Rumour: Maple Leafs Eyeing Three Potential Players with Kyle Dubas' Pittsburgh Penguins

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Graham Montgomery
February 7, 2024 (7:39 PM)

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With the trade deadline just a month away, every team in the NHL will have to finalize their strategies for the trade market soon. The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a season full of ups and downs making it less predictable how they might approach the deadline. However, the team is reportedly interested in three players from Kyle Dubas' Penguins.

Toronto Maple Leafs To Upgrade In Goal With Alex Nedeljkovic

The first player the team is reportedly interested in is goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. The Leafs have famously ran into goalie problems this year with Joseph Woll's injury and Ilya Samsonov's inconsistent play. Nedeljkovic has a very respectable 8-3-3 record this season along with a 2.60 goals-against-average, and a .918 save percentage in a backup role with the Penguins this year.

While Martin Jones has played reasonably well in his call up, the team may very well be interested in adding depth at a position where they have been vulnerable this season. Nedeljkovic could be a solid option although the Penguins may be reluctant to move him as they are in a playoff race of their own.

Pettersson Makes Ideal Trade Piece For Maple Leafs Blueline

Another area where injuries have plagued the Leafs has been on the blueline. John Klingberg is out for the season and numerous other blueliners have missed large chunks of the season with various injuries. The Leafs have reportedly been looking to add some depth on the backend for some time but their previous options have all been taken by other teams. Pettersson comes at a cost with a cap hit north of 4 million dollars, but he brings some offense in addition to his stalwart defense. The 27-year-old leads the Penguins in +/- this year with a +21 rating.

Leafs Interested In Adding Help Up Front With Penguins Winger Reilly Smith

Finally, we come to the Penguins' forward group. This is arguably the area that the Leafs need the least amount of help in, and yet the team still has a problem with depth scoring. Reilly Smith has been a reliable depth contributor for the Penguins this year with 8 goals and 20 points in 41 games. Furthermore, Smith comes with over 800 games of NHL experience, including a Stanley Cup Championship.

All three of these options could significantly boost the Leafs heading into the playoffs. Whether or not the team pulls the trigger on any of them remains to be seen.

As seen on Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Targets from the Metro Division