Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae collides with Washington Capitals left wing Ivan Miroshnichenko. (Image via AP Photo/Nick Wass)The Toronto Maple Leafs have been encouraged to explore a trade for Washington Capitals forward Ivan Miroshnichenko as the club is looking forward to strengthening its roster for the upcoming 2026-2027 NHL season. Earlier, Toronto added to its bottom six this offseason as the Maple Leafs brought in plenty of new forwards.Reports suggest that the club could use some more offense and another addition to the top six. As they are planning to add more players to their team, Maple Leafs analyst Alex Hobson urges the team to try to acquire Ivan Miroshnichenko from the Washington Capitals.Why should the Toronto Maple Leafs trade for Washington Capitals' former first-round pick Ivan Miroshnichenko?The Toronto Maple Leafs, under the management of John Chayka, are continuing to strengthen their roster before they start their campaign in the upcoming season. A recent analysis by Maple Leafs analyst Alex Hobson suggested that the Toronto Maple Leafs should consider Ivan Miroshnichenko as their potential trade candidate, and they should act on the situation by pursuing the 21-year-old winger.The reason why the Toronto Maple Leafs should acquire Ivan Miroshnichenko is based on his upside, affordability, and Toronto's need for young offensive depth. It is to be noted that he was selected 20th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft and has had three productive AHL seasons in a row. So far, he has only managed 52 NHL games with 13 points combined over three seasons.Despite his limited NHL opportunities, he is known for his good skating ability and goal-scoring instincts. As the Maple Leafs are looking to improve their depth scoring beyond their top offensive players, Miroshnichenko could provide scoring from the middle or bottom six while developing into a larger role.Besides, another factor could be his low-risk acquisition. Since he has yet to establish himself as a full-time NHL player, his trade value is relatively modest. He also remains on an entry-level contract, which could give huge relaxation to the team’s cap space.Meanwhile, speculations are doing the rounds that Miroshnichenko could be placed on waivers ahead of the season, so trading him for a mid-round pick would definitely help the Maple Leafs.Although the Maple Leafs have already made several roster changes this offseason after missing the playoffs, GM John Chayka said he wanted to add more to the bottom of the lineup and be better defensively.“We needed to get better in terms of the defensive side of the game. We needed to address our penalty killing. And we needed to bring some more speed to the lineup. If you look at the full picture, we are a much more dynamic team today than we were 24 hours ago,” Chayka stated. (source: Heavy)It has not been confirmed whether Miroshnichenko would be considered for the team or not, but the Maple Leafs will soon be gearing up as they will open their season on Sept. 29 against the Montreal Canadiens.