Brad Treliving Urged to Pursue Top-Pairing Defenseman This Offseason After Latest Development

The Toronto Maple Leafs have set themselves up nicely with a defensive core that's locked down long-term, but it doesn't hurt to always have some extra; even Brad Treliving said so.

But they could make a deal come summer for a player who has had a lot of controversy in recent days.

Word out of Buffalo is that star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin spoke to GM Kevyn Adams and threatened to leave the team if they didn't improve. While he vehemently denies the rumors, there's only so much one player can handle.

There's only so much loyalty one player can handle (just ask Mitch Marner) and consistent failure to succeed does weigh on a player. Sure they want to have good stats, but winning is the ultimate prize, and a player as good as Dahlin deserves a chance to play in the postseason.

Drafted first overall by the Sabres in 2018, he's never even sniffed the playoffs, and his best finish came in 2022-23 when Buffalo finished fifth in the Atlantic.

He's elite both offensively and defensively, and would no doubt make any team better on their back end.

This season, Dahlin has 51 points in 55 games; not bad for a team that's destined for the basement once again and has 343 points in 491 games for the Sabres.

He currently makes $11M per season and just signed an eight-year extension in 2023 so adding him is going to cost a lot if any team decides that Dahlin fits in their plans.

The Maple Leafs certainly could use Dahlin as their future star defenseman and be the replacement for Morgan Rielly down the line. But what would be a sufficient deal for the Sabres?

Perhaps a package involving Easton Cowan, a first round pick (and maybe one or two more), and young forward Bobby McMann. While it doesn't seem impressive on paper, it's a package that Buffalo can build off of.

McMann becomes one of their top scoring options and has a slew of young players to work with as well as some solid veterans.

Josh Norris, Tage Thompson, JJ Peterka, Peyton Krebs and Ryan McLeod are all young or in the prime of their careers and would be a fantastic fit alongside McMann.

Meanwhile Buffalo's system gets even better with Cowan and building upon a farm system that also includes Jiri Kulich (enjoying a breakout year himself), Devon Levi, and Noah Ostlund.

Buffalo can always use more draft picks, and paying for a player like Dahlin is worth it, especially with their #1 defenseman on the decline.

It's a lot to ask Toronto to give up their future only a few months after parting with Fraser Minten, but players like Dahlin don't come around often, and if things are actually as bad as reported?

Brad Treliving needs to act ASAP.