It has been no secret that Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving has been making tons of phone calls around the league, gauging the trade market for defensemen. However, his plans for the deadline are still fairly unknown as there have also been reports that the Leafs were looking at forwards and, at one point, goaltenders due to the iffy play of Ilya Samsonov and the injury to Joseph Woll. Now that Samsonov has improved his play and Woll is nearing a return, the talk of acquiring a goalie has been drastically reduced.
Last week marked the return of Ryan Reaves to the lineup, but also marked the loss of both Calle Jarnkrok and Bobby McMann to injury. McMann has been dealing with a "lingering issue", according to Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, while Jarnkrok broke a knuckle after taking a shot off of his hand in practice. Jarnkrok is expected to miss three to four weeks while there is no confirmed timeline for McMann, he is expected to be back sooner than later.
With the trade deadline six weeks away, and previous reports of the Leafs not expected to be overly active, TSN's Chris Johnston provided some clarity for the Leafs deadline plans.
On First Up this morning, Johnston noted that he does not expect the Leafs to be very active on the trade front unless they continue to be marred by injury. If the Leafs continue to deal with injuries, it may force Treliving to act out of desperation to acquire some additional depth. As we approach the deadline, there will be lots of eyes on Treliving and how he navigates his first deadline as GM of the Leafs.
