Leafs facing a crucial deadline to get a deal done today
For weeks, we have been put on notice by the various NHL Insiders, as well as Leafs GM Brad Treliving himself, that a trade is on the horizon for the Buds as they look to improve their blueline. The Leafs already swung and missed on Nikita Zadorov, but with Chris Tanev still available in Calgary, he appears to be atop the Leafs' Christmas wish list, though there are a few other candidates around the league who can check a lot of boxes for the Leafs.
While we have not been provided with any sort of a timeline for when a deal is expected to drop, one important deadline is fast approaching that might suggest that if the Leafs are close on anything, it may come down before midnight tonight. Why tonight? Because that's when the Holiday Roster Freeze kicks in.
As of midnight tonight, as TSN's Chris Johnston pointed out this morning, players cannot be traded or waived from midnight tonight through December 27th, with the freeze officially ending on December 28th at 12:01am.
If a deal does not materialize for the Leafs today, it will likely lead to an increased effort to get a deal done shortly after the Holiday Roster Freeze ends. The team's needs have not changed simply because Timothy Liljegren is back. The Leafs are still without Mark Giordano for an extended stretch and John Klingberg for the remainder of the year, so the need is still very much there. There's a gaping hole on that right side and, while the Leafs have received quality minutes from Simon Benoit, William Lagesson and Max Lajoie, having to rely on these depth options is not optimal.
The one thing that gives me pause is that we know that Brad Treliving knows Chris Tanev well. He knows his family well. Would he really want to uproot Tanev and his family just a few days before Christmas? Or would he simply wait a week to complete the deal if Tanev is the primary target?
I suppose there isn't much we can do other than to sit back and wait to see what happens.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 19 | 797 ANSWERS Leafs facing a crucial deadline to get a deal done today What do the Leafs need most on the roster right now? | ||
| Goalie upgrade | 127 | 15.9 % |
| Top-4 defenseman | 615 | 77.2 % |
| Top-6 forward | 31 | 3.9 % |
| Bottom-6 forward | 24 | 3 % |
| List of polls | ||
