Maple Leafs Reportedly Discussing Multi-Player Trade With Western Conference Team

The Maple Leafs have stood by, idle, for several weeks now while rival teams have begun completing trades to bolster their respective groups ahead of the playoffs.

Most recently, the Leafs missed out on a pair of forwards in Trent Frederic and Jake Evans. They're also connected to Scott Laughton and have been for a number of years. However, the latest report has them looking out West for a solution.

Per The Fourth Period, the Leafs have reportedly been in contact with the Seattle Kraken, not only to express interest in Stanley Cup winner Yanni Gourde, but also the younger brother of Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev, Brandon Tanev.

For weeks, we've been hearing about the Leafs coveting a 3rd line center and a bottom six forward with some physicality to his game. A deal for Gourde and Tanev would check both of those boxes.

The Kraken are reportedly willing to retain 50% of Tanev's contract in order to help facilitate a trade. No word on whether or not they'd also be willing to retain on Gourde, but it's a likely assumption that they would, given his status as a pending UFA.

The Leafs aiming to kill two birds with one stone is not surprising, given the fact that they have limited assets with which to complete a deal. Parting them out to different teams certainly wouldn't get the Leafs as much value as the right package to the right team to address multiple needs at once.

TSN's Darren Dreger has gone out on a limb suggesting that the Leafs are going to look different on Friday when the trade deadline passes. He has confirmed that there will not only be players coming in, but also, players going out, meaning that they won't stick to using strictly futures to acquire what they need, but NHL assets as well.