The Toronto Maple Leafs have entered the Christmas roster freeze, which means we are days away from the holiday season.
With Santa soon to make his journey across the world visiting young children, Toronto Maple Leafs fans may have sent some requests to Jolly Old Saint Nicholas.
While the number one wish on any fans list would be that Stanley Cup that has eluded the Toronto Maple Leafs since they last won it back in 1967, however this list will not consist of wins or on-ice results.
I don’t think Santa can help with that, but here is a list of other things the Leafs do need.
Toronto Maple Leafs: A List for Santa Clause
William Nylander Extension
For the first time in his career, William Nylander will likely be playing the mid-season festivities as the Swedish-Calgarian has jumped out as a superstar in the league.
Nylander is in the final year of his six-year deal that pays him just under $7 Million per season and is looking to cash in on a 40-goal breakout season in 2022-23. This year, Nylander has been even better and while his pace has somewhat slowed down, he is still looking as though he will pass last season’s numbers.
At this point, fans should except any length of contract from the skilled right winger, whether it is one, three or eight years.
It is likely the best interest to both the player and organization to go after the max contract. The two sides should settle on a $9.75 Million deal over eight years and give him an $11 Million signing bonus on July 1.
Two Top 4 Defenseman
This may be the biggest ask for Santa as there are not a lot of top four defenseman available on the market.
On the current roster, when everyone is healthy the Maple Leafs have one top pairing defenseman in Morgan Rielly and one borderline second pairing defenseman in Timothy Liljegren.
The rest of the group are quality bottom pairing guys, but the team needs a couple defenders that can play against the top opponents in the league.
Noah Gregor Extension
This may not be a priority as the Toronto Maple Leafs will still have his rights this upcoming off-season, but it would be a great story.
Noah Gregor came to camp on a Professional Try-out and earned a one-year deal worth the league minimum. The Beaumont native surpassed expectations despite having Ryan Reaves stapled to his hip to start the year.
The 6’2″, 210 lbs winger uses his blazing speed and physical strength to get in on the forecheck and has been reward with five goals to star the season. Gregor is on pace to easily surpass his career high of ten goals.
Gregor is still just 25-years old, so who he be would he be willing to sign for term to have stability? Could a six-year deal worth around $1 Million a year entice the former second round pick?
Joseph Woll’s Health
If you want to know the most valuable piece to the Toronto Maple Leafs season, it would have to be Joseph Woll’s healthy for the remainder of the year.
Woll has been plagued with injuries throughout the early part of his career as the Boston College product has never been able to play more than 32 games in a season; which came way back in the 2019-20 season with the Toronto Marlies.
While he is not the favourite for the award, Woll has at least put his name into contention for the Calder Trophy after being the Maple Leafs early season MVP.
With Ilya Samsonov’s game completely falling off the map, the organization needs Woll to stay healthy if the team has any chance of success this postseason.
Brad Treliving Not to Over Value Depth Defenseman
There is no question that the Toronto Maple Leafs Achilles heal is their lack of highend defenseman. As stated above, the team lacks top four defenders, while having an abundance of depth.
Mark Giordano, TJ Brodie, Jake McCabe, Conor Timmins, William Lagesson and Simon Benoit have all proven they can be bottom pairing defenders (maybe not Giordano anymore), so Brad Treliving needs to be sure about what defenseman he brings into the fold.
The Toronto Maple Leafs general manager needs to make sure he doesn’t make a trade just to make a deal. The only defenders that Treliving should be targeting is a player that will be a substantial upgrade and not someone who may be slightly better than a player like McCabe.
