Insider identifies the price that the Leafs may need to pay in a deal for former Playoff MVP

Unlike in years past, where they made moves for aging veterans who have not won a Cup, like Nick Foligno and Mark Giordano, there has been a lot of talk among the Leafs' fanbase that the time to swing big on a veteran who has been in the deepest of waters is upon us.

There are a couple of candidates who fit that criteria in Patrick Kane and Ryan O'Reilly, and on Tuesday, TSN's Darren Dreger was asked point blank what he thinks the Leafs would have to part with in order to land a player like O'Reilly at or ahead of the deadline. His response was an intriguing one.

Dreger believes that the Leafs won't even entertain the idea of moving Matthew Knies. He revealed that he believes that the Leafs have immediate plans for Knies once his NCAA season ends and that he factors into their long-term plans in Toronto. Dregs did name someone else within the organization who could potentially be moved in a deal for a major deadline add like O'Reilly. 2019 2nd round pick Nick Robertson.

Robertson has struggled mightily with injuries over his very short NHL career, but he does have a tremendous amount of skill and a relatively high ceiling. If he possesses even half of the skill and shooting ability that his brother Jason does in Dallas, Robertson could still be a very effective NHL player and a scoring threat. He remains a very intriguing piece and one that the Leafs may end up regretting moving if they do end up moving him. Having said that, you have to give something to get something and a move involving Ryan O'Reilly, who won a Stanley Cup and a Conn Smythe Trophy in 2019, is a pretty high profile deal and likely involves a top prospect like Robertson.

While the Leafs and Blues have not been linked in legitimate trade talks involving O'Reilly, there's still plenty of time between now and the March 3rd trade deadline for those talks to come to fruition.