Adam Oates saves Luke Schenn's career, David Pastrnak finds his voice, Maple Leafs trade options (and they're not defencemen) plus nine more NHL goodies in this edition of Luke Fox's Quick Shifts.
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5.
To be sure, the Maple Leafs' top trade priority is defence help, particularly on the right side.
Reading between the lines of comments made by coach Sheldon Keefe and GM Brad Treliving this week, Toronto would also like to upgrade its centre depth.
Max Domi has filled in admirably as a third-line pivot, but his trust defensively is iffy.
Sense is, the Leafs would prefer a pure pivot and keep Domi as a middle-six utility player.
Three rental names to keep in mind: Anaheim's Adam Henrique, Montreal's Sean Monahan and Seattle's Alexander Wennberg.
The Ducks and Kraken would a) need to declare themselves sellers and b) retain salary for a hypothetical trade to work.
6.
Speaking of fake Seattle-Toronto swaps, I like the fit of Will Borgen with the Leafs more than, say, Philadelphia's undersized Sean Walker or left-shot Nick Seeler, although Seeler is super-cheap ($775,000).
Borgen is only 26, so his best shifts may lie ahead. He's a stay-at-home, six-foot-three, 204-pound right shot who blocks shots, lays hits, logs 17 minutes a night and starts 66 per cent of his shifts in the D-zone.
He does the not-so-fun stuff well.
Furthermore, Brad Treliving needs to think about 2024-25 as well, and Borgen (no-trade protection) is signed through that season at a friendly $2.7-million cap hit, after which he turns UFA.
Of course, Seattle would have value in hanging on to the asset as well.