Maple Leafs need to make a big off-season move before it's too late

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Daniel Lucente
August 20, 2024 (5:34 PM)

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There have been no shortage of big name players being traded this off-season, and the Maple Leafs have missed out on some massive players like Patrik Laine.

The Maple Leafs appear to have been watching other teams around them make big moves this off-season, while they have been sitting around watching. Sure, GM Brad Treliving was busy signing some players during the free agency period, but none of the players were what people would call a "big fish".

The Leafs could have added superstar Patrik Laine to the team at a very cheap cost, but their biggest rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, capitalized instead. Laine would have been the perfect addition to help address the lack of depth scoring that the team has, however they chose to look the other way.

Imagine the Leafs' second line with Patrik Laine, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner. That would have been a deadly trio of players.

Sure, Laine is coming off a season in which he only played 18 games and managed just six goals and three assists, but he's healthy now, ready to go, and playing on a line with players of that caliber could have easily pushed him back into that 40-goal territory. Don't forget, Mitch Marner had 85 points last year and can easily hit 90 this year, and Tavares will look to bounce back from his 65 points, in what experts are saying was the least productive career since his rookie campaign.

Patrick Laine hasn't been the same since he joined the Columbus Blue Jackets, but who can blame the former 2nd overall pick of the 2016 NHL draft. It's not like Columbus has been any good recently. Unfortunately, the Leafs could have bragged about how they now had the top two picks of the 2016 draft in their lineup, as Auston Matthews was selected right before Laine, but they chose not to.

Another example of how the season has not gone the Leafs way is the Brandon Montour situation. The team decided to sign Chris Tanev instead, which could prove to be costly in the long run.

Chris Tanev played in 75 games last year split between the Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars, and scored two goals and 19 points. Compare that with Brandon Montour who played in 66 games with the Stanley Cup winning Florida Panthers and scored eight goals and had 33 points, and well there's your answer. The sad thing is that Montour actually admitted he had discussions this off-season with the Leafs and could have almost signed with the team, but ultimately chose to go with the Seattle Kraken.

Brandon Montour is a native of Brantford, Ontario and used to watch the Leafs growing up. He's also played against the Leafs a lot being in the same division as them when he was with the Panthers. He did admit that the idea of signing with the Leafs was in his mind, but he ultimately said Seattle felt like the right fit.

«There were conversations [with the Maple Leafs],» admitted Montour. «When I looked at the roster and myself, I thought I could definitely help and it was intriguing. But there's a lot that goes into [free agency] with my family and what they need as well as business decisions.

«There were definitely talks and we thought about it, but there were tons of options for us and we're obviously grateful for Seattle and that experience.»

- Brandon Montour

It will be interesting to see how the final weeks of the summer play out for the Leafs, and it's never too late to make a big move. The time is better that it happens now as opposed to when the season starts, as you want to avoid a distraction at all costs.

Source: NHL.com
Brandon Montour Stats

Source: ESPN
Chris Tanev Stats