TSN in their infinite wisdom created what they call their “Click Bait” “Trade Bait” board where they have one sentence of text that reads: “Check out the players on TSN Hockey’s Trade Bait board.”

I thought it was weird they say that since in the top 50 “players” they list below it in a table, three of them aren’t players at all. One is Carolina’s first round pick, and the other is Detroit’s cap space. The first you can say well it will be a player eventually so it sort of represents one, but the second one ain’t right at all!

Anyways it’s Saturday before the trade deadline hits on Monday. We’re all waiting by our computers and phones waiting for the Bobfather to announce a trade bomb for our teams, or at least tell us that our rivals got fleeced.

So removing the two “players” that aren’t players, and removing the three Leafs that are on the list (Barrie, Kerfoot and Kapanen), let’s have some fun with the remaining top 45 players who are trade bait and see if we can’t come up with a deal that makes sense for Toronto.

TSN Hockey's Trade Bait List - TSN.ca

  1. Chris Kreider — would love him, and would be willing to put together a hefty package of Gauthier, Bracco and a 2nd. More seriously we can’t afford the acquisition cost.
  2. Vladislav Namestnikov — Ottawa takes our sloppy seconds, not the other way around. He is a rad player though, so it’s kind of a shame.
  3. Jean-Gabriel Pageau — [read above]
  4. Sami Vatanen — he’d be a useful if unamazing RHD to play in the top 4, and as a pending free agent he shouldn’t break the bank.
  5. Ilya Kovalchuk — [read what I said about Ottawa but multiply it by Vomit City]
  6. Andreas Athanasiou — Meh, pass.
  7. Erik Gustafsson — what the hell he scored 60 points last year??? Outlier year, it seems, and he’s a lefty. Pass.
  8. Dustin Byfuglien — if I had any idea that he’d be healthy enough to make it back ahead of the playoffs to get up to anywhere close to game shape, I’d give up not a lot but not nothing. I don’t trust that he can though, so pass.
  9. Erik Haula — love the player, don’t see the need.
  10. Jesper Fast — screw you it’s not Lent yet!
  11. Patrick Marleau — oh my god I might actually die laughing if this happened but also pass.
  12. Joe Thornton — would be kinda cool if they don’t ask for a lot. Imagine him and Spezza together lol.
  13. Mike Hoffman — good player, but I ain’t making that trade with Florida.
  14. Elias Grant — screw you I don’t need your permission!
  15. Barclay Goodrow — A+ name, low salary, 1 year left after this season, maybe a 4th line center. I would do it just to hopefully FINALLY push Gauthier off this damn team.
  16. Robin Lehner — even if we didn’t already have Campbell, no.
  17. Brandon Saad — how much would I give up for a Proven Winner(TM)??? Not much in this case, because meh.
  18. Kyle Palmieri — [read the Kreider entry]
  19. Vincent Trocheck — LOVE him as a player, even if he’s had some down years of late. Would still pass for the same reason as Hoffman.
  20. Jonas Brodin — maybe a perfect fit for Toronto: has 1 year left, actually good defensive defenseman, shoots left but I believe plays on the right. Would cost you a Kapanen and maybe a bit more... I’d be tempted though, especially if we weren’t so injured at forward.
  21. Conor Sheary — why are making a trade with another AHL team we need to help our NHL roster!
  22. Troy Stecher — as a potentially cheap right shot, maybe? His underlying numbers don’t wow me so I wouldn’t give up a lot to do it.
  23. Wayne Simmonds — we already traded the next Wayne Simmonds last year, but I would love him for sentimental reasons if it doesn’t cost a lot to get him.
  24. Matt Dumba — if we want to lean into the Tyson Barrie stratagem then sure, I’d prefer Brodin though.
  25. Tyler Ennis — [read previous Ottawa player entries]
  26. Josh Anderson — Another ‘love the player’ but don’t see a great fit situation.
  27. Pavel Buchnevich — [read above]
  28. Maga DeAngelo — I will trade the Rangers an oil drum of bed bugs and earwigs for his bedsheets and I will even retain the maximum allowable salary for it.
  29. Jeff Petry — I’d make an exception for the Vomit City rule, since he also seems perfect for what we want (right shot defensemen with another year on his contract) but might be the most expensive to acquire.
  30. Shayne Gostisbehere — [read entry about Dumba]
  31. Rocco Grimaldi — I had to look up who this was. Pass.
  32. Hahahahahano Ristolainen — SEATTLE. KRAKEN. BLOG.
  33. Ron Hainsey — I will make an exception to the sloppy seconds rule for Hainsey because I miss his grump-sass.
  34. Mike Green — oh it would be funny if he vetoed a trade here before and allowed one now, but pass.
  35. Nate Thompson — [Vomit City sloppy seconds rule in full effect]
  36. Ben Hutton — we already have a bunch of meh bottom pairing LHD. Pass.
  37. Chris Tierney — [Sloppy seconds rule in effect]
  38. Ryan Donato — Wasn’t he the centerpiece that Minnesota got back in the Charlie Coyle deal just last year? What the hell are the Wild doing???
  39. Craig Smith — Expensive, UFA next year, a RW. Pass.
  40. Brady Skjei — Left shot. Pass.
  41. Mikael Granlund — Expensive, UFA next year. Pass.
  42. Michael Del Zotto — Ha. Ha ha. No.
  43. Sam Bennett — Any trade with a western team where we can turn their bust into a useful impact player would be amusing...
  44. Josh Manson — god damn do I want Manson and screw the Ducks and their stupid getting fleeced by Boston. Get fleeced by US damn you! Give us Manson for Bracco!
  45. Lias Andersson — would be an interesting lottery ball to turn into a project but I’d look to do that more in the off season if ever.

UPDATED: Insider Trading asks: is Tyson Barrie on the market? | by Katya

Why are we trying to trade Tyson Barrie? | by Ryan Hobart at TLN

How bad are the Toronto Maple Leafs defensive results, really? A deeper look at the blue line ahead of the deadline | by Bill Comeau at MLHS

31 Thoughts Podcast: Trade Deadline Edition | Transcript by MLHS with this fun quote:

I think there are teams who want him. I could see Dallas liking him. I could see Boston liking him. I could see Toronto liking Thornton. The thing is Doug Wilson has made it clear internally that it has to be Joe Thornton’s call. They’ll work on it together.

Toronto is looking for depth. We heard Sheldon Keefe speak on Tuesday about the bottom six and say it’s not even about offense; they just can’t get caved in. They got caved in against Pittsburgh. After that game, I heard Dubas was starting to look around again.

I’ve also wondered about Khaira and Toronto again. I know they talked about it last year at this time. I’ve kind of wondered if Toronto would revisit that. I know he hasn’t had as great of a year, but he’s a better player than he’s shown. I’ve wondered if that has been rekindled at all.

AROUND THE HOCKEY WORLD

DGB Grab Bag: Saving the trade deadline and celebrating a historic anniversary | by Sean McIndoe at The Athletic

Speaking of the deadline, a couple of trades swung on Friday, as well as one late rumour/news update:

You hate to see it...

Have a great Saturday everyone!

What trade bait player do you most want the Leafs to acquire?

Kreider6
Namestnikov5
Vatanen11
Byfuglien8
Thornton10
Brodin50
Petry32
Manson124
Simmonds2
Dumba20
From The Branches