The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to be active ahead of the March 7 trade deadline, but one analyst expects them to trade a centerman.
The Maple Leafs will likely have to trade off their NHL roster to add players and make the salary work. NHL analyst Chris Gerics of HockeyPatrol names David Kampf as the top trade asset for the Maple Leafs ahead of the trade deadline.
“The team needs to add some insurance and could do so by dangling the defensive-minded David Kampf as trade bait,” Gerics wrote. “You’d think trading away a center as your team is already thin down the middle is a death sentence for Brad Treliving but it has it’s benefits if you look past the surface. Toronto has either Fraser Minten or Connor Dewar able to slide in for Kampf and while it’s not the same level of defense, it’s serviceable for Toronto’s bottom line (who doesn’t play a ton of minutes anyways).”
Kampf is in the second year of his four-year $9.6 million deal with the Maple Leafs. He’s currently the team’s fourth-line center, but Gerics thinks the salary can be used elsewhere.
“He’s signed for the next two years at $2.4M, which is a big overpayment for what he’s offering Toronto and they need the cap space to make other moves in the future,” Gerics wrote.
Kampf has recorded 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in 40 games with the Maple Leafs this season.
Analyst Proposes Kampf Trade
If Toronto does make Kampf their top trade target as Gerics wrote, he believes Toronto should look to add a defenseman.
Gerics proposed a deal that would see the Maple Leafs trade Kampf and a 2026 third-round pick to the Minnesota Wild for Declan Chisholm.
“It’s not the flashiest trade available on the market, but it’s often the smaller trades that have the biggest impact,” Gerics wrote. “It would be a chance to bring in some much-needed help at a minimal cost, and Brad Treliving should give GM Bill Guerin a call very soon.”
Chisholm could play on the third-pairing for the Maple Leafs. He signed a one-year $1 million deal with the Wild this past summer. With Minnesota this season, he’s skated in 46 games recording 2 goals and 9 assists for 11 points.
Maple Leafs Looking to Add a Center
Trading Kampf would be a bit of a surprise as Toronto has been in the market for a center, so getting rid of one would be odd.
Ahead of the March 7 trade deadline, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving made it clear his team is looking to acquire a centerman.
“I think we’ve got depth,” Treliving said on January 13. “We got lots of guys who can play the position. Is it an area that we continue to try to upgrade? I would say this: the guys at the top of the food chain are pretty darn good. Auston, and how can you talk anything but positively about the year John’s having? So to say you’re going to get somebody above that, I don’t think that’s realistic. Is there ways we can continue to look at adding to that? Sure. I think there’s some depth there, is that an area we’d like to continue to look at? I’m sure it’s one. But, we along with 15 or 18 other teams are looking at center depth, so it seems to be a position de jour.”
The Maple Leafs are 32-19-2 and in second place in the Atlantic Division.
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