The worst kept secret in the NHL seems to be that the Maple Leafs are hunting for centre. It makes sense. The William Nylander experiment didn’t pan out, Fraser Minten’s development would make him a questionable choice at best, and Max Domi has been a solid stopgap, but his defensive play and streakiness eliminate him from having his name written in ink at the centre position. While Dewar, Lorentz, Holmberg, and Kampf are all usable depth, heading into the playoffs with one of them in a 3C role would certainly be a misstep by Brad Treliving. As such the hunt for a centre is on and Darren Dreger unloaded a blunderbuss full of potential options.

From TSN Insider Trading:

During Tuesday’s edition of Insider Trading, Dreger noted that the Maple Leafs would not be in the running for potential high-end trade candidates such as Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller of the Vancouver Canucks or Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers, but could be looking to add help at centre.
“Brock Nelson is interesting from the New York Islanders. There are a lot of teams that have an interest in him. So, I think the group that the Toronto Maple Leafs have identified as a little bit more diverse, I think you’re looking at Ryan Strome, maybe Ryan O’Reilly – how about a return there from Nashville? Scott Laughton is out there again, but the Flyers want a first-round draft pick in return, so maybe that’s a stretch,” Dreger said on Insider Trading. “Mikael Granlund’s name is out there. Yanni Gourde. Nick Bjugstad. I’ll tell you this: Brad Treliving’s whiteboard is probably jammed with more affordable centres.”

There is something a little short-sighted about the Leafs not taking a look at Miller, Pettersson or Zibanejad. With John Tavares’ contract up and uncertainty over what comes next for Mitch Marner as well, looking at these centres, especially the friendly-priced Zibanejad and Miller makes some long-term sense. The catch with all of these players is having to give to get and the Maple Leafs are likely to match the best offers that either the Canucks or Rangers would receive for their stars. There’s also the matter of making cap space work in the short term, especially with Pettersson, which makes him seem like a no-go.

Luckily for the Leafs, that list from Dreger still includes a pretty good group of players worth considering, and as such it seems worth ranking them based on their appeal.

1. Ryan O’Reilly

When the Leafs brought in Ryan O’Reilly a few years back I admit to being hesitant about it. The fact that he was battling injuries at the time also raised some Nick Foligno vibes and prior to saying the full picture of that trade deadline the move didn’t seem as inspired as it was.

The fact that O’Reilly instantly meshed with the Leafs and gave Toronto the option to go three lines deep with ease or to overload their top six is the entire purpose of what Toronto wants to achieve again.

The Stanley Cup success shared by Craig Berube and Ryan O’Reilly only adds to the appeal as does having someone who knows a good chunk of the team returning to the locker room.

O’Reilly’s pace has dropped off from last season but is still on pace to eclipse 50 points, a perfectly fine number for a third line centre or as part of the top six forward group. Throw in his two-way play and two more years of a very manageable $4.5M AAV, and Rielly is a solid option for the Leafs that might not require giving up their best assets.

2. Brock Nelson

Nelson has regressed to the numbers that he put up for most of his career outside the past two seasons that saw his numbers spike and exceed 30 goals for three consecutive seasons. This year, Nelson is back to being a very good third line centre that can play up in the lineup as needed and as a pending UFA there is the possibility that the Islanders will eat half of his $6M cap hit to make him a premium option at the trade deadline.

If familiarity was a selling point on O’Reilly, it makes sense to speak to where that familiarity applies with Nelson as well and that could be by putting Nelson with Tavares from time to time. There is some history there, but Nelson’s best hockey was exactly a result of stepping up after Tavares departed Long Island.

At 6’4, size is a big part of the attraction here, as is the two-way game, as is the potential to be a 30 goal scorer again. It seems worth considering what he could do with Max Domi as a set up man for him, or getting the opportunity to play with William Nylander creating opportunities for him.

From everything said about the Leafs priorities for centres with term, Nelson might not make as much sense unless the Leafs have the opportunity to gauge his interest in signing beyond 2024-25.

3. Scott Laughton

Scott Laughton is cheap. At $3M for this season and next, fitting Scott Laughton into the Leafs lineup isn’t difficult and he checks some of the two-way boxes for Toronto, although without the upside you’d get with O’Reilly or Nelson.

Laughton isn’t as much of a play driver as the other two and while he fits the hardnosed approach favoured by Brad Treliving and to some extent Craig Berube, how much of a catalyst for creating offence Laughton can be is a question mark. He is far more likely to fit the complimentary player status of players like Domi, Robertson, or Pacioretty, than being the line’s anchor and that has been why he’s been a source of frustration for John Tortorella at times as well.

That said, I like Laughton and bringing him into the fold for the Leafs isn’t a bad thing if the team has a plan for him.

The low cost of Laughton likely extends to not having to give up as much to bring him in and if Toronto wants to address other spots in the lineup as well (say a 4th or 5th defenceman), Laughton could be a good way to go.

4. Mikael Granlund

Maybe this is the year that Mikael Granlund to the Leafs happen. He was a frequent target during the Kyle Dubas years and then Dubas couldn’t get rid of Granlund fast enough in Pittsburgh. The end result has been some decent time spent in San Jose and Granlund looks like a viable option again.

Size and physicality will be the first issues that pop up when talking about Granlund, and those are valid concerns, if not for you then at least for Brad Treliving who is likely wanting to upgrade in the size department over Max Domi.

The fact that Granlund is a puck controller and drives his lines is the biggest selling point here and makes Toronto a little tougher to play against in the neutral zone.

The fact that Granlund has been a minute eater and playing over 21 minutes a night in San Jose is also a plus and whether the Leafs take advantage of that or right size his competition, there is likely a lot Toronto can get out of the small Finn forward.

The Sharks have maxed out their salary retention, so Granlund’s $5M cap hit (pending UFA) would either need to be absorbed entirely by the Leafs or a third party team would have to get involved, but history has shown that logistically it can be worked out.

While Granlund may not be the most exciting name out there, his recent success in San Jose make him perhaps the best under the radar option.

5. Ryan Strome

Strome gets the slight edge over Yanni Gourde for me just because he seems like more of the mystery box option. Strome has consistently had middle of the road numbers in Anaheim but on a deeper team and likely getting to play against easier competition as a result, maybe his numbers improve. That is absolutely wishful thinking, but as is he’s still a decent 3C option.

The catch is largely Strome’s cap hit and his term, and at $5M, he doesn’t seem worth it. That might actually be his selling point though, and if there is the potential for the Maple Leafs to jettison some contracts (i.e. David Kampf) while bringing in Strome, it might be a wash. Given that the Ducks don’t look like they will be in contention anytime soon, the possibility of getting creative in a trade with them might be what makes them most attractive.

Strome doesn’t have anything that sells you on him the way the previous three players do, but he’s good enough at everything and could be someone Craig Berube could try in different situations a bit more than needing the right fit like with Laughton.

He doesn’t scream exciting trade target but wouldn’t be a disappointing option either.

6. Yanni Gourde

Gourde would be the Leafs committing more towards the defensive side of the puck than the offensive one. Maybe that’s okay but knowing that Auston Matthews’ health might be a wild card this season, foregoing offence up the middle seems like a misstep.

Despite Gourde being the most frequent hitter of the players mentioned so far (with the exception of Laughton), he is the smallest of the group at 5’9 and bringing Gourde into a bottom six that already includes Connor Dewar, Max Domi, and Nick Robertson, size could be a factor.

You could also argue that a lot of what Gourde brings on the defensive side of the puck the Leafs will also potentially have as an option in Calle Jarnkrok, assuming he is healthy enough to return for the playoffs and a player you can comfortably fit on the second line should be the priority.

Gourde is too many seasons removed from looking like the right offensive fit and at a $5.17M cap hit (pending UFA), he would need 50% salary retention to make sense, and the Leafs would be committing to using Max Domi as injury replacement option for Matthews or Tavares in the top six while improving the defensive zone play of their bottom six.

It’s not to say that it doesn’t work, it just doesn’t seem like the best option.

7. Nick Bjugstad

If the goal of looking a centre was to upgrade the 4th line spot with someone who could pull spot duty on the third line, I’d very much look at Nick Bjugstad. Given that the assignment was to find a second/third line centre option, Bjugstad simply isn’t it.

There might be a fascination in him because he’s 6’6 and had a strong year in Arizona last year, but at just under 13 minutes a night, it points to Utah using him as a fourth line guy with special teams responsibilities. That ain’t it.

At $2.1M for this season before coming up as an unrestricted free agent in the summer, a 50% retained Bjugstad is a great price and great depth to consider but doesn’t change the fact that he is a “cross your fingers and hope he’s the right fit” option. For context both Bjugstad and Lorentz are sitting at four goals this season, though Bjugstad has two more assists.

If the Leafs are giving up assets it better be someone who can be justifiably ahead of Fraser Minten on the depth chart.

Of course, these aren’t the only options the Leafs could be looking at. Other names have been floated around like Nazem Kadri, Vincent Trochek, and prior to re-signing in Anaheim, Frank Vatrano. There is also the wild card of Jonathan Toews and readiness for a return to hockey. While it’s nice to be flooded with a list of names that could very well be on Treliving’s list, there remains little certainty on who the priority is. And given that there is still plenty of time, it might not hurt to kick the tires a little harder on J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad as well.