Toronto Maple Leafs Report: Connor Carrick on trade block

With roster decisions coming for the Toronto Maple Leafs, it looks like Connor Carrick could be on the move according to a new report.

When the Toronto Maple Leafs originally acquired Connor Carrick from the Washington Capitals in 2016, there was a strong belief that he could be a part of the team’s rebuild going forward.

Now it looks like he could be the odd man out in the battle to make the team after a report from David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period suggests that the Leafs are shopping the right-handed defenceman.

It has been a tough road for the 24-year-old to get consistent playing time with Mike Babcock opting to put in Roman Polak despite Carrick having better possession stats and being a right-handed shot.

The Leafs traded Daniel Winnik and a fifth rounder for Carrick a second round pick, and Brooks Laich in part of major roster purge.

At the time it was looking like a good return for Winnik, who was a rental, considering Carrick had a strong performance in the AHL playoffs for the Toronto Marlies with seven goals, 11 assists for 18 points in 15 games. On top of that, the Leafs used the second round pick from the trade to take Carl Grundstrom who is showing great potential.

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Since Carrick has not played 160 games in the NHL (he’s at 114 games) he doesn’t require waivers so he could be sent down to the AHL. It looks like the team is gauging his trade value given his age and reasonable cap hit at $1.3 million.

Would it make sense for the Leafs to move on from Carrick? Considering how Igor Ozhiganov and Justin Holl appear to be ahead of him on the depth chart and not being able to separate himself despite getting some quality playing time in pre-season action.

Scott Wheeler of the Athletic wrote about the amount of training Carrick did in the offseason (Subscription required)  to get in shape for this season and is one of the fittest Leafs in camp. It appears despite the physical strength, Carrick isn’t the right fit for Babcock as a bottom pairing defenceman.

While it still remains to be seen how the blueline plays out going into this season, Carrick doesn’t appear to be in consideration. This is probably why general manager Kyle Dubas is seeing if he can get something that works better for the team rather than let a young player like Carrick waste his days sitting in the press box.

Should the Leafs be looking to move Carrick or should they try to hold onto him and see if he can be a contributor on the blueline? Let us know in the comments below.