Different teams, different crossroads

The trade deadline, fast approaching in Major League Baseball, is often about patching up holes as teams make runs at the playoffs, while lesser teams try to get lucky with a prospect or draft pick, rather than letting their better players go. In the summer, the teams are interested in retooling for the long haul.

This is where the biggest trades tend to happen, when franchise cornerstones are moved. There haven't been too many big moves this off-season, given how so many teams are using the Vegas Golden Knights to alleviate salary cap issues, but I suspect that will change in the next few weeks.

The Wild have a stated goal of getting at least one more NHL quality pivot after they flamed out, unable to score nearly as much as they needed against the St. Louis Blues and Brian Elliott. The Wild are very nearly at the talent crest of their core, and after extending Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund, would do well to ensure that whatever piece they do lock up will be one that will help them win in the near term.

The Wild have already attempted to free up some space under the cap, and have added physical wingers in Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno, but they would do well to explore trades with teams that are still up and coming. With a deep, young defensive unit, dealing a defensemen in order to add a center would seem like a good investment.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of those up and coming teams, and they have the talented James van Riemsdyk entering the final year of a contract on a team with a young core that is still a couple of years away. This is a team that could use a more stable presence on the blue line in support of all the firepower at the forward positions. Van Riemsdyk spends his offseasons in Minnesota, and would undoubtedly appreciate a move to the Wild, if one came about, and the Leafs, lkely to lose him anyway, would appreciate some sort of return, especially the type that the Wild could offer.

These are two teams, the Wild and Maple Leafs, that are reaching a critical juncture. The Wild need to get over the top, while the Maple Leafs need to tool up to continue their momentum as the team develops and gets better. Both may pair up at some point in the off-season, though even if a move for 30 goal scorer van Riemsdyk doesn't happen, you can be sure both teams are working hard to achieve the goals that such a move would achieve.