Leafs consider trade to snap out of their current tailspin

Enough is enough. The Maple Leafs’ current tailspin has prompted team insider James Mirtle of The Athletic to state how Toronto could need a trade to snap out of it and get the success GM Kyle Dubas has experienced in the past with in-season moves. He lists the acquisitions of Jake Muzzin and Mark Giordano as examples, and very important ones seeing that the Maple Leafs desperately need to bolster their back end.

Mirtle believes Dubas could get some help on the trade market by moving some of his underperforming players to free up more cap space, notably Justin Holl and his $2 million cap hit, or forwards Pierre Engvall ($2.25 M) Nicolas Aube-Kubel ($1M) or Alex Kerfoot with the highest price tag at $3.5 million. However, the insider does not rule out the possibility of moving an even bigger name if the losing streak continues.

Mirtle is also very clear with the targets the Maple Leafs should go after with Arizona Coyotes’ Jakob Chychrun or Anaheim Ducks’ John Klingberg as possible options. This is however no small in-season trade here and this could be too costly for Toronto in the end.

Other suggestions from Mirtle include Vladislav Gavrikov of the Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils’ Damon Severson or Arizona’s Shayne Gostisbehere.

It is well-known now that Dubas is after help on the blue line after he was reportedly in the mix for Ethan Bear of the Carolina Hurricanes, who got moved to the Vancouver Canucks last week.

Fans know that a trade will be hard to pull off in Toronto though Dubas is one GM to be creative, which could include parting with a quality draft pick or a promising prospect.

If you were Dubas, which defenseman would you target and when to do pull the trigger? Does it smell like the panic button is about to get pushed?