Leafs Trade Deadline

With the NHL's trade deadline vastly approaching on Monday, February 27th, I will review the Leafs needs and potential players they may bring in.

The Leafs are currently out of the playoff picture, sitting in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. They have a record of 29-25-7, which is good for 65 points. Although only one point out of the highly prestigious 8th playoff spot, a position Florida is currently holding, the Leafs have an abysmal record of 3-6-1 in their last 10 contests. This recent poor play has raised speculation that General Manager, Brian Burke, may be busy come Monday's deadline in a final effort to improve his club.

Needs:

- More fire power up front to take some pressure off the Leafs top line of Lupul-Bozak-Kessel
- More grit up front to make the Leafs a tougher team to play
- Although it may be tough to solve, the Leafs goaltending is definitely an area that needs to be improved

Potential Targets:

Dustin Brown: Brown is a 27 year old right winger who is currently playing for the Los Angeles Kings. Brown is exactly what the Leafs are looking for. He has the size and physicality, as well as the offensive ability needed to help this team score more goals. His contract is also very reasonable, $3.175 million, running to the 2013-2014 season. With the addition of Jeff Carter and the loss of top defenseman, Jack Johnson, it would seem as if the Kings would be willing to move Brown for a solid defenseman. Look for Brown to attract a great deal of attention come deadline day.

Steve Ott: Ott is a 29 year old centreman who is currently playing for the Dallas Stars. Although not as offensively gifted as Brown, Ott is that agitator that every player hates playing against. Ott has the ability to get the opposition off their game and win some fights here and there.

Jonathan Bernier: Bernier is a 23 year old goaltender who is currently playing for the LA Kings. Although it seems very unlikely that Burke would be able to upgrade his goaltending by Monday, Bernier is definitely a goalie who seems available. Although Bernier is a solid goaltender, he is a backup for the Kings and, in my mind, would not provide a big enough of an upgrade to the Leafs goaltending situation to make a deal for him worthwhile.