I am not entirely sure why this article even needs to be written, as this has been a glaring need for Toronto since Mats Sundin was their captain. Or perhaps it does need to be written, only in big, bold lettering, and a font size something north of 96. This isn’t a knock on Tyler Bozak; he is a good player whose role is miscast upon him. There shouldn’t be any argument that he is a quality third-line center (career-high 47 points last season) and penalty killer that is pretty good at faceoffs (52% success rate). It isn’t his fault that he was the default top line center for most of the last two seasons. This year, Toronto’s top line wingers (Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul) were both All-Stars that averaged a point-per-game. It also isn’t his fault that Mikhail Grabovski, despite what his new paycheck may tell you, is only capable of performing as a number two center. It is the fault of management for failing to acquire an actual number one center. They currently employ one second-line center (Grabovski), three third-line centers (Bozak, Connolly and Matthew Lombardi), and a fourth-line center/faceoff specialist (David Steckel). (Nazem Kadri is listed as a center, and is believed to still have a high ceiling as a potential first-line player, but it won’t be in Toronto because Ron Wilson killed his development and confidence.) True, they don’t grow on trees, and GMs are typically not thrilled to trade them away; but they are attainable if you are willing to pay the price. And that is the route Brian Burke needs to take: pay the price to get one. (Conversely, the route that you shouldn’t take is giving Connolly $5M to give you less than 40 points). I will repeat: I know it isn’t easy, but it is doable, to get a number one center on the trade market. And if they explore all possible options for a number one, it would still be an upgrade on their roster to acquire a second number two center to play on the top line. One possible option is Ryan Getzlaf, the Anaheim Ducks’ captain. He is coming off of a terrible year where he didn’t score, didn’t assist, and had his leadership questioned on numerous occasions. He has one more year remaining on his deal before he reaches UFA status, so perhaps Anaheim isn’t sure they can sign him and chooses to deal him. Anaheim needs offensive depth and a faceoff specialist, so would they at least listen to a package including Kadri, Bozak, Clarke MacArthur and Carl Gunnarsson with a draft pick included? Other options: perhaps Boston needs a shakeup and David Krejci becomes available; ditto for Vancouver and Ryan Kesler, or Pittsburgh and Jordan Staal, both of whom would be very costly to acquire. They could also look into the price tags of Derek Roy, Mike Ribiero, and Brandon Dubinsky, all of whom would be upgrades. (They should not, however, look into acquiring Patrick Marleau). Additionally, they need to sort out the goalie position this offseason. They put all of their eggs into James Reimer’s basket for 2011-12, but wisely didn’t overpay him just in case. Unfortunately it isn’t known if he will go back to his 2010-11 form or not after a “neck injury” (or concussion, according to his mom) sidelined him early in the season. Maybe after a lengthy offseason he can regain his form. If he doesn’t, they can’t rely on Jonas Gustavsson, who is approaching unrestricted free agency. They could obviously target either of the Vancouver goalies, which would come with two completely different packages. For Roberto Luongo: maybe something like Kadri, Kulemin’s RFA rights, Matt Frattin, Mike Komisarek, Jussi Rynnas and a future #1. For Cory Schneider: maybe something around Kadri, Kulemin/MacArthur and the 5th pick in the draft. Just throwing things together here as a starting point. Regardless of what the actual trades look like, Toronto needs to make some. They now boast a stable of A and B rated prospects. What they don’t boast is a fan-base and ownership capable of waiting any longer for a playoff appearance, and they certainly aren’t going to make the playoffs until they address one of two of the above pressing needs. Nick is RealGM’s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email nick.obergan@realgm.com or on twitter @NickObergan