The draft is almost here. The start of free agency will follow. Trades could happen at any moment.What roster needs does Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka need to address in the coming weeks? Let’s take a closer look, position by position.ForwardsLeft wingThe current options: Matthew Knies, John Tavares (?), Matias Maccelli, Steven Lorentz, Dakota JoshuaThis could be a solid position for the Leafs depending on how they go about a few things in the coming weeks (and maybe months):
Do they hold on to Matthew Knies?
Do they keep the No. 1 pick and draft Gavin McKenna (or Ivar Stenberg) with it?
Do they move John Tavares from centre to left wing?
The Knies decision is a big one, obviously. Keep him, and the Leafs have one of the top 20-ish best left wingers in hockey in their lineup, whether Knies ends up playing with Auston Matthews again or not. (The NHL still has a hard time listing players at their proper positions. Bobby McMann, for example, is listed as a centre even though he’s never played a single game there in the NHL. But for what it’s worth, Knies ranked 13th among left wingers with 66 points last season.)Add McKenna (or Stenberg), and suddenly the Leafs are set at top-six left wing for the foreseeable future with two young wingers of considerably different skills: McKenna (age 18), the slick playmaker, and Knies (age 23), the power winger. Both would be candidates to play with Matthews.The Tavares positional question is a fascinating one. He has spent his entire NHL career (and likely his entire playing career, period) at centre. But he’ll be 36 in September and heading into his 18th season. Moving him to the wing would lessen his nightly burden considerably — and keep him fresher for the playoffs, assuming the Leafs can get back there next spring.Tavares played left wing for Team Canada at men’s worlds last month and put together a solid tournament: three goals, 6 points in 10 games.Is it more advantageous for the Leafs to have Tavares as their third-line centre or second-line left wing? It’s probably the latter as third-line centres are much more readily available in free agency than second-line wings. A second-line left winger, mind you, making only $4.39 million cap dollars in Tavares’ case.Matthew Knies is the Leafs’ top left winger — at the moment. (Troy Parla / Getty Images)But here’s where it gets complicated. Slide Tavares over to the wing, keep Knies, draft McKenna, and who gets the top two slots?On merit, it’s Knies and Tavares. But what would that mean for McKenna? Playing him on a third line as a teenage rookie would ease the competition he faces, but it would also have him playing with lesser linemates. And if the Leafs’ new coach, whoever that may be, intends on asking less of a Matthews-led top line than Craig Berube did, the team must deploy its second and/or third line more often in those spots. Not the right usage, in short, for either McKenna or Tavares.Trade Knies, on the other hand, and the Leafs could conceivably use McKenna with Matthews, put Tavares on the wing of the second line and then create a defense-minded third line of some kind.They might still want another winger who can step into top-six minutes if needed. Is there still going to be a place for Matias Maccelli, a pending RFA? Should there be a place?Fourth-line left wing, meanwhile, figures to go to Dakota Joshua (assuming he’s not traded) or Steven Lorentz, though the Leafs could certainly use a more distinct energy type down there, too.CentreThe current options: Matthews, Tavares (?)There has been plenty of talk (and rightly so) about the need for the Leafs to improve on defence. The middle of the ice, though, is equally in need of repairs – and might be the sleeper issue of the summer.Right now, it’s Matthews and … who?Acquiring someone to play in front of Tavares down the middle (and maybe even with him) remains a huge challenge. There are zero top-six options in free agency, not after the Columbus Blue Jackets locked up Charlie Coyle on a six-year contract in May. Which means it’s only through trade that Chayka is solving this need. The trick will be finding enough assets to check that box as well as the one on the back end.I mentioned Nico Hischier recently as a dream possibility. Dylan Larkin has emerged as an option, potentially. Robert Thomas might be one, too. Elias Pettersson would be a high-risk (to say the least), high-reward kind of play. Ryan O’Reilly, on the other hand, would be low-risk in the last year of his contract.Maybe the most realistic option is New York Rangers centre (and U.S. Olympian) Vincent Trocheck, who has three years left on his contract at a cap hit of $5.6 million. Trocheck, who had 16 goals and 53 points in 67 games last season, would be just the kind of strong two-way (and right-handed) centre the Leafs need to remove some of Matthews’ defensive burden.He is turning 33 in July, so he’s more of a short-term option.Vincent Trocheck would be a strong No. 2 behind Auston Matthews — if the Leafs can swing a trade with the Rangers. (Wendell Cruz / Imagn Images)But what does he cost? The Rangers could be eyeing a scoring winger and might just ask for Knies, which should be an easy no for the Leafs given Trocheck’s age and ability. Would Chayka dangle 20-year-old Easton Cowan instead? Dealing an intriguing young forward for a 33-year-old, albeit one at a position of need, might not be the wisest move for the Leafs. Would Cowan, plus other future goodies (maybe the Colorado Avalanche’s 2027 first) be enough for New York?
