Trade talks reportedly ''heating up'' on defenseman linked to the Leafs

The Leafs have been linked to a number of defensemen around the NHL, but perhaps none more intriguing that Chicago Blackhawks blueliner Jake McCabe. Many in Leafs Nation, I'm sure, would prefer to go after the biggest fish on the market in Jakob Chychrun, but when you consider the asking price and the bidding war for his services, perhaps the better target is the one who has drawn just a little less attention.

McCabe has never seen the playoffs in his NHL career. When he signed in Chicago back in July of 2021, McCabe thought he was joining a contender after the Hawks had just acquired Marc-Andre Fleury and Seth Jones. As fate would have it, the Hawks fell out of the playoff race early and never could recover, eventually resulting in a complete teardown and embarking upon a top-to-bottom rebuild.

Despite being stuck in the basement of the league in Buffalo and Chicago for a number of years, McCabe himself has actually played some pretty good hockey - especially this season. A couple of short months ago, he revealed to the media that playing well just isn't enough for him. He revealed that he wanted to compete in the playoffs and now he appears more likely than not to move as the Hawks look to grant him his wish.

The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta and a handful of other insiders have already linked McCabe to the Leafs, but now it appears as though trade talks are intensifying and that the Leafs are indeed a finalist on McCabe, along with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins.

The Hawks have two different asking prices on McCabe - one asking price for the player at his full cap hit and one asking price for the player at a reduced cap hit through salary retention. McCabe has 2 seasons remaining after this one at a very reasonable $4M cap hit. If the Hawks are willing to eat 50% of that cap hit, McCabe could be an ideal replacement for Justin Holl (currently on the books for $2M), who is a pending UFA and very likely to price himself out of Toronto this summer. It would also be a great move for the Leafs in light of the Jake Muzzin news.