This is the season to believe that everyone is capable of putting the Maple Leafs over the top. The Leafs might just be Joel Edmundson and Ilya Lyubushkin away from contending for the Stanley Cup. They are not. The Leafs need to be looking at a couple of key pieces, namely a 3rd line centre and a 4th/5th defenceman. Those are crazy things to look for, but when you consider that the teams looking stronger than the Leafs will also be looking to upgrade, there is a need to get those trade targets right and ideally leapfrog the teams that the Maple Leafs are trying to catch.

I can’t say with much certainty that Brad Treliving is the right GM for this kind of situation. However, I can certainly appreciate his reluctance to mortgage the Leafs’ future, especially if he, of all people, has doubts about how far the Leafs can go. At the same time, “half-assing” the deadline and giving lip service to the idea of upgrading doesn’t do much for the future or the present.

Enter the trade board grenades. These players certainly aren’t grenades for everyone but seemingly so for the Leafs. On the surface, they might look like they fill a need but the reality is they only address part of an issue and don’t actually move the bar. Based on Frank Seravalli’s list at Daily Faceoff, here are four players to avoid:

I’m going to start off with an unpopular option right off the bat because I think there are a lot of people trying to make their peace with the idea of Gourde joining the Leafs, and there are a lot of people who believe that it is a good idea.

I don’t fall into that category for a few reasons.

The first is the pending unrestricted free-agent status. I’m not convinced the rental price on Gourde, especially considering that the Kraken would have to eat half of Gourde’s cap hit, would be the right price.

Secondly, Gourde is a few seasons removed from producing at a level that comfortably puts him in the top six. If either Matthews or Tavares is injured, you’d probably still be relying on Max Domi, and Brad Treliving would want to address that.

Finally, there is size. While Gourde is an absolute sparkplug and hits frequently enough to accommodate what Craig Berube and Brad Treliving want in the bottom six, Gourde’s size lacks an intimidation factor and while no one in their right mind would compare Connor Dewar to Yanni Gourde, at five times the price, I’d rather stick with what Dewar provides.

An alternative, but still maybe not ideal option instead of Yanni Gourde is Jean-Gabriel Pageau. He had a bit more size, a bit more offence, a bit more physicality, and another year of term on his deal. Neither is the ideal second-line centre who excels equally at both ends of the ice, but Gourde would be an expensive acquisition that leaves the Leafs wanting.

Saying no to David Savard is a bit of an annual tradition for me, but most of the reasoning can be summed up in the writeup from Frank Seravalli:

This doesn’t address a need for the Leafs and while Toronto was probably looking for a two-way defenceman rather than a stay-at-home guy, Savard is not someone the Leafs should be looking to settle on given that the present issue is that the replacement level guys on the third pair can’t step up into bigger minutes.

There is a natural desire to label Savard as Rielly’s temporary defensive partner but that really only works if Toronto shelters the hell out of both of them.

If Hakanpaa is in fact close to returning for the Leafs, taking a look at him before even considering defensive defencemen options would be a must. And while I’ve softened in my old age on the idea of trading for Rasmus Ristolainen, once again, I’d rather see the Leafs try to make do with the cheaper options they have at home. We are at the point where Cody Ceci is looking better by comparison.

If you want to see how quickly someone can change their tune, I will be the first to get excited about trade rumours involving Dylan Cozens in the offseason. As for the trade deadline, the purpose is to take advantage of the current window and Cozens might be too much of a project for the short term. His $7.1M cap hit until 2030 might not be worrisome for the long term, but would be difficult to make work in the short term, and would truly be the Leafs putting all their eggs in his basket as a playoff upgrade.

I can absolutely talk myself into Cozens. The fact that he’s 6’3 and hits, he’s young, and his contract won’t be an issue in a couple of years are all things that make me want to build a case for trading for him. After all, taking a risk and the gamble paying off is the best way to be in the best position for a cup run and the first-round playoff exit is already something Toronto has lived and may have to again regardless of who they trade for.

Maybe the Hurricanes and Avalanche have started things off where teams will put themselves out there a bit more this trade deadline, but since that doesn’t fit with Treliving’s history and Buffalo is unlikely to deal a 23-year-old with upside within the division, I’ll reconvince myself that if the Leafs are going to pay the price for a middle line centre, they are probably best to go with someone who they feel they know what they will get from them.

Okay, this is just because Josh Anderson was on the Daily Faceoff list and I didn’t want there to be any confusion that if I didn’t include him I was endorsing the Leafs acquiring him. Anderson has neither the offensive consistency nor the ability to thrive away from the puck to make sense for the Leafs. The fact that he plays wing pretty much guarantees the Leafs aren’t looking at him, but I’m adding him here anyway. And I’ll include Andrei Kuzmenko and Kyle Palmieri as unnecessary targets based on price and position as well.

Honestly, other than Yanni Gourde it doesn’t seem like there is any risk of the Leafs pursuing these players. And much like I did with Nick Foligno many years ago, I can probably do some mental gymnastics to talk myself into the trade not being as bad as it could have been before ultimately returning to my original stance post-playoffs. After the bar was set low last year, most of the players listed would actually be more aggressive moves by Brad Treliving and should be applauded.