Sean Kuraly Named As Potential Maple Leafs Trade Target

The Toronto Maple Leafs are desperate for some help down the middle. With Auston Matthews currently being the only NHL-impactful center on the current active roster while John Tavares is out, landing a pivot is Priority 1 for the Leafs at the trade deadline (or much sooner, if possible).

Former NHL executive Doug MacLean appeared on the Real Kyper & Bourne podcast recently to tout a sizeable name that would have a sizeable impact for Toronto, in Sean Kuraly of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It's right there for the Leafs if they could do a couple of things. Let me give you a name: Sean Kuraly... He could go head-to-head with the other team's best players. He went head-to-head with Tavares, he's gone head-to-head with (Jonathan) Toews in his career...

He's got speed, he's a great penalty killer, he's a checker... Forget all the big names, have a look at Sean Kuraly and where he would fit with this group.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound center has been tough on the Leafs in the past in the postseason, while he was toiling for the Boston Bruins. He'll regularly post 150+ hits per season, and would be a great fit on the third or fourth line for Toronto. He's a pending UFA, wrapping up a four-year deal with a $2.5 million cap hit.

There's only one problem with that suggestion: The Blue Jackets are right in the thick of the playoff hunt, and as one of the great Cinderella stories of the NHL season, it might not be very likely that they'll trade Kuraly. Columbus is tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning going into Wednesday night for the second Wild Card spot in the East, with 55 points.

This season, Kuraly has 11 points in 50 games with a break-even plus/minus of 0, along with 111 hits, while getting 11:23 of ice time per night.

It would certainly be a great fit for the Leafs. But can they convince Columbus to move him?