Are the Leafs buyers at the trade deadline? First things first: I could not imagine a scenario where the Leafs look at their current group of wingers and decide that is the area they need to upgrade. It’s in the conversation for the deepest group of wingers in the league, buoyed by the fact that six of their wingers have already hit the 10-goal mark this season, with Patrick Marleau and James van Riemsdyk leading the way at 20 and 25 goals, respectively. To bring in a new winger likely means someone has to go out, and it’s unlikely the Leafs find themselves.

We won’t speculate who or what it’ll take to get the job done, but since every deal concocted up online seems to include Kapanen +a pick+ something else + something else, use that as your hypothetical trade deadline piece. These are targets, not necessarily trade hypotheticals themselves. Be imaginative:

If the Leafs were to make a move for a winger, here’s five who might make the grade:

Ah, the Golden Boy. Throw him up top with Auston Matthews and let him fly? Finally put Zach Hyman on the team’s fourth line (assuming he’s not headed the other way)?

The move doesn’t actually make too much sense, but it’s always fun to throw a big name in there. If New York can eat some of his $7.8 million, it’d bring in another member of the 2014 Olympic gold medal-winning team in Sochi, and that’s just the best way to build an NHL team four years later.

The Golden Boy 2.0!

Another expiring deal this offseason, Perron provides some level of intrigue as to a possible addition. VGK has the strangest couple offseasons coming up for, well, every team in NHL history. With so few players locked up long-term (eight forwards alone as either UFAs or RFAs this offseason), it might make sense for one of the NHL’s best teams to cash in on some assets. If they’re looking to sell, Perron might just be the one guy anonymous enough that they’d be willing to part with. He’s put up 55 points in 54 games this year on a the last year of a two-year, $3.75 million AAV deal, but at age 29 is in the situation where Vegas might be cautious of going long term. Heck, it’s crazy to suggest that they’d be willing to give up one of their best players this season, but someone’s got to force their hand to stop this crazy run at some point, right?

Could you see the Canadiens trading away their captain to their biggest rival? Could you imagine the hilarity and drama that would come from Montreal if they were to officially kick off their rebuild by conceding defeat to the… Toronto Maple Leafs? Pacioretty’s deal expires in 2019, so would give the Leafs a little bit more flexibility. That being said, it’s not totally out of the realm of possibility for the Leafs to be able to fit his deal into their contract conundrum. This is a player who’s produced 30 goals in each of the past five seasons and provides obvious value to any team he’s on.

Whole lotta New York on this list, but it’s nobody’s fault but their own. Grabner’s a former Leaf from that infamous 2015-16 season, and while he’s been gone, he’s turned his game up a notch. Grabner’s speed could make a ….

Well, he got traded to the Devils last night. Note to self to write these articles a little faster. The market is thinning by the second!

Detroit’s the only team on this list who’s been in, or at least should be, in the second year of their rebuild. With Nyquist’s contract expiring in the 2019 offseason, he gives teams an added year of control over the next two years to make a couple of playoff pushes. With his cap hit coming in at $4.75 million, he’s the type of player who you can slot into your lineup without a major cap crunch. Nyquist’s a career 0.59 points per game player, and is currently on pace for his third career 20-goal year.