DEEP WATERS

SAM FORREST

For a team that spends half its cap space on four players, it goes without saying that depth is an extremely important- if not vital, aspect of the team’s structure. Ever since new faces such as Brendan Shanahan and Kyle Dubas showed up in the front office, the Leafs ability to find cheap, reliable depth players has drastically improved. As the trade deadline looms, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the trade options available to the Maple Leafs and what the squad has to work with heading into the latter part of the season.

For this article, I’ll only be looking at players who are currently under NHL contracts, which means no prospects and no Josh Ho-Sang, mainly because I believe he won’t be getting an NHL deal until the offseason. I also only want to talk about players who I think have a realistic shot at playing for the Leafs this year, so I’m limiting it to 4 forwards, 3 defenseman, and 2 goalies.

I’m defining a depth player as anyone who wouldn’t be in the lineup when the team is completely healthy. I’ve created what I think would be the starting lineup when completely healthy, which is essentially the lineup the Leafs have been dressing in recent games. With the addition of Ilya Lyubushkin, I’m projecting he moves onto the second pair.

Bunting-Matthews-Marner

Kerfoot-Tavares-Nylander

Mikheyev-Kampf-Kase

Engvall-Spezza-Simmonds

Rielly-Brodie

Muzzin-Lyubushkin

Sandin-Holl

Campbell

Mrazek

LW - Kyle Clifford - 12 GP (TOR/STL), 0G, 3A (NHL) 5 GP, 1G, 0A (AHL)

With Nick Ritchie gone and Dzingel being claimed off waivers, the Leafs forward depth has taken a hit, and I’ll be honest, Kyle Clifford is pretty far down my list in terms of call up options. In my eyes, he only brings two valuable things to the Leafs. The first being his experience. The guy has played over 700 NHL games, over 60 playoff games, and has two Stanley Cup rings. That’s value that can’t be overlooked, especially in the playoffs. However, I think that pretty much sums up what Clifford brings. The only other thing I can think of is physicality, but that’s only necessary if Simmonds is hurt. In 10 games with the Leafs this year, Clifford has been poor offensively, poor defensively, and overall barely noticeable. Kyle Clifford can’t be your 13th forward if you want to go deep in the playoffs.

C/LW - Brett Seney - 2 GP, 0G, 0A (NHL) 32 GP, 13G, 21A (AHL)

Brett Seney is my personal #1 option to call up. I thought he looked good in the preseason, and most recently, has been the best forward on the Marlies, outperforming more common names like Ho-Sang in almost all even strength metrics. I think the reason he’s lower on the Leafs depth chart is because of his lack of NHL experience. Having played in only 55 NHL games in his career means guys like Clifford often get the nod ahead of him. I would ideally like one or maybe even two players ahead of Seney on the depth charts if possible. However, I think Seney could do well if given the opportunity, but whether or not he gets the chance remains to be seen.

RW - Joey Anderson - 4 GP, 0G, 0A (NHL) 28 GP, 14G, 8A (AHL)

A 2016 Devils 3rd round pick, Joey Anderson is one of my favourite depth pieces the Leafs have. He's tenacious and gritty, but still has enough raw skill to consistently put the puck in the back of the net. I was begging and screaming for the Leafs to give him an opportunity every time there was an injury or a player in COVID protocol. My thinking is that the Leafs don’t want Anderson to be a depth guy that they have bouncing up and down between leagues because he’s only 23. I think he can absolutely be serviceable right now, however it might be in both the Leafs and Anderson’s best interests to only bring him up if they need to.

C - Alex Steeves - 3 GP, 0G, 1A (NHL) 28 GP, 14G, 11A (AHL)

I like Alex Steeves a lot. A 22 year old UDFA out of Notre Dame, Steeves signed an ELC with Toronto in March of last year and has been having an amazing season with the Marlies. Steeves is a good all around player with fantastic offensive upside, and he made a seamless transition from the NCAA to pro hockey, something that can often be challenging for college free agents. Steeves is one of the best even strength forwards the Marlies have, and the only reason I’m keeping him lower on this list is because of the fact that he’s young. Like with Anderson, bouncing between the AHL and NHL is terrible for development, so I think it’s best for the Leafs to avoid calling him up unless absolutely necessary.

RD - Timothy Liljegren - 31 GP, 1G, 9A (NHL)

I cannot think of a player who has had a more unlucky and tumultuous development than Timothy Liljegren has. Mono in his draft year, a high ankle sprain as a 19 year old, and the loss of crucial developmental time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Liljegren has been solid for the Leafs this year in a more consistent role than in years past, playing only 13 NHL games in the two seasons prior. I like Lilly as a 7th defenceman, he can step in and be serviceable on the bottom pair, and he carries a sub-900K cap hit. Ideally, I’d hope by next season he can step up and lock in a full time role for himself on the back end, but for now I’m glad he’s a reliable depth piece.

LD/RD - Travis Dermott - 34 GP, 1G, 3A (NHL)

Travis Dermott won my, and most of Leafs Nation’s hearts when the Toronto native scored his first NHL goal for the team he grew up cheering for. The huge smile he flashed as his teammates smothered him will always have a special place in my heart. But with that being said, Dermott has declined hard over the past few seasons, going from a possible option to play with Morgan Rielly, to who I would consider the Leafs 8th best defenseman. I wouldn’t even be shocked if Dermott and his remaining one year at $1.5M is moved this offseason. Don’t get me wrong here, having a player like Dermott as your #8 is fantastic, it shows how vastly the Leafs D depth has improved. But it’s just kind of hard to watch as one of my favourite players falls so far down the depth chart.

RD - Alex Biega - 2 GP, 0G, 0A (NHL) 17 GP, 1G, 4A (AHL)

Biega is your typical 8/9th defenseman. You really hope to never see him, but you won’t flip your lid if you do. Biega is the type of defenseman who’s good some nights, brutally mediocre most nights, and awful other nights. He is what he is. I think if you’re able to worry about who your team’s 9th D-man is then you’re pretty well set everywhere else. Biega isn’t flashy, and doesn’t really stand out in any way, shape or form, but can hold his own when called up. That being said, I truly hope the Leafs stay healthy enough to the point where we don’t need to see Biega again this year.

Joseph Woll - .911 sv%, 2.76 GAA, 3-1-0 (NHL) .911 sv%, 3.32 GAA, 5-2-0 (AHL)

Woll has been an intriguing prospect for the Leafs since he came over from Boston College to the Marlies in 2019. I’ve always thought he had NHL potential, and although he looked a little shaky in his debut, Woll found his footing in the next few games he played. With Mrazek locked up for the next couple seasons, and Campbell hopefully sticking with the Leafs beyond this year, Woll finds himself in a position where making the leap to the show will be a tough battle. A solid goalie who has good positioning and a cool head, Woll is still only 23, so there’s lots of time for him to continue to develop. Woll likely won’t ever find himself as the #1 guy for Toronto, but as of right now with two netminders who are fairly injury prone, he’s a very solid player to have at #3.

Michael Hutchinson - .857 sv%, 4.57 GAA, 0-1-0 (NHL) .895 sv%, 3.52 GAA, 3-3-4 (AHL)

Yeah, he’s still here. Michael Hutchinson has become a sort of villain for Leafs fans after he won the backup role behind Freddy in the 2019-20 season, and promptly posted an .886 sv% in 15 games before being traded to Colorado to make room for Campbell. Most Leafs fans would die if they saw Hutchinson in a Leafs sweater again, but may I remind all of you guys that he is our #4. All things considered, I’m fine with having someone who’s played 137 NHL games in net as your backups-backups-backup. If it gets to the point where Michael Hutchinson is starting playoff games for the Leafs, that means we’ve been brutally and horribly injured in the crease, and that’s nobody’s fault, certainly not Hutchinson’s. So to be honest, I’m happy with having Clutchinson on the depth charts, but on the one condition that he stays as far down as possible.

CONCLUSION

After going through all the options the Leafs have for depth, I think I’ve come to the conclusion that only one position needs attention. The forward depth is solid, but it’s not great. It’s hardly a life or death situation, but I think the Leafs could use a really solid, skilled, 13th forward that could seamlessly fit in if need be. Our best call up option in Ritchie was just dealt, and I’ve expressed my distaste for Clifford being in the lineup when Simmonds is healthy, so I think another piece may be needed.

A player like Adam Brooks or Ryan Dzingel would be perfect.

Oh… wait… that’s right.

All jokes aside, I’m happy with the Leafs D and Goalie depth, so if Dubas wants to add a cheap, reliable depth player (or two) at the deadline, I think he should be looking at a player like Johan Larsson from Arizona. Six goals and nine assists in 29 games for the Coyotes centre, at $1.4M AAV, this could be a cost and cap effective deal if Arizona eats some cap.

But alas, Kyle Dubas never fails to make some interesting, out of left field moves, so maybe it’s just best to sit back and watch the show.