Christmas time is here! That can only mean one thing: it is time for Santa’s wish lists. Well, as members of Leafs Nation, we must send the jolly St. Nick our own hockey wish lists in hopes that he can work his magic and make a few things come true.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been lucky this season; the team has had a lot of injuries and grinded out wins to keep up in the standings. However, they haven’t played the best all season. Their defence has carried the bulk of the injuries and, as a result, has struggled a lot. We have seen the emergence of William Lagesson and Simon Benoit on the blue line, but over an 82-game season and playoffs, they can’t rely on just a few names; it needs to be a whole team. This is why we are asking Santa for three wishes, in hopes that at least two of them come true and the Maple Leafs can return to the offensive powerhouse that we all know and love.
Wish #3: A Clean Bill of Health
As previously mentioned, the Maple Leafs have had a good amount of injuries this season, especially on the back end. The correlation between those injuries and how they are playing defensively could be the reason why they can’t seem to hold down wins in regulation or have to come from behind and force overtime. However, sometimes correlation doesn’t equal cause. Meaning that yes, the blue line hasn’t been the best, but overall team defence is important. The forward group hasn’t been as good on the defensive side of the puck as they have in recent years, which can have a direct effect on the club as a whole. Regardless, for wish number one, we are asking Santa Claus for a clean bill of health for the team.
Maple Leafs Injured List: (Not including Jake Muzzin & Matt Murray)
- Joseph Woll – High Ankle Sprain (Week to Week)
- Timothy Liljegren – High Ankle Sprain (Week to Week)
- John Klingberg – Hip (Season)
- Mark Giordano – Finger (Week to Week)
- William Lagesson – Illness (Day to Day)
The injury bug has definitely hit the Maple Leafs hard, especially on the blue line. They have three defencemen who are regulars out: Timothy Liljegren, Mark Giordano, and John Klingberg, who would make up half of their blue line that started the season with the club.
Related: Maple Leafs’ Woll Deserves Calder Trophy Attention
Additionally, Joseph Woll is now out week-to-week with a high ankle sprain that he suffered against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 7 on what seemed like a nothing play, which resulted in him needing help off the ice. This is significant as he was playing extremely well this season and appeared to be taking over the starting goalie role from Ilya Samsonov. Unfortunately, injuries in sports tend to derail your progress, especially ones that keep you out longer than a few weeks, which could be the case for Woll.
Wish #2: Add Grit on the Blue Line
Everyone knows that Maple Leafs general manager (GM) Brad Treliving likes to build a strong blue line, and if you don’t know that yet, just look at his teams when he was with the Calgary Flames. They were big, strong, and deep. Well, that’s not the case for the Maple Leafs yet. Treliving will be adding a defenceman or two; that is not a secret to anyone. It all depends on who and what the asking price is. So, for wish number two, we are asking Santa Claus for a defenceman with grit. One name that has been brought up a ton is Chris Tanev from the Flames. Treliving knows the player and seems to like him, but most importantly, Treliving and the Flames signed Tanev when he was a free agent, leaving the Vancouver Canucks in 2020. This is important because there is a lot of familiarity between the two sides, so if the Maple Leafs can acquire Tanev, they would have a good chance to sign him to an extension.
Two other names that could be of interest to the Maple Leafs are Ilya Lyubushkin and Erik Gudbranson. Gudbranson is also a familiar face to Treliving from their time in Calgary. He would provide the Maple Leafs with bottom-pairing grit; he is hard to play against and enjoys the physical aspect that the team lacks on the blue line. As for Lyubushkin, a reunion with him and the Maple Leafs is a viable option. He was loved by the fans during his time in Toronto and fit the role that they were missing. Well, they are still missing that, and he could be a cheap option to provide much-needed physicality to the blue line.
Wish #1: Lock Up Willy Long Term
Number one on the wish list is probably everyone’s wish for Santa this year, and that is to lock up William Nylander long-term. He has had one heck of a journey as a member of the Maple Leafs. In the beginning, a good portion of the fan base was asking him to be traded for even a bag of pucks because they essentially hated him. Fast forward nine years and a good portion of the Maple Leafs fan base is begging the team to sign him before it’s too late and he leaves in free agency. We are all hopeful that Treliving and Nylander’s camp can reach an agreement and that he can stay in Toronto for years to come.
Related: Maple Leafs’ Nylander Needs to Learn Lessons From Gaudreau
Nylander has the perfect personality for a player in a market like Toronto. He doesn’t ever seem to be bothered by the outside noise, which is important because there is a lot of noise surrounding the Maple Leafs year-round. The biggest issue with getting a deal done is going to be the average annual value (AAV). Nylander could be asking for north of $10 million per season, and the Maple Leafs brass may want to stay around that $9–10 million range. The thing that works in Treliving’s favour is that he didn’t panic and try to sign him when Nylander was playing out of his mind at the start of the season. Instead, he waited, and now his play has dropped off a bit, which then helps the team in negotiations. Regardless, with the cap projected to go up to $87.7 million, there will be enough room to sign Nylander, but again, the AAV is going to be the deciding factor.
Treliving and the Maple Leafs will keep picking away at contract talks with Nylander and his camp until there is a deal in place. However, it would be ideal if they could lock him up for eight years with an AAV of $10 million. In total, Nylander will get $80 million on his next contract, not including any bonuses or incentives added in, and the Maple Leafs will still have cap space to ice the rest of the roster and remain competitive.
Santa, we know that not all of these things can happen; injuries happen and will continue to happen over an 82-game season. Trades with other teams happen that can take players off the Maple Leafs target list, and/or salary retention could be an issue to make a deal fall through. We also know that there’s a chance that Nylander and the club don’t reach an agreement and he leaves in free agency. But Leafs Nation has been good this year. All we ask is that you try your best to give us what we ask for. Thanks, Santa!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!