Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 potential trades to consider in off-season

Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates with Justin Holl Jake Muzzin Ilya Mikheyev and William Nylander (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

The Toronto Maple Leafs are once again left searching for answers after a disappointing end to their season, which could lead to some deals being made.

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ performance against the Columbus Blue Jackets exploited the team’s flaws, and showed that significant changes may be in order.

What exactly went wrong with the team in 2019-20?  It was probably a combination of factors, but a few things stood out the most.

So just how do the Maple Leafs go about fixing this team?  General manager Kyle Dubas has a lot on his plate in trying to improve them.

Free agency has some pretty uninspiring options (aside from Blues defenceman Alex Pietrangelo).  The Maple Leafs are also in very significant salary cap trouble.

To improve this team, the Leafs will need development from some of their younger players like Rasmus Sandin, Timothy Liljegren and Nick Robertson.  That alone will not be enough, though.  They also need to shake up the core with some trades.

A new identity is necessary for Toronto.  They cannot merely hope to outscore teams in the playoffs.

This strategy has failed for several years running.  The Maple Leafs are immensely skilled and talented at forward, but that does not sustainably win in the playoffs.

The range of trades for the Maple Leafs can go from minor tweaking to completely blowing the team up and starting over.  We look at some of the savviest and most realistic deals the Toronto Maple Leafs can make this off-season.