Maple Leafs trade deadline preview: Best targets and trade bait - Sportsnet.ca | Canada News Media
Connect with us

Sports

Maple Leafs trade deadline preview: Best targets and trade bait – Sportsnet.ca

Published

 on


Current cap space: $60,602

Projected deadline space: $130,527

Pending free agents:

UFAs:

• Frederik Andersen, 31, $5 million

• Zach Hyman, 28, $2.25 million

• Wayne Simmonds, 32, $1.5 million

• Alex Galchenyuk, 27, $1.05 million

• Zach Bogosian, 30, $1 million

• Alexander Barabanov, 26, $925,000

• Jimmy Vesey, 27, $900,000

• Jason Spezza, 37, $700,000

• Joe Thornton, 41, $700,000

• Travis Boyd, 27, $700,000

RFAs:

• Travis Dermott, 24, $874,125

• Nic Petan, 25, $775,000

• Denis Malgin, 24, $700,000

• Joseph Woll, 22, $800,000

Draft picks

2021: 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th

2022: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th

Needs

You don’t invite Amazon Prime Video cameras to follow your team for a season-long docuseries titled All or Nothing if you’re not pushing to win a championship. If there isn’t the belief that you have a core that is capable.

General manager Kyle Dubas has never shied from shaking up or improving the pieces around his nucleus of offensive explosiveness. And although some might view the return of a healthy Wayne Simmonds and Jack Campbell as enough to get the Maple Leafs back on track, Dubas should account for more injuries and do his best to patch up the weak spots.

We see two significant areas of need: a top-nine forward (either a top-six winger or a true third-line centre) and another battle-tested defenceman, preferably one that excels on the penalty kill.

Toronto’s top six operates better with Zach Hyman causing turnovers and charging on the forecheck, but the third line is weakened whenever he’s promoted.

Seeking a 3C like Buffalo’s Eric Staal or Columbus’s Nick Foligno is one route. Another is renting a winger like Buffalo’s Taylor Hall, New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri, Anaheim’s Rickard Rakell, or Nashville’s Mikael Granlund or Erik Haula.

On the back end, Nashville’s cap-friendly Mattias Ekholm is the crown jewel of the trade-bait board — but his suitors will be plentiful. Smart depth options include Columbus’s David Savard, Buffalo’s Brandon Montour or Colin Miller, and Detroit’s Marc Staal.

Savard and Staal are the fearless, shot-blocking, penalty-killing types Toronto could use. The Leafs’ PK has sunk to 21st overall (75.6 per cent).

Any deal Dubas makes will require some creative cap management and, like, some salary retention by the rebuilding team or a third party. And inducting any U.S.-located players will require a lengthy quarantine, so Dubas will be incentivized to improve his roster in advance of the April 12 deadline.

Potential Assets to Move

Alexander Kerfoot: Kerfoot falls into the same middle-class, middle-six category as off-season trade-aways Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen. He is a useful player with a palatable contract. That makes him movable. Kerfoot, 26, is versatile enough to play centre or wing, plus pitch in on special teams. He brings a mix of speed and grease that allows him to complement high-end skill players, and his stock is higher now than it was a year ago. Clearing his $3.5-million contract (through 2023) would give Dubas room to stickhandle.

Rodion Amirov: To get value, you must give value. If Dubas was willing to trade his 2020 first-round pick prior to the selection, why not after? The talented Amirov has nine goals in the KHL as a teenager and could be a player. His stock is high now, but by the time he’s ready to contribute to the Maple Leafs, their window may have shrunk.

Rasmus Sandin or Timothy Liljegren: It would take quite an impact player in return to deal away one of the Leafs’ top defence prospects — especially after trading Mikko Lehtonen in early March — but these are the types of bold moves that should be on the table. Could Sandin help the Leafs’ chances in a seven-game series this spring as much as, say, Ekholm or Mississauga native Vince Dunn?

Draft picks: The Maple Leafs already spent their 2021 third- and seventh-round picks but could definitely consider surrendering their first- or second-round choice. Dubas has never been shy about shedding a (presumably late) first-round pick to help the present. He did it in 2019 (Muzzin) and 2020 (to shed Patrick Marleau’s salary). Why not 2021?

Seattle Expansion Considerations

As a rule, Dubas prefers trading for players with a little term remaining on their current contract. Hence the deadline acquisitions of Jake Muzzin (2019) and Campbell (2020), both of whom had a season-and-a-half left on their deals with L.A. and would therefore be available for two playoff runs with the Leafs. That extra term is also what makes Nashville’s Filip Forsberg and Ekholm (both UFA in 2022) so attractive.

The catch this season is that bringing in a high-end talent with term also means either (a) protecting that player in the expansion draft or (b) risk losing him after a short rental.

Toronto already has four core forwards (John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander) and four core defencemen (Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, Justin Holl and Muzzin) it would rather shield from Ron Francis.

Unless Dubas elects to go the blockbuster route, this might be the year to simply rent and release.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)



Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

Published

 on

 

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.

“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”

Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.

The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.

Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.

“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.

“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”

The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.

“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”

Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.

“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.

___

AP cricket:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

Published

 on

 

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.

Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.

The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.

The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.

Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

Published

 on

 

Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”

The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.

Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version