Updates on two injured defensemen point to an imminent trade for the Leafs
Since before the season began, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been looking to revamp their blueline. This isn't a rumour and it's not speculation. This comes directly from Leafs GM Brad Treliving, who has made it his number one priority since the season began. Now, the need for a defenseman has been expedited, which could lead to a trade sooner than later.
Per reports from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet and David Alter of The Hockey News, both Mark Giordano and Timothy Liljegren are still a long way away from being able to return to the lineup. Johnston reported on Thursday that Giordano has a broken finger, which has him currently labeled as week-to-week.
Meanwhile, Alter reported that Timothy Liljegren is back on skates, and is continuing to rehab from an ankle injury he had suffered back on November 2nd. The bad news is that he's also nowhere close to returning, per Sheldon Keefe.
These two injuries, in combination with John Klingberg's LTIR situation, mean that the Leafs are without 50% of their top-6 blueliners. When you look at it that way, with the only NHL regulars being Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie and Jake McCabe, it has become abundantly clear that the need for at least one defenseman has increased exponentially. In fact, the Leafs may even need two.
On Wednesday, DFO's Frank Seravalli mentioned 7 names in connection to the Leafs. Those 7 players were Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov, Andrew Peeke, Alexandre Carrier, Will Borgen, Mario Ferraro and Travis Sanheim. It will be interesting to see if the Leafs go after any of these defensemen in the coming days.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 30 | 527 ANSWERS Updates on two injured defensemen point to an imminent trade for the Leafs Will the Leafs complete a trade before the end of the week? | ||
| No | 321 | 60.9 % |
| Yes | 206 | 39.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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