The Toronto Maple Leafs have done a masterful job so far this season with managing the salary cap and carrying just enough players to meet the NHL roster limits. However, all great things come to an end, and for Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs, they will need to address the elephant in the room fairly soon. As of right now, they have $731,563 available in cap space and are at 23/23 contracts on the NHL team. When Calle Jarnkrok comes back from LTIR, that will be $2.1 million added to the salary cap, which will put Toronto over the ceiling and essentially force them to make a move or two to become compliant with the NHL salary cap.
This is where the Pittsburgh Penguins come into the conversation. Their GM, Kyle Dubas, was formerly the Maple Leafs’ GM, which means he is quite familiar with most of the players, and that should make trading easier. Also considering the Penguins current state, they will need to move out contracts so they can start their restructuring. Conveniently, both teams have needs that the other team needs, so the potential of them being trade partners may be considered low, but the fit is nearly perfect.
Toronto Should Target
Starting out with the Maple Leafs, they only truly have a few needs, one of which is a third-line center. They may also benefit from a depth-scoring winger as another option outside of their AHL candidates. The players the Maple Leafs should target from the Penguins are Kevin Hayes, 2 years at $3.5 million (retained), or Drew O’Connor, 1 year at $925,000.
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Starting with Hayes, he is a great third-line centerman option for all contending teams. He is a 32-year NHL veteran who would bring a physical style but can also put pucks in the net while taking shifts against the opposition’s top line. In 727 NHL games, he has scored 171 goals and 247 assists for 418 total points. Hayes has the ability to step into the Maple Leafs lineup and be the stabilizing force down the middle of the ice alongside Auston Matthews and John Tavares. There may be questions surrounding his skating and speed, but Toronto can counteract that by putting him with faster players like Pontus Holmberg and Bobby McMann. In terms of contracts, he has already had his contract retained once to $3.5 million; if the Maple Leafs can sweeten the pot, Dubas may be willing to retain his cap hit down by even $750,000, which would bring him down to $2.75 million for two seasons as a third-line center.
O’Connor is another name that should be relatively high on the Maple Leafs list. At just 26 years old, he brings exactly what you would want in your middle six. He can score goals, throw hits, and be used on the special teams. O’Connor would fit well alongside the Bobby McMann’s, Nicholas Robertson’s, and Holmberg’s of the world, and he could fit fairly well under Craig Berube’s system, which could unlock a bit more potential out of him. His cap hit is just $925,000, which would be easy for the Maple Leafs to take on if they traded anyone in their bottom six, but at that cap hit you want the best bargain for your dollar. O’Connor had 16 goals last year with the Penguins, which was a career high. There is no saying that if he joined the system put into place in Toronto, he could hit 20 or 25 goals in a season.
Pittsburgh’s Target
The Penguins targets will more than likely be players that Dubas is familiar with. However, they would also need to be a player that the Maple Leafs would agree to trade away. Names like David Kampf, Robertson, and Janrkrok are players that Dubas could be interested in adding to his Penguins lineup.
Jarnkrok and Kampf appear to both be on their way out of Toronto, especially given their cap hits. Dubas was the one who brought both of them to the organization, and because of that, he may be willing to bring them to Pittsburgh with him. Kampf could take some pressure off of the top players like Evengi Malkin and Sidney Crosby by playing in a shutdown role lower in the lineup. Whereas Jarnkrok has the potential to play up and down the lineup. He is a 20-goal scorer and seems like the type of player that would fit very well on a line with Crosby. The only issue that arises is their cap hits; however, both teams’ GMs are great with juggling the cap, which would make it less of an issue than it seems on paper.
Lastly, Robertson has earned a spot under Berube in Toronto. However, it does seem that if the organization got a trade with him in it, then he would be packing his things and be on his way. It’s already surprising to me that Dubas didn’t make a trade for him this offseason, but now that we are two months into the season and the Penguins’ season is already at risk, he may be willing to pull the trigger on the deal. Robertson would likely have the chance to play more minutes per game and higher in the lineup, which could be the environment that he needs to have a breakout season.
Both teams have a lot of moving parts, but one thing is certain. The Maple Leafs will need to clear a few players off of their salary cap, especially closer to the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. As for the Penguins, they need to have a major shake-up as soon as possible before this season, which is already at risk, is completely lost. These two teams make a lot of sense to pull off a trade; it would address needs on both sides.
