the New York Islanders for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.



 Toronto dominated the Panthers in the second period, allowing the visitors only three shots on net, but then imploded in the third period by allowing four goals on 10 shots.

 Now, not all the blame should be shouldered by Hutchinson, who is now 4-8-1 on the season, but the Leafs are a different team — and a non-playoff team — without Andersen between the pipes.

Poetic Justice

The Hero of the night

 First , I'm still pretty pissed at that bogus call made by the refs in OT, there is no way Tyson Barrie deserved that penalty, no friggin way.

Now Karma is a bitch sometimes, and boy did it come back to bite the Senators in their collectives asses.  Mitch Marner scored the OT winner from a shot from the point during a payback penalty call, a legitimate one against Ottawa.

I call it poetic justice. Nuff said, no..okay I'll continue.

Now onto the game capsule, Jason Spezza was in the middle of the action back then on the other side with the Ottawa Senators.

The winger scored on a power play at 3:54 of overtime as Toronto defeated Ottawa 2-1 on night where Michael Hutchinson made 24 saves and Spezza turned back the clock with a virtuoso performance than included an end-to-end rush and a stunning equalizer.

 After the Leafs (28-17-7) killed off a penalty in the extra period where Senators defenceman Thomas Chabot rattle the post, Toronto got a man advantage of its own and Marner — known more for his vision and play-making ability — blasted his 14th on a one-timer off a feed from William Nylander.

“I don’t think anyone really thinks I’m going to shoot that,” Marner said. “Luckily it went in.”
Mark Borowiecki replied for the rebuilding Senators (18-24-10), who got 34 stops from Craig Anderson after losing 5-3 at home to Washington on Friday.
“We stayed with it,” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We knew it was going to be a really hard game, and it was.”
Hutchinson, who got the call in place of No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen with Toronto playing its first of five games in eight nights, improved to 4-0-0 over his last four starts after going winless in his first seven outings this season.
“I’ve been positive all year,” he said. “We have a lot of confidence and our whole team has that swagger back.”

The 29-year-old from Barrie, Ont., used to settle down in front of the television to watch Toronto and Ottawa go to war back in the 2000s, and was excited to be part of the action for the first time.
“It was a little extra added atmosphere,” Hutchinson said. “It’s also cool having Spezza on our side of the Battle of Ontario now. I grew up watching him on the other side of it.
“To be a part of it was pretty cool.”

Hutchinson was impressed with Spezza’s performance, which was accentued by a bullet slapshot to tie the game in the second period.
“He was great,” Hutchinson said of the 36-year-old nicknamed “Vintage” by teammates. “He turned back the clock with some of those dangles, flying through the neutral zone and that shot.”
Spezza, meanwhile, tried to downplay his ties to the Toronto-Ottawa rivalry.
“It’s a huge honour for me to play here for the Leafs,” Spezza said. “This Battle of Ontario’s ingrained in me. I’ve been on the other side and used to like coming in here and trying to win games.
“But I’m really not trying to focus on all the nostalgia.”
Saturday’s other big storyline was the Leafs’ decision to scratch winger Kasperi Kapanen — the move wasn’t injury-related and he watched from the Scotiabank Arena press box — with Dmytro Timashov taking his place in the lineup.

Keefe left a lot open to interpretation at his post-game news conference.
“Internal accountability is really what it is,” he said. “You (media) will get a chance to talk to him when we get together again on Monday.” Odd, really odd.

Tied 1-1 through 40 minutes, Anderson robbed the red-hot Nylander, who entered with goals in five straight contests, 36 seconds into the third on a power play when he reached back with his glove to deny the winger.

The lightning-quick Anthony Duclair then had an opportunity at the other end that Hutchinson turned aside.
Anderson then stopped both Justin Holl and Auston Matthews on chances in close as Toronto started to come in waves before John Tavares hit the post and Alexander Kerfoot was stopped off the rush.
Zach Hyman then saw the puck bounce over his stick in the dying seconds of regulation with Anderson way out of position.

After the Leafs had a couple of good looks in front of Anderson early in the second, Borowiecki scored his seventh at 6:08 on a shot through traffic to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead.
Hutchinson was forced to make big saves on Chris Tierney, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Brady Tkachuk in quick succession before Spezza struck against his former team on the power play.
The Toronto native took a feed from rookie defenceman Rasmus Sandin and ripped a slapshot upstairs, shortside on Anderson for his eighth goal in 40 games — and first on this side of the Battle of Ontario — to match his total from each of the last two seasons with Dallas.

Spezza, who was selected second overall by Ottawa at the 2001 NHL draft and played parts of 11 seasons in the nation’s capital, suited up against the Senators in blue and white for the first time after former Toronto head coach Mike Babcock scratched him in the clubs’ first meeting on opening night.

And now we bring on the Florida Panthers, who had held the last playoff spot until Saturday's heroics by Marner, and a shut out defeat by the Montreal Canadiens.

The battle for Ontario rages still

Just when you thought it was safe to go out, another battle is looming.

Just beside this writing is a picture of Senators goalie Craig Anderson, a veteran of many skirmishes, battled and sometimes bloodied.
If coach DJ Smith elects to put him in net tonight, he will no doubt be a reminder of epic battles between these two hockey teams.

Now the Ottawa Senators are going in a different direction than The Toronto Maple Leafs. On the rebuild they go, drafting young prospects, unloading expensive vets for promising youth, and finishing as low in the overall standings as they can. But when it comes to  playing Toronto, they can rekindle their blood lust very quickly, and revert back to primal urges, and put on war paint and hunt the high salary cap giants, as well as any team.

Their core is getting better, headed by Thomas Chabot, a great young defense man and Brady Tkachuk up front, with memories of father Keith Tkachuk coursing thru his veins.

Chabot & Tkachuk

And then there are traded players ,Connor Brown and Cody Ceci, who's allegiance has been swapped like a Star Trek cross beaming thingy.  Almost gone is the memory of Darcy Tucker challenging the entire Ottawa team to come out onto the ice to take him on in mortal combat.
 Come to that,I can remember the music to Mortal Combat being played during these tussles.

Back in the 90's, these two teams faced each other annualy for the right to pursue Lord Stanley's Mug.


Who can forget Patrick Lalime, or Fightin'Ray Emery, or even Dominik Hasek.  Well I'd like to forget Hasek, but remember Lalime,cause we creamed him.

Such epic battles , and especially in the playoffs with Jacques Martin coaching. We never lost, not with Cujo in net, or Potvin, or Belfour.

Tonight we watch for another battle royal but expect just another skirmish.

Let's trade Player XX for a bag of pucks...

                                                                                    Okay, c'mon you've all said it, "let's trade so and so for a bag of pucks, so we can get a better scorer, d-man, or goalie.

So I have been busy scribbling down little ideas that I can send to Kyle Dubas for his scrutiny.
It will not be easy. It will not be for the faint of heart.  I’ve condensed this down to the top 8 trade proposals, as there were many, many variations of “Kasperi Kapanen for Player XYZ” with different prospect and pick combinations attached.



Here we go …

 Kasperi Kapanen for Josh Manson 
 It’s not altogether implausible, given Manson has had a tough season, but fits Toronto’s need for an experienced right-shot defenceman to play in their top four. He’s cost-controlled and under contract for another couple years at a reasonable number. The biggest question here is can the Ducks afford to move out one of their few experienced D, and would they want a winger like Kapanen in return? My guess is they’d prefer a younger defenceman, which may make this move improbable, but the value proposition isn’t way off here.

 Andreas Johnsson, Jeremy Bracco, 2021 second-rounder and Cody Ceci (with 50 percent retained) for Chris Kreider and Alexandar Georgiev 
 The Leafs are a bit low here, given the Rangers are hoping to land a first-round pick for the rights to rent Kreider. But Johnsson is probably worth more than Georgiev and there is a second-rounder included, plus a prospect like Bracco, who has at least some value, even during a tough season. I like the idea of getting an experienced LW like Kreider to fill the void left by Johnsson temporarily, although I’m not sure Kyle Dubas will have much interest in rentals, in any circumstance. There’s a framework here that could make sense, though, and I think a larger trade is how Georgiev might ultimately wind up in Toronto.

 Kapanen and a fourth-round pick for Georgiev and Lias Andersson
 This comes down to what you think of Andersson. I know he was taken seventh overall in 2017, but that’s currently looking like a terrible pick, as he hasn’t produced in the NHL or AHL when given an opportunity. He’s only 21, but if I’m trading Kapanen, I want a sure thing – likely on defence – not a couple of lottery tickets. Sorry Rangers fans.

  Travis Dermott and Johnsson for David Savard and a pick 
 The Leafs and Blue Jackets are weird trade partners. I’m not sure why they ended up in so many proposals here, as Columbus is in basically the exact same spot in the standings as Toronto. There’s no clear buyer-seller relationship to be found. That said, Savard is a middle-of-the-road, right-shot defenceman who will turn 30 in the fall and has only one year left on his deal until he’s UFA. I guess if the Leafs are prepared to give up on Dermott, who’ll be cheaper and continue to improve, maybe there’s a fit here. But as of now, I expect Toronto would want more of an upgrade if they’re giving up two younger roster pieces like this. Besides, I loathe John Tororella.

Johnsson for Colin Miller  
 This frankly just seems like too much for Miller, who’s not playing a lot on a bad Buffalo team. I’m not convinced he’s more than a third-pair type.

 Kapanen and Dmytro Timashov to Edmonton for Adam Larsson
Timashov has been shopped around the league with no takers and is barely playing, so he’s essentially a throw-in. This boils down to Kapanen for Larsson, which,  is an intriguing idea. I think the deal would have to be expanded beyond that to make sense for the Leafs, however. The Oilers really like Kapanen, though, and he’d play higher in their lineup than Toronto’s. I do wonder about Larsson, given his age and injury history. I could see this being something talked about more seriously in the offseason. to Edmonton for Adam Larsson.

 Kapanen and Dermott for Connor Murphy and Alex Nylander
 This is a tough one.  But I'm higher on Murphy than others, and I’m really uncertain if mini-Nylander is going to be an impact player in the NHL. Again, Dermott’s potential is a big factor here. Is he going to be a top-four defenceman? How you feel about his development is going to swing whether you’d want to pull the trigger on a trade like this or not.

 Johnsson and Ceci for Malcolm Subban 
 We’re making Vegas retain salary on a near-league minimum backup goalie? Odd. But OK. Subban hasn’t had a great year, and it’s unclear how much of an upgrade he would be for the Leafs. Why give up someone like Johnsson for him? Plus Vegas isn’t exactly swimming in cap room to make this happen.

So you see, it's hard to make deals, even when all you do is sit on your ass in front of a keyboard for a couple of hours and produce drivel, such as it is.

Well, I saved the best one for last

Johnsson, Ceci, Trevor Moore (California kid), Bracco and Hutchinson for Manson, Miller and Nick Ritchie

I’m going to call this a Kitchen Sink offer. Throw together a whole pile of lesser assets and try and get fewer, better ones by hoping volume makes them look better. It doesn’t. There’s no reason on earth for Anaheim to do this unless Bob Murray is just a really big Leafs fan.

Look these ideas aren't any better than any of you folk could come up with.  So with that I am going back to the couch and finish my coffee, and watch Murdock Mysteries.....at least he solves some riddles.

---

Road Warriors in Smashville

It was a night the Maple Leafs’ century belonged to Rasmus Sandin.

With his opening National Hockey League goal and a two-point night, the rookie Swedish defenceman became the first Toronto player born in the 2000s to score and appeared to be having the time of his life — even if he looked too young to think of celebrating in a Smashville honky tonk.

After the 5-2 win over the Predators, he posed with the souvenir puck that William Nylander retrieved for him, wearing a mile-wide grin.

“I’ve had a lot of dreams about how I’d do the (goal) celebration — but I didn’t do anything, except for the screaming,” Sandin said. “I was standing a little bit behind the play, the puck popped out and I saw at the last second that he (Pekka Rinne) was covering the low ice and leaning forward, so I put it high.”

Also looking for Sandin following the game at Bridgestone Arena was defenceman Jake Muzzin, who had put up pre-game money for the winning goal in his return from injury and wanted to pay the kid.

“He’s a great player, right place, right time, he picks his spots,” Muzzin praised. “He’s very poised for a young fella back there. I remember my (first NHL goal).”

For the rest of the Leafs, the victory was a blessed relief after a soul-searching all-star break preceded by one victory in six games. It’s also apparent that the arm injury that took winger Kasperi Kapanen out of the game after one period is not serious, with negative X-rays and Kapanen fine to get in the chow line after the game. But he will be examined again Tuesday in Dallas.

It’s still going to be a long haul back to playoff positioning, but the Leafs are within two points of the pack and the play of Sheldon Keefe’s ‘old’ Leafs was evident, including Frederik Andersen in net with 34 saves, 14 in a busy first period.

“We had good (team) talks to try and get better at certain things,” Andersen said. “Like everyone at this time of year, we want to push and get better. This is a good first step.”

Andersen was there to clean up some odd-man rushes caused by Leafs jumping in too far and one nail-biter when Tyson Barrie’s stick was lifted in the slot. Andersen got across to foil Viktor Arvidsson on Nashville’s only power play.

Kapanen’s injury meant a quick promotion for another player returning from injury. Trevor Moore moved up from the fourth line to the third, joining Pierre Engvall and Andreas Johnsson.

But the Leafs were up a goal after losing Kapanen, starting with Nylander taking a perfect long lob from Sandin to get his career best 23rd goal and fourth in as many games. That also stopped the Rinne hex on the Leafs, two straight shutouts with their last goal against him back on March 28, 2018.

Zach Hyman answered Mikael Granlund’s goal for the Preds and Sandin’s winner came after Alex Kerfoot was having a great shift, capped by a drive to the net, the rebound out to an uncovered Sandin.

The club’s first-round pick in 2018, Sandin made the team out of camp when Travis Dermott was hurt, but was clearly not ready as the Toronto stumbled early under Mike Babcock and the kid was pushed around. A return to the Marlies and a strong showing at the world juniors boosted his confidence.

It was Auston Matthews’ first game since his sore wrist became news, but he leaned into the opening faceoff very hard to beat Ryan Johansen on his way to winning nine of 13 draws. His empty-netter was for No. 35 in his quest for 50 goals with 32 games remaining.

When Jason Spezza beat Rinne with a strange one from a sharp angle it gave the Leafs seven straight road games with at least four goals for the third time in club history and the first since 1983.

Arvidsson drew the Preds closer, but Nashville, which has failed to catch fire since changing coaches, remained at the bottom of the Central Division.

“A game like this, you’re not really sure what you’ll get,” Keefe said of one practice. “We executed well enough to score enough goals. I liked parts of our game and other parts we want to make sure we continue to grow.”

Welcome back to the road to victory. Now it's onto Big D.

Leafs seek a trading partner...so how bout Columbus

We are just 30 days away from the Trade Deadline. While the players are in the midst of both the All-Star Game and their bye weeks, management is starting to decide how they want to handle this all important day.

Do they buy? Do they sell?

 Maybe they do nothing at all.



When you have a case of two teams in which one has what the other wants, it deserves attention. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets definitely have what the other wants. They’re a trading-partner match made in heaven. Whether they actually talk and come up with a deal is another matter altogether. But in this space, we will explore why these teams should talk and what makes them so perfect together.

The Maple Leafs have been hammered of late with key injuries to their best defensemen. It’s no secret that they’re actively looking for an experienced blueliner who can step in and help right away. While handedness doesn’t necessarily matter, they’d prefer someone who can play the right side.
The Leafs also prefer someone with term. They don’t want just a rental in this case. They’re looking for a hockey deal. They have some very interesting players they could deal to make something like this happen.

This is where the Blue Jackets come into play. They have plenty of defensive depth. Thanks to their run of injuries, we saw 10 defensemen get into games at one point or another. And as you may have seen or heard, they’re one of the hottest teams in the NHL. But if there is an area where the Blue Jackets need an upgrade, it’s up front. Despite being on a 16-2-4 run to enter the playoff picture, they are still 23rd in the NHL in goals for with 138 in 51 games. While the goals per game is starting to creep up, they still need to see improvement if they hope to make the playoffs. The question here will be does Jarmo Kekalainen tap into his defensive depth and acquire a top-nine forward?

Like the Maple Leafs, the Blue Jackets are not interested in a rental. They want someone who can not only help them now, but also in the future. Given that the Blue Jackets don’t have their second or third rounder in the 2020 Draft, you can bet their first rounder isn’t going anywhere. So this would also be a hockey deal if an agreement can be reached with anyone.
The Maple Leafs need a defenseman. Duh , no kidding. The Blue Jackets need a forward. Both teams want a hockey deal. This is a match. Now, who would the teams target?

The Maple Leafs want someone with term and is experienced. If they had a wish list of defensemen on the Blue Jackets, two would come to mind. Those are David Savard and Ryan Murray.
Savard fits exactly what the Maple Leafs are looking for. He’s an experienced right-shot defenseman. He’s plays a very defensive style of game and is not afraid to block shots. He also has term remaining. He carriesa cap hit of $4.25mill this season and next. He has everything the Maple Leafs are looking for.

 As for Murray, he is currently out with an injury. As of this writing, there is no definitive time frame as to when he’ll return. His name has been mentioned many times before as a trade candidate. He is a left-shot but can play the right side. But when he’s in the lineup, he’s been really good. In fact, the pair of Murray and Savard have been one of the best when paired together in terms of expected goals against when on the ice. I would prefer Ryan Murray, myself, as he skates like Morgan Reilly and hits like Jake Muzzin.

Murray is an excellent passer and can start the puck up the ice in transition. That would fit an element of what the Maple Leafs are looking for. Like Savard, Murray has one year left after this season. His cap hit is slightly higher at $4.6 million.
With Seth Jones and Zach Werenski being basically untouchable, Savard and Murray would be your most ideal candidates for trade in this scenario. Now what would the Blue Jackets get in return?
 
The Blue Jackets need an impact scorer. If they can throw three lines at you with noted scorers, that would be ideal. They also want someone who can skate and can shoot.

He shoots ...he scores

This fits the profile for Kasperi Kapanen. He’s just 23. He has two years remaining after this one at just $3.2 million cap hit. He’s also an RFA after the season. To be able to bring someone in like this fits what the Blue Jackets are looking for. Plus can the Maple Leafs afford to keep him given their cap crunch and others needing a new deal?
To a lesser degree, I could see the Blue Jackets inquiring of a player like Andreas Johnsson. He has three years after this one at $3.4 million cap hit. He had 20 goals last season but has been slowed by injuries this season. I don’t think the Blue Jackets would have to give as much up for Johnsson if they believe his outlook is that of a potential 20-goal scorer.

 Keep a couple of things in mind here. First, the Maple Leafs are under a ton of pressure. If they miss the playoffs, it’s not out of the question to think Kyle Dubas could be in trouble. There’s sky-high expectations in Toronto and not making the playoffs is unacceptable in their mind. They will do everything they can to find a hockey deal.
 Second, the Blue Jackets are the ones in the driver’s seat. They have depth. They have cap space. They can explore the market and see if something falls to them that makes them better. They aren’t under the same kind of pressure to make a deal. If the asking price for Kapanen is too much, the Blue Jackets will move onto something else. Patience could work out in their favor with all the flexibility they have.
Third, any deal from the Leafs would have to work within the cap. To say it’s a tight squeeze doesn’t give it justice. They will have to be creative in not only finding the right hockey deal, but making it work to the cap. Perhaps the Blue Jackets can get more out of this if discussions ever get that far.
And finally for now, it would take a lot to pry Savard from the Blue Jackets. He’s steady. He’s dependable. He’s a shot-blocking machine. You better be offering up an impact forward if you want to make that kind of deal happen.

 So a framework of Kasperi Kapanen for David Savard with some other pieces involved? I’ve seen crazier things suggested. Both players would fill needs of their new teams. Both players fit the kind of trade each team is looking for. With all of these elements in play, it’s no wonder the Leafs and Blue Jackets would make for perfect trade partners. But will they talk? And would they even try to make a deal with both fighting for their playoff lives in the East? Stay tuned.