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Friedman: Maple Leafs have received calls for Engvall and Mikheyev, Dermott likely to be traded
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Photo credit: Gaelen Morse-USA TODAY Sports
Nick Barden
Mar 18, 2022, 16:45 EDTUpdated: Mar 18, 2022, 19:46 EDT
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What’s the best part about trade deadline season? Is it the rumours? Is it the big trades? Is it the fake accounts posting fake big trades?
The Maple Leafs have became busier and busier during deadline day throughout the past few seasons. This year, it looks like it might be their craziest trade deadline yet.
There’s rumours about acquiring Mark Giordano, rumblings of Toronto trying to get Hampus Lindholm, and even some reports about Kyle Dubas looking for a goaltender.
But what if I told you there was more?
On Friday afternoon, Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek released their latest edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast. During the Maple Leafs portion, Friedman gave some details on what Dubas and his staff might be planning in the next few days.
Friedman on what Toronto might do ahead of the trade deadline:
“I don’t think he (Dubas) wants to trade his first-rounder. I don’t think he wants to trade his top prospects for a rental. I do think [Travis] Dermott’s going to get traded. I think everybody here realizes it’s time for a fresh start, team and player, so I think regardless of whatever happens, I think he’s getting moved. So, I think they’re going to try and get one or two defencemen and I think they’re also going to see if they can get a depth forward. It’s a hard thing, like [Wayne] Simmonds and [Jason] Spezza, they’re such great pro’s and they’re such great people, but I think they feel they need to upgrade the fourth line.
“You know, one thing I’ve heard is I think they’ve been asked about [Pierre] Engvall and I think they’ve said no. The same for [Ilya] Mikheyev. I think they’ve been asked about Mikheyev and I think they’ve said no. I think they’ve said ‘Look, that line this year has been one of their best lines, why would we do that?’ So I think Dubas could do a couple defencemen and a forward, and some of it might be moving money around.”
A few things are interesting here. I think Dermott getting a fresh start is deserved, but also surprising. The 25-year-old hasn’t played in Toronto’s last three games and has looked like he’s lost his spot in the Maple Leafs’ lineup. But, if Toronto is looking to acquire more than one defenceman, like Friedman said, why not hold onto Dermott?
It wouldn’t be the most ideal situation for the 25-year-old, but he’s still an important defenceman for this team. Although giving him an opportunity to play more minutes on another team would make more sense, if you can get some value in return.
Another interesting tidbit from Friedman was that teams have inquired about Engvall and Mikheyev. This is probably the most surprising of the two.
The two have been playing very well on the third line with David Kampf and it likely wouldn’t make sense to move either one once everyone returns. But looking at Mikheyev and his good play, he could be flipped for something good, since he likely won’t be back playing in Toronto next season.
With Dubas declining other teams, it looks like they’ll be using the 27-year-old as their own rental. In reality, both sides of that coin make sense. You can keep Mikheyev and he’ll likely be a good third liner or you could move him and rake in a decent return.
With three days remaining until the 3PM deadline on Monday, it’s only going to get more interesting from here. By Tuesday morning, the Maple Leafs could have a totally different defence core, or it could be one minor move. It’ll be exciting to see what happens.
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