Leafs expected to sign at least one of six former Calgary Flames this summer

Since he took over as General Manager in Toronto, Brad Treliving had been attempting to acquire Nikita Zadorov and Chris Tanev from Calgary. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete a trade for either of them as Zadorov was traded to the Vancouver Canucks and Tanev to the Dallas Stars.

It's no secret that the Leafs will make a strong push for one or both of them if they hit free agency on July 1st, but there are four other former Flames that Treliving may attempt to lure to the Leafs as well. All of Sean Monahan, Oliver Kylington, Tyler Toffoli and Elias Lindholm are expected to test free agency along with Zadorov and Tanev.

All the aforementioned players fit Treliving's style of play, and for that matter, Craig Berube's. Obviously, the Leafs won't be able to land or afford all of them, but that shouldn't stop them from at least testing the waters as Treliving likes to do.

With the Leafs having a clear need for an upgrade at center, Monahan and Lindholm are two very interesting names on this list. Monahan is expected to grind away in negotiations with the Jets this summer to see if the two sides can find common ground on a deal, but we already know that Lindholm has designs of testing free agency on July 1st.

The Leafs' need for a defenseman is also abundantly clear, so the addition of one or possibly both of Zadorov and Tanev would be a huge upgrade for the Leafs.

With $18.5M in cap space, the Leafs are able or should be able to afford at least two of the above while still having some room left to fill out the rest of the roster.