Toronto Maple Leafs: Boston Bruins trade shouldn’t put pressure on Kyle Dubas
The Boston Bruins acquired Charlie Coyle on Wednesday and apparently Kyle Dubas has to make a trade to help the Toronto Maple Leafs.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Jake Muzzin, it signaled to teams that they were going to make a serious push to contend in the playoffs.
The Boston Bruins made a trade for Charlie Coyle on Wednesday, a move that it is hard to ignore as they could be Toronto’s first-round opponent. While the Leafs shouldn’t turn a blind eye to what Boston did, it shouldn’t pressure general manager Kyle Dubas to make a move in response.
Sure Coyle fills a need for the Bruins as a potential second line winger or third line centre, but it’s not like they got Mark Stone, Matt Duchene or Artemi Panarin (knock on wood that this doesn’t happen). The Leafs can’t make a trade just because a rival did, unless the move can help the team now and going forward.
Where is this sentiment coming from? In response to the Coyle trade, Curtis Rush wrote for Forbes that the Leafs had no option but to make a deal, because the team isn’t good enough to get by Boston in the playoffs.
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On top of that, there have been people saying Toronto should be looking to add toughness to the lineup, because teams have figured out how to play them. So does that mean the team should be looking to trade for Adam McQuaid, just because they need to make a deal for a physical presence?
Adding one player won’t make that much of a difference when it comes to getting the team to play with more physicality. The team has to buy into that mentality and even though one player can bring that element, it won’t help if he’s the only one.
So yes, the Leafs shouldn’t just sit back if the rest of the division is making moves. However, considering all the moves they’ve made to this points (Muzzin, and John Tavares), there is only so much more Dubas can do unless he wants to make serious changes to the roster.
All the team can be worried about at this point is what they can control and that’s how they play. If Dubas makes a move or not shouldn’t be the concern until it happens; so until then people need to be patient, which might be tough, but it still remains the best option.
Next. Leafs should put in waiver claim for Devante Smith-Pelly. dark
What do you think about the Leafs’ need to make a deal? Should there be pressure to get something done or should they remain patient? Let us know in the comments below.