Leafs President Brendan Shanahan's Recent Actions May Indicate the Trade of a Top Prospect

There are five days until the NHL's trade deadline and while Atlantic Division rivals are taking huge swings, Brad Treliving and the Leafs continue to weigh their options.

Treliving plans on making a deal or two, it just may not be the blockbuster fans are hoping for.

While the Leafs' GM has tried to temper expectations among the fan base, Sunday's OHL game between the London Knights and Oshawa Generals saw Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan in attendance to watch Ben Danford and Easton Cowan, leading to speculation that a sizeable trade is on its way.

It was quite the showing in Shanahan's presence for the last two first-round picks of the Leafs, with the hard-hitting Danford registering an assist and the more offensively-inclined Cowan posting a hat-trick that included the overtime winner.

Teams have been asking the Leafs about Cowan, Danford and other top prospects, but Treliving has been hesitant to include them in any deal thus far.

As the pressure mounts internally and externally on Treliving, particularly with the East not having a clear-cut favourite, he may be more inclined to deal one of his prized assets to give the Leafs their best shot at advancing to the Conference Finals and perhaps even further for the first time in more than 20 years.