Insider reveals just how active the Leafs may be in the trade market on draft day
With the Leafs in a tenuous position, new GM Brad Treliving has a lot of balls in the air heading into the NHL Entry Draft this weekend. While preliminary talks are ongoing with both Auston Matthews and William Nylander, the team around them is at a turning point. As of now, they have 10 players headed towards unrestricted free agency, their starting goalie is a restricted free agent, and then there's the question of what to do with Matt Murray. The NHL Draft presents an opportunity for the Leafs to get a lot of work done in a short period of time.
Speaking on TSN 1050's First Up, Chris Johnston outlined the Leafs situation and shared his thoughts on what's going on in Treliving's head. He expects the Leafs to trade the 28th pick in order to acquire more picks in the later rounds to re-stock a prospect cupboard that has been emptied by Kyle Dubas' trade deadline moves. Any moves to improve the roster now Johnston expects to involve current roster players. With only 3 picks this season to bargain with, Treliving doesn't have a lot of choice in this matter.
Johnston also brought up Treliving's history of making creative and aggressive trades. If the former Flames GM wants to put his stamp on this team, he will certainly have to get creative with it. The good news is that the Leafs are in a better cap situation than they have been in years past. Treliving will have some flexibility to work with there. This is his best chance to make a splash in his first season as GM. I, for one, am excited to finally see him make his first big move with the Maple Leafs.
The full Johnston Interview can be found here.
