Leafs on again tonight, beating the lowly Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on a late goal by the great Auston Matthews with 30 seconds left to play. The Leafs look like legitimate Stanley Cup contenders right now and the latest rumours circulating have them trying to obtain Glendening from Detroit and Ryan McDonagh from the Rangers. Word is that the player whom the Rangers would take in return is Kasperi Kapanen, whom i like very much.
I'm not sure i'm making this trade if i'm the Leafs. While i've always liked McDonagh very much and he's exactly what they need on defence, he has a lot of mileage on his body and i'd be surprised he'd re-sign with the Leafs a year or so from now when he'll be a free agent. Kapanen will look great next season as a regular with the Leafs once the likes of Komarov and Bozak have departed as free agents. I love his speed and his offensive skill. He's also a heck of a penalty killer. Plus the Leafs will be facing either Tampa or Boston in the first round of the playoffs and i'm not confidant they'll be able to pass by those teams, whom i predict one of them will reach the Stanley Cup finals.
The only players right now i'd trade if i were the Leafs are the likes of Josh Leivo, Matt Martin, Roman Polak, Connor Carrick, Tyler Bozak & Leo Komarov.