Dark Horse Center Emerges as a Trade Target for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto is in desperate need of center help, and they could look to the league's newest club to pick up the perfect piece to their bottom six.
It's no secret the Toronto Maple Leafs are desperate for help down the middle.
There are several options they could pick and have been seen scouting several teams over the past few weeks.
Brad Treliving needs to make a move soon, and amongst all the names he can choose from, there's someone who he could turn to who could change everything for the team.
The Athletic's James Mirtle thinks Nick Bjugstad has emerged as a potential candidate for the Maple Leafs and if they can pull off a trade to acquire him, it would be one of the biggest moves they could make.
Who Is Nick Bjugstad?
A big, big guy standing 6'6, Bjugstad would solve Toronto's center depth woes and add a body that fits perfectly into Craig Berube's system.
Not the youngest player on the market at 32 years old, Bjugstad makes Toronto better by adding a dependable scorer who can very smart two-way hockey, win faceoffs, and score consistently.
Coming over to Lane Lambert in Toronto could also fix his defensive shortcomings and help him make an even bigger impact with the Maple Leafs.
He pounces on loose pucks and his presence for point shots could strengthen Toronto's offensive output even indirectly but it's not surprising to see him score 15-20 goals.
For his career, the veteran center has 316 points in 704 games including this season where he is struggling a bit with only 5 points in 10 games and hasn't found his footing since recovering from an upper-body injury in the offseason.
If Toronto wanted to acquire him, it shouldn't take too much especially if Utah falters, and Toronto has a few pieces they could ship off to grab him.
If they were to package David Kampf and a 2nd or 3rd rounder in 2025 that should be enough to pry the future free agent away.
He's worth it too, and his experience in the playoffs can help too. If there was anyone who could bring Toronto's Stanley Cup to Toronto, Bjugstad could do it.
If he gets a fresh start and works with Toronto to fix up any holes in his game, they could be a deadly force for opponents come playoff time.
So come on over Nick Bjugstad, we would love to have you.
| POLL | ||
Should Toronto trade for Nick Bjugstad? | ||
| Yes! He would be great! | 308 | 44.6 % |
| No! We can do it without him! | 383 | 55.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
