Things are going pretty good with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the moment. Once again they are at the top or close to the top of the Atlantic. Playoffs are a certainty, goaltending hasn’t been this good in a long time, and they are finding ways to win even in games where they haven’t looked their best. Things are good but that doesn’t mean that things can’t be better and one of those opportunities for improvement is likely in the form of secondary scoring.

Secondary scoring is a tricky thing to look at, and I’ve given it a bit of attention already this week. Injuries and a shift to lower event hockey have an impact on the numbers, and as the Leafs’ health improves and the players get more time in with Craig Berube, there is a lot of potential for things to improve internally.

While internal improvement is possible and likely to occur to some extent, it is also worth considering the abundance of options the Leafs have to explore for external improvement via trade. Nick Kypreos’ recent column highlighting some of the more high profile trade targets around the league included a number of secondary scoring options who also fit the philosophy of Craig Berube and Brad Treliving’s plans for physically tough and defensively sound bottom six forward group.

Tanev seems like the best name to throw into the mix first as the family connection makes him particularly enticing. The pending UFA from the GTA seems like a strong candidate to re-sign with the Leafs as well, assuming things go well, and even if he isn’t a trade target, he seems like a potential part of the Leafs offseason plans.

With seven goals and six assists in his 30 games for the Kraken this season, Tanev’s numbers would be strong output for a third line player and you can easily make the case for him playing up in the lineup when needed as well.

He checks the physicality boxes and has spent plenty of time on Seattle’s penalty kill.

Might as well focus on both of the Kraken options first, and most of what can be said for Tanev’s play can be said about Gourde as well. He’s a physical penalty killer that produces, having scored five goals and put up 14 points he checks a lot of boxes as well as being a strong centre option, something that would alleviate some of the pressure on Fraser Minten.

Gourde, like Tanev, is also a pending unrestricted free agent, but doesn’t have a brother on the team or an Ontario birth certificate that increase the narrative about having a potential higher likelihood of returning the Leafs next season. He might be viewed more as a typical true rental player which is not without its merit.

It just doesn’t feel like it is a proper NHL season unless we at least raise the issue of Scott Laughton becoming a Maple Leaf. His four goal night probably makes a lot more people open to that idea as well. But for the entirety of his decade long NHL career Laughton has been rumoured to Toronto and yet he has played every single one of his NHL games for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Maybe this year is different. Laughton’s history has shown that he can be a capable third line point producer while bringing some of the physical edge and defensive play that Tanev and Gourde do. He just doesn’t do these things as well or consistently and at the same time his asking price won’t be far off of what it costs to land one of the better alternatives.

Laughton has the added bonus of having another year at $3M AAV, which isn’t a great deal, but will probably be the going price for a third line center.

Vatrano is another regular on the Maple Leafs trade speculation circuit and perhaps it finally comes to fruition in 2025.

Franks’ 30 goal outing in 2023-24 hasn’t been forgotten even if his start to this season has tempered any expectation that it will be a regular thing. Vatrano is a bit more capable of creating offence for himself rather than relying on others to create for him, and that sets him apart from the crowd. There are still the physical elements that the Leafs look for and the Ducks will certainly be looking to cash out on their best rental player.

I don’t know the odds of the Maple Leafs and Kyle Dubas hooking up a deal, so I’ll likely assume that Drew O’Connor is out and focus on Matthew Oliver of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Both of these players on paper look like they are potential bottom six energy players that can produce some offence, but given that both are later bloomers on very cheap contracts, there is definitely some “buyer beware” thinking that these guys could just be the right fit for their current situation and putting them on a new team could revert them to being AHL/NHL tweener type players.

The cap hit for both of these players couldn’t be any better, but gambling on if they can deliver on a new team isn’t worth the risk.

Oliver is more attainable and is maybe a fit in a swap for Nick Robertson or someone similar on the Leafs (Holmberg?) that might be about the Leafs having the right fit for their depth rather than seeking a bona fide upgrade.

The names on Kypreos’ list are interesting, and players like Sam Bennett, Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson, and Chris Kreider also fit the hardnosed hockey/additional scoring need for the Leafs, but would come at an increased price.

This is also just one list, and Elliotte Friedman floating Juuso Parssinen’s name in 32 Thoughts shows that it could be a buyer’s market for secondary scoring.