The Toronto Maple Leafs were active on the opening day of free agency, but they likely aren’t done.
Toronto has a couple of needs and could look to trade away some other players. Although the Maple Leafs did a good job adding bottom-six forwards like Nick Paul, Teddy Blueger, Colton Sissons, and Brandon Duhaime, the team may not be done.
Instead, NHL analyst Justin Bourne of Sportsnet believes Toronto should pursue a trade for Trent Frederic from the Edmonton Oilers for Steven Lorentz.
“Hey does EDM want to get rid of that Frederic deal? For Lorentz maybe? Seems like a buy-low guy and team still needs toughness,” Bourne wrote on X.
Frederic is entering the second year of his eight-year, $30.8 million deal. He struggled in Edmonton and was a healthy scratch at times, but with the Boston Bruins, he was an impact forward, so perhaps a change of scenery is needed.
Frederic recorded just 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points in 74 games last season for the Oilers. However, he would be a good bottom-six forward for the Maple Leafs. He’s a 6-foot-3 forward who has shown he can score and play a physical role.
His career-high is 18 goals and 40 points, which he did with the Bruins, so if he can rediscover that form, he’d be an impact player for the Maple Leafs.
Maple Leafs Upgrade Bottom-Six
Toronto was active in free agency, especially upgrading its bottom six.
The Maple Leafs focused more on bottom-six forwards, outside their big addition of goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. General manager John Chayka felt like the Maple Leafs needed more depth, which is what he added.
“We just felt like we needed depth,” Chayka said. “Colton has the abiltiy to win draws. Both are penalty kill guys. They have taken some hard-matchup minutes and done pretty well in those. Certainly, both are high-energy and can play a physical game. As much as it is about them — and it is — it is also about the top of the lineup and how we can get them deployed in a way that allows them to be at their best as well.
“Bringing in guys who have embraced those roles of taking the hardest minutes, are willing to do it, who enjoy it, and have built a career doing it kind of frees up the rest of the roster to do their thing. Again, it is one of these things where we are trying to find the right fit and the right way to put these pieces together. These are guys we targeted and spent a lot of time on. We feel like they bring this combination of speed, tenacity, and hard work on a consistent basis, night in and night out. I think the fans are really going to enjoy them.”
Toronto has done a nice job adding more depth and talent to hopefully be a playoff team again next season.
Oilers GM Likes Frederic
Although Frederic has struggled with the Oilers, Edmonton had high hopes for him.
After the Oilers signed Frederic to a long-term deal, GM Stan Bowman felt like he fit the team nicely.
“I think a couple of things about him. Number one, he’s a very unique player with the skillset that he has. He’s a big guy, he’s a physical player, he’s not afraid. He’s got that intimidation factor where he’ll go to the other team’s bench and challenge anybody, like stop messing around with our group. That’s something that I find, you either have that or you don’t. It’s really hard to bluff your way through that. And he’s just naturally that way,” Bowman said.
So, after one bad year, it does seem unlikely Edmonton would trade him.
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