Trade Pitch Has Maple Leafs Acquiring Matt Grzelcyk

The Toronto Maple Leafs have put an emphasis on defense and goaltending and a trade pitch has them adding a veteran defenseman.

The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Maple Leafs acquiring Matt Grzelcyk from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Maple Leafs acquire:

Matt Grzelcyk

Penguins acquire:

Pontus Holmberg
2026 third-round pick
2025 sixth-round pick

The proposed deal does make sense as Pittsburgh gets a young forward and two draft picks to help them in the future, while the Maple Leafs get a veteran defenseman to help them right now.

Grzelcyk signed a one-year $2.75 million deal with the Penguins this offseason. But, with Pittsburgh off to a slow start, he could be a trade candidate by the deadline and the Maple Leafs would be a logical spot. The former Boston Bruins defenseman has plenty of playoff experience and could be a third-pairing defenseman in Toronto.

In return, the Maple Leafs would deal Holmberg who’s 25 and is in the second year of his two-year $1.6 million deal. The Swede could be a bottom-six forward for the Penguins and add some depth scoring to the bottom lineup and be a developmental piece going forward.

Maple Leafs Trade Defenseman to Sharks

Toronto did have several NHL-quality defensemen so the Maple Leafs dealt former first-round pick Timothy Liljegren to the San Jose Sharks.

The Maple Leafs got Matt Benning, another defenseman who can be in the AHL, and two draft picks for the Swede.

But, despite the recent move, NHL insider Darren Dreger of TSN says the Maple Leafs will likely explore more moves. One move could be trading the recently acquired defenseman.

“Yeah, no doubt about that,” Dreger said on ‘Insider Trading.‘ “And [it] has more to do with roster space as opposed to the cap issues that the Toronto Maple Leafs seem to tangle with on a day-in and day-out basis annually. So, I would expect that Brad Treliving is either going to have to place another player on waivers. Perhaps there’s a conditioning stint to the American Hockey League that can be applied, or the idea of a trade, because Toronto right now is locked in with its 23-man roster…

“Matt Benning – a veteran defenseman – who Treliving could also flip and add an additional asset. So, tidy work with depth players,” Dreger added.

Benning has skated in 464 games recording 17 goals and 85 assists for 102 points.

Grzelcyk A Likely Trade Candidate

Grzelcyk signed a one-year deal with the Penguins, so if Pittsburgh is out of the playoff picture by the trade deadline, the veteran defenseman would be a logical trade candidate.

NHL analyst Michael Derosa of The Hockey News has Grzelcyk as a trade candidate ahead of the deadline.

“If they don’t turn things around, they will likely be sellers once we get closer to the trade deadline,” Derosa wrote.”If this occurs, Grzelcyk would become a clear trade candidate, as he is only signed for this campaign.

“If Grzelcyk is made available by the Penguins this season, he would undoubtedly generate interest. This is because he can handle playing top-four minutes and has plenty of playoff experience due to his time with the Bruins,” Derosa concluded.

Gtzelcyk has skated in 457 games recording 25 goals and 116 assists for 141 points.

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