Up and down. In and out. Over and around. Any or all of those basically describe the Maple Leafs’ season so far.

Even a 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night, which gives them a jolt of confidence heading into Saturday’s home game against the Carolina Hurricanes, might be no more than an exclamation mark in a season full of question marks.

As in, “These are the Toronto Maple Leafs?!” A great team some nights, no effort on others.

What’s missing? And how do you fill those holes? That’s general manager Kyle Dubas’s job. As far as this season goes, he has until 3 p.m. Monday — the NHL trade deadline — to find outside help.

There’s no question that Dubas is all-in on making the playoffs this year.

“Kyle is pretty transparent with the group,” said forward Zach Hyman. “He’s been awesome. He really believes in our group. That means a lot.”

A Feb. 6 trade with the Los Angeles Kings solved the Leafs’ biggest problem at backup goalie. Jack Campbell arrived in tandem with forward Kyle Clifford, who leads the team in hits with 22 since he got here, adding grit and experience to the fourth line.

Wednesday’s addition of forward Denis Malgin from the Florida Panthers — albeit after a sample size of 15 minutes, 20 seconds against Pittsburgh — seemed to bring balance to the lines, which have been out of sync after long-term injuries to forwards Andreas Johnsson and Ilya Mikheyev.

The biggest remaining issue? On defence. With Morgan Rielly and Cody Ceci hurt, the Leafs have turned to rookies Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren, as well as everyone’s favourite seventh defenceman, Martin Marincin.

They expect Rielly to return before the playoffs. To get there, however, they might need veteran help — preferably a right-handed shot with playoff experience. A contract that runs beyond this season with a reasonable cap hit would also help.

The targets

Matt Dumba (Wild): shoots right, $6-million cap hit (all dollars U.S.) for three more years.

Jonas Brodin (Wild): shoots left, $4.16-million cap hit for one more year.

Tony DeAngelo (Rangers): shoots right, $925,000 cap hit, pending restricted free agent.

Jeff Petry (Canadiens): shoots right, $5.5-million cap hit for one more year.

Rasmus Ristolainen (Sabres): shoots right, $5.4-million cap hit for two more years.

Erik Gustafsson (Blackhawks): shoots left, makes $1.2 million, pending unrestricted free agent.

The price tag

Draft picks: Dubas has traded as many of his own first-round picks (two) as Brian Burke and John Ferguson Jr. did during regimes remembered — reviled in some corners — for trading the future for the present. Plenty of those traded picks have had conditions on them. For example, they traded this year’s first-rounder to Carolina in the Patrick Marleau salary dump. But if the Leafs miss the playoffs and the pick is in the top 10, they’d retain that first-rounder and Carolina would get next year’s instead. That means they can’t trade that 2021 pick now, because it might really be Carolina’s. Ditto the second-rounder they own for next year, but would forfeit based on some fairly attainable conditions set in the Campbell-Clifford trade with L.A. As things stand, the Leafs will have nine picks in June (one second, two fourths, three sixths and three sevenths) and six in 2021 (every round except the third).

Andreas Johnsson: Yes, the forward is laid up following knee surgery and unable to play for at least six months. And yet he might be their biggest trade chip. Who would take an injured player? Plenty of teams, especially those already out of the playoff race. The 2018 Calder Cup MVP didn’t have much of a season, but his body of work as a pro with three seasons remaining on his contract, at an average annual value of $3.4 million, makes him a desirable player. Of all the bottom-six forwards on the Leafs, he’d probably thrive most — see what Connor Brown has done in Ottawa — with a more prominent role on a building team. Dubas would be looking for a sizable return, but he has enough wingers in the Johnsson mould: small but fast, aggressive and a real pest, Malgin now primary among them. “It would be risky (for the acquiring team) because you don’t know how he’s going to respond to the injury,” said a scout for a Western Conference team, “but it’s an interesting idea.”

Tyson Barrie: The hype around his arrival in the Nazem Kadri trade with the Avalanche made him sound like the second coming of Bobby Orr. There was no way to live up to it, and he hasn’t. His penchant for taking very low percentage shots has killed plays and even sent the play the other way, costing goals and points in the standings. He’s fourth on the Leafs in shots (157) and 21st in shooting percentage (3.2). With just 12 primary assists, his plays from the point are not exactly lighting things up. But he remains coveted around the league. “They’d have to look at all options,” said the Western scout, “but you’d find a taker.” He’ll be an unrestricted free agent and will be priced out of the Leafs’ range. Like Jake Gardiner last year, they would lose him for nothing in the summer. So why not get something? It doesn’t have to be for a crate of prospects. It can be a hockey trade.

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Timothy Liljegren: The Leafs like the rookie. The question is whether they can wait for him to develop. How about trading him for a player who is already there and has gone through the learning curve? The Leafs won’t move Rasmus Sandin, but could be talked into Liljegren. They’ve dangled him before.

The Unhappy: Forward Dmytro Timashov asked to be moved earlier in the season and finds himself in Josh Leivo-healthy scratch territory. Marlies star Jeremy Bracco, meanwhile, is on personal leave at the moment. He could probably run an NHL power play, but his five-on-five ability is questionable. Scouts are starting to call him “a great AHL player,” which is code for, “He won’t make the NHL.”

Don’t even think it: If there’s an untouchable among Leafs prospects, it’s forward Nick Robertson, the second-round pick last summer who has 46 goals in 40 games with the Peterborough Petes. That, of course, is why other GMs will ask for him.

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