Leafs preparing to swing a pre-deadline trade with a Western Canadian club
With the NHL trade deadline quickly approaching on March 8th, the clock is ticking for Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving to finally make a move to upgrade on the blueline.
The insiders have Treliving looking around his old stomping grounds in Calgary to possibly enhance Toronto's blueline. Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev have been identified as the main targets for the Maple Leafs. Treliving is very familiar with both from his time as general manager of the Flames. He acquired Hanifin in a trade in 2018 and signed Tanev as a UFA in 2020.
Elliotte Friedman reported last week that Tanev was Toronto's main target, hinting that a package could potentially be on the table.
To further drive the speculation, the two teams have been scouting each other heavily recently. The Flames had scouts in attendance during Toronto's loss to the New York Islanders and Toronto's scouts watched the Flames face the Boston Bruins last night.
Hanifin and Tanev are both on expiring contracts with caps hits of $4.95M and $4.5M, respectively. Either of the two dynamic blueliners would instantly slide into Toronto's top four with Tanev potentially looking like a perfect partner for number one defenseman Morgan Rielly.
If Toronto can somehow pull off a trade for both defenders, it's going to take a hefty package of draft picks, prospects and roster players. The Maple Leafs aren't exactly stocked on draft picks because of previous deals, so a potential deal involving Nick Robertson or Topi Niemela may need to be included to entice the Flames to pull the trigger. Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan are believed to be untouchable, but if the Leafs want to pull off a high profile trade, they may have no choice but to change their stance on that.
| POLL | ||
7 FEVRIER | 636 ANSWERS Leafs preparing to swing a pre-deadline trade with a Western Canadian club Which Leafs prospect would you hate to lose in a trade the most? | ||
| Nick Robertson | 186 | 29.2 % |
| Topi Niemela | 51 | 8 % |
| Easton Cowan | 399 | 62.7 % |
| Fraser Minten | 0 | 0 % |
| List of polls | ||
