Brad Treliving's Must-Make Trade Deadline Move Revealed by Latest Stats
With the Maple Leafs coming off a brutal 3-0 loss to Vancouver, it highlights a need that some new stats back up, and Brad Treliving has to do something to fix it.
For all the power the Toronto Maple Leafs possess, losing to a tired and weary Vancouver Canucks team, and unable to put any pucks past Kevin Lankinen was a sign that perhaps the team isn't as solid as initially anticipated. They were sloppy, weren't aggressive and couldn't have had a worse bounce back game.
Something needs to change, and whether it's a coaching change for their struggling powerplay, or adding some much needed scoring depth; a move needs to be made.
Some new stats have shown that while Toronto can continue to win thanks to their defense and goaltending, they desperately need offensive help.
Toronto Needs To Make A Trade To Improve Woeful Offense
Thanks to some new team stats courtesy of JFresh on X; a prominent hockey social media account who focuses on player values and analytics, Toronto's goal-scoring prowess is in need of some help.
Toronto is scoring less than expected and sit 20th in the league as of January 12. Being outranked by teams such as Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, and Montreal is not a good sign for a Leafs team clutching to the top of the Atlantic Division.
They've been solid in the net and it's been a big reason to keep them in games, which is a huge turnaround from previous seasons but you can't win if you don't score.
Toronto's third line has been as hot and cold as ever, Auston Matthews is now just finding his form over halfway through the season due to injuries, and William Nylander has gone pretty silent over the last few games.
Their other pieces aren't pitching in either like Max Pacioretty; who was signed to bring veteran scoring depth but only has five goals in 30 games; while an improvement over his previous two seasons it's a far cry from the 24 goals he averaged playing in Vegas.
Brad Treliving's need to add a defensively sound third-line center is a great way to go about improving the roster, however if he doesn't address the team's scoring woes, it won't matter at the end of the day, no matter how good the goaltending is.
