Toronto Maple Leafs: 6 Players They Could Trade Early on

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Ever since Brian Burke arrived as the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager, there has been constant player movement within the organization in hopes of rebuilding the club. 

With the start of the NHL season happening tonight when Toronto hosts its divisional and historical rival, the Montreal Canadiens, there will be much speculation and dissection of how the Leafs will fare for the remainder of the season. 

Knowing Burke, that speculation will turn into trade rumors and eventual deals. Some players on the team have immunity, but others are not so lucky. Let's see who the Leafs could ship away early on in the season. 

Keith Aulie

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The young defenseman seemed to have ensured a spot on the roster with his solid play at the end of last season, but apparently the team thought otherwise when making final roster cuts. He was a solid pairing with captain/blueliner Dion Phaneuf, but Aulie seemingly had a bad showing at camp and was sent down to the team's AHL affiliate, the Marlies. 

Toronto could send the young defensive prospect as part of a deal or to pick up some draft picks for next year, because as it seems right now he is not a part of the team that the Leafs want every night. 

Mike Komisarek

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Komisarek may be one of the assistant captains on the Maple Leafs, but he is not a fan favorite in Toronto. 

Many believe he should have been shipped to another team in the offseason and that he doesn't belong among the top six defensemen on the team. 

With the addition of John-Michael Liles from Colorado and Cody Franson from Nashville, the younger defensive players could be pushing out Komisarek from the rotation. 

Nazem Kadri

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Kadri was the Leafs' first draft pick in the 2009 draft, and while he is a skilled player on the ice, he isn't performing at the level that is expected of him. 

Toronto could look to deal Kadri while his stock is still relatively high as part of a deal (with Komisarek maybe?) and hopefully get a better return from whomever they pick up. I like Kadri, but if he doesn't step up his game dramatically I would back a trade. 

Jeff Finger

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This man needs to be traded as soon as possible. His contract is enormous and he's never scored more than eight goals in a season. 

Trade him now, please. Let's hope some other GM will actually accept the deal. 

Matt Lashoff/Luca Caputi

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These players seem very similar to me so I decided to group them together. They are both in the Leafs system, have serious problems scoring goals and could be used to pick some decent draft picks in a trade. 

Players like these two are not helping the Leafs in their quest for a playoff berth and should be traded for whatever Toronto can get sooner rather than later.