Toronto Maple Leafs: Pros and cons of pursuing Alex Pietrangelo

Final Thoughts on Pietrangelo

This is not as much of a slam dunk as some Leafs fans want to make it seem because a lot has to go the team’s way.

First, there has to be no chance of him returning to the Blues because the current situation is that the team is telling him to see what the market has to offer. We saw this with Steven Stamkos only for him to take a more team-friendly deal to stay with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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There will be other suitors for Pietrangelo who could outbid Toronto but if the reports of him opening up to the idea of returning him, the Leafs need to take advantage of that. This also means trying to provide more incentive with a contract structure that is more enticing for Pietrangelo while also getting a bit of a deal in terms of a cap hit.

Again, this is certainly not a situation that is a slam dunk for Dubas and his front office staff and the team has to consider the long term implications of this move.

You can expect this debate to continue for the next few weeks and there is no guarantee that Pietrangelo signs on Oct. 9 like Tavares did.

If all else fails, Toronto could go with Plan B on the trade market but considering the few options that are out there, it will be costly one way of the other.

How do you think the Leafs should handle the Pietrangelo situation is he were to become available? What issues would have with a potential deal? Let us know in the comments below.