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The reason the Maple Leafs should trade Oliver Ekman-Larsson before the deadline originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It doesn't sound like the Toronto Maple Leafs have made major inroads toward an Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade, despite all the rumors.
If something is going to happen by Friday's NHL trade deadline, it'll have to get drummed up in a hurry.
Ekman-Larsson remains under contract beyond this season, so the re-tooling Leafs don't necessarily have to move him.
Daily Faceoff's Scott Maxwell explained in a new article that there's actually a very clear reason to trade OEL now -- in essence, he'll never be more valuable.
"He’s in the midst of one of the best seasons of his 16-season career, as his 47-point pace would be the second-most in a season for him," Maxwell writes. "He’s been the Leafs’ best defenseman for several stretches of the season, and with two years left on his contract after this season at a reasonable $3.5 million, teams will certainly look to bring in a player of his quality on a reasonable contract."
MORE: Maple Leafs getting help from Flyers to trade veteran center
This almost becomes a case of game theory. Do you keep the guy playing out of his mind, or do you move him while the iron is hot?
"The Leafs should explore moving on from Ekman-Larsson as his value will likely never be higher during his time with the team," Maxwell writes. "Not only has his season been that good, but at 34 years old, he doesn’t have a lot of room to get better. Even if he has been Toronto’s best defenseman this year, the Leafs need the assets and the roster space, and OEL has one of the best chances at getting that for Toronto."
Toronto would've loved to get rolling out of the Olympic break and remove themselves from trade seller status.
Instead, the Maple Leafs haven't won a game since returning from the Olympics, and now they'll be forced to do at least some selling.
Whether or not Ekman-Larsson moves might inform just how deep those moves will go. But there's certainly merit for the Maple Leafs to move OEL before it's too late
More NHL news:
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- A salary cap rule may make 2 Flames trades difficult
- Canadiens know trade cost for Robert Thomas
- It'll be complicated to trade for Steven Stamkos
- Alex Ovechkin has shared an update on his retirement plans
- Evgeni Malkin gets big news on a possible future
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