Leafs Officially Linked to Top-Six Scoring Winger in Vancouver in New Report

Leafs GM Brad Treliving confirmed earlier this season he wanted to upgrade the team's depth down the middle. However, that goal has proven difficult in a somewhat competitive market.

While that still may be the case, Treliving appears to have shifted his priorities a little bit as of yesterday, as Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Leafs are one of the teams keeping tabs on Mikko Rantanen's situation in Carolina -- but that's not their only target.

Late last night, The Fourth Period's Dave Pagnotta released his updated 'Trade Bait' board that included Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser. Pagnotta listed the Leafs as a team who has checked in on the goal scoring winger.

The 27-year-old is in the final year of his contract and has a $6.65M cap hit and 10-team no-trade list. The Minnesota native has skated in 48 games for the Canucks this season tallying 18 goals and 35 points.

As much as the Leafs need to add depth at center, adding another top-six winger would certainly help their scoring issues that they seem to endlessly encounter in the playoffs.

Boeser has 23 points in 29 career playoff games and has recently become available due to he and the Canucks being far apart on term and dollars on an extension, according to Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects.

If the Leafs fail to land Rantanen (if he becomes available) the asking price for Boeser likely wouldn't be as costly for a team that has limited assets available. He could also prove to be a sneaky-good addition to help an always struggling playoff power play.

With just two weeks until the deadline, action is expected to pick up now that players have returned from the 4 Nations Face-Off, and Brad Treliving appears to be in the middle of it all.