Maple Leafs Must Trade for Evan Rodrigues Amid Stanley Cup Hopes, NHL Rumors

The Florida Panthers' loss is potentially the Toronto Maple Leafs' gain.

The defending two-time Stanley Cup champions are facing a salary cap issue that will cost them some of their depth pieces, including left winger Evan Rodrigues, who the Leafs are interested in acquiring this offseason, The Fourth Period reports.

Toronto is a strong fit for Rodrigues as the organization continues to look for offense in the wake of a sign-and-trade deal that sent Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights earlier this month.

Marner is coming off the best season of his career, a 102-point campaign that included 27 goals and 75 assists. He was the driving force of the team and replacing his contributions will not be easy.

With Rodrigues scoring 15 goals and 17 assists for a total of just 32 points, he is not going to accomplish that alone, but he does add depth on the offensive side of the puck and can be paired with others to help make up for some of that output.

The 32-year-old brings with him speed, a solid shot, and the underrated ability to draw penalties. From there, he thrives in power play situations, where he has accumulated 28 power play points in his last three seasons.

The veteran is an adaptable player, who is willing to play wherever the team needs him and still be a factor.

He is a team player who fills in where and how his squad needs him on any given night, and considering how star-driven the Leafs have been at times over the last five or six seasons, that adaptability could be an underrated asset to an organization looking for its first Stanley Cup title in 58 years.

He is not the deciding factor in a team that probably needs some defensive help, too, but Rodrigues and other like-minded players, who know their role and perform it to perfection, should be the focus for the Leafs as they look to fill out their roster with the unenviable task of replacing Marner.