NHL Insider David Pagnotta in his latest article, may have shown the Maple Leafs' hand this deadline as he revealed what their plan for the next couple of weeks are.
Under two weeks away from the NHL Trade Deadline, the Maple Leafs and GM Brad Treliving are under immense pressure to make a move as fans are desperate for a move that pushes them into a deep Stanley Cup Playoff run.
There's so many questions about what type of players the team is going to bring in, but for NHL Insider David Pagnotta, he seems to have a pretty solid idea of how the Maple Leafs plan to approach the March 7 deadline:
The Toronto Maple Leafs want to add to their second-line, ideally at the dot, but they have also been asking around about big, physical bottom-six forwards.
Toronto's Trade Plans Need To Fix Season Long Issues
With Toronto looking to add a true 2C and some big-bodied forwards in their bottom half as Pagnotta suggests, it basically confirms all of our suspicions about the team this season; they need a real impact center.
While there's nothing against John Tavares, he's not the type of player that can put the Maple Leafs over the top, and going all in for a player like Brock Nelson, or Dylan Cozens is a really solid way to shore up their depth and move #91 down the lineup.
But their bottom half is pretty rough besides center. Pontus Holmberg is starting to put it together but there's no real track record there.
Nick Robertson is such a flash in the pan project that you never know what you're getting, and Max Domi has been god-awful.
All of them aren't the biggest bodies either and with Toronto needing that line to set the tone and bring some energy, they're gonna need to grow a bit.
Whether it's adding players like Trent Frederic, Nick Bjugstad, Mathieu Olivier, or Justin Brazeau are all potential cheap options who can add some scoring and also add the much-desired size and strength that Craig Berube loves.
It's going to take a lot for Brad Treliving to get everything he needs, and the team does need to add another defenseman as well because Conor Timmins and Philippe Myers don't really spark hope for a deep playoff push.
While it remains to be seen how Brad Treliving is going to approach things, Pagnotta seems to be on the right track.
Though don't get it twisted, the long-time executive is more than capable of of making a blockbuster surprise when you least expect it.
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