Brad Treliving Drops Major Hint On What He Has Up His Sleeve Ahead of the Trade Deadline

With all the speculation surrounding the Leafs' gameplan ahead of March 7, the pressure lies on Brad Treliving to make a deal. There are several names the team can go after, though the cost might outweigh the benefits at the end of the day.

The team has all the pieces available to get a deal done, but should be weary of overpaying.

Names like Yanni Gourde and Chris Kreider would certainly add an offensive spark, but their cost is a bit of out Toronto's budget unless they wanted to sell the farm.

But Brad Treliving has done his homework and now has given fans and media a sneak peek into his future trade strategy, and it's definitely creating noise.

Speaking to media on Monday, the Maple Leafs GM was very frank in his comments regarding how the team is going to navigate the trade market:

He added these comments moments after admitting that he won't spend on a player the caliber of Auston Matthews or John Tavares as relayed by Luke Fox of Sportsnet.

What Toronto wants is an offensively capable third-line pivot who can play on both the penalty kill and powerplay, add defense, and plays hard and gritty each night.

There are certainly names like that available on the market, for the right price of course.

The team won't make a splash for a name like Sidney Crosby, Nazem Kadri or Brock Nelson because not only do they come with a high asset cost, but their contracts beyond this season are a severe handicap.

However, Boston's Trent Frederic, Seattle's Yanni Gourde, Chicago's Ryan Donato, and Montreal's Christian Dvorak are all feasibly cheap options especially with some salary retention.

These players aren't of the same ilk as Matthews or Tavares but offer everything the Maple Leafs need in order to bulk up their forwards.

Frederic is a young hulking center who had a surprise breakout year last season, and could form a great pairing with Bobby McMann as a speedy, big-body power forward duo.

Gourde has been linked to the Maple Leafs all season and while he doesn't fit the physical look Berube or Treliving normally employ, there's no denying he makes up for it with relentless checking, great defense, offensive production, oh and he's a two-time Stanley Cup winner.

Donato is an under the radar pick, but he's offensively gifted, plays solid defense, is a cheap contract, and a free agent at the end of the season.

He could be a pickup like Noel Acciari was with Ryan O'Reilly and be a fantastic bottom-six contributor.

Dvorak heading over would be a coup for Treliving because he can ask Montreal to retain salary and maximize the benefits of a guy who's averaged 16 goals and nearly 53% faceoff win percentage over his nine-year NHL career.

Treliving knows he doesn't want to overload his roster, not for the sake of being able to win, but managing the future while maintaining the current roster's chemistry.

Fans are expecting a change before March 7, so it's time for Brad Treliving to start putting his words into action.