Elliotte Friedman Reveals What Rivals Teams Are Demanding from Maple Leafs in Trade Talks

It's only a week away from the NHL Trade Deadline, arguably the most exciting time of the year besides the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It's a who's who of big names and solid contributors who could find themselves wearing a different jersey very soon.

One of those teams in the hunt for some improvements are the Toronto Maple Leafs. They know what they need. We know what they need. But in order to get what they covet so dearly, it's going to cost them.

In his latest 32 Thoughts article, NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman openly laid it out for everyone: If Toronto wants to make the best deal, teams want the best assets:

So with that being said, is it worth the risk for Toronto to mortgage their future for (hopefully) immediate success?

While it's not a forgone conclusion that any of Toronto's top three draft picks of recent years or their 2026 1st rounder will turn out to be Auston Matthews-level type players but it's still risky especially given the return.

Toronto's been linked to names like Brayden Schenn, Brock Nelson, Mikko Rantanen, and Scott Laughton. Everyone except Rantanen is 30+ years of age, and he may be the only one worth giving up so much for.

Schenn and Nelson are both 33, and are going to be in their later-30's once their deals (and future deal) expire. They don't guarantee success, and it is hard to justify paying them so much especially with how many expensive veterans they already have.

Not to take anything away from Laughton, but giving up any of those assets for him would be a gross overpayment for Brad Treliving, and could part with a couple of their other picks and prospects in order to get that deal done if he so chooses to.

Again that means all signs point to Rantanen, but the cost is going to be astronomical for Toronto.

Rantanen is a free agent, and is in the same boat as Mitch Marner but bringing him along even for a few months to make a Cup run is what winners do.

But can the Leafs re-sign him? If they won't keep homegrown Marner around due to cap issues, what chance would Rantanen have? Both are going to make similar amounts in free agency so it's hard to justify unless you know he's re-signing.

Teams understand how important it is for the Maple Leafs to get things going in the playoffs and are going to take everything they can from them.

Brad Treliving needs to tread water carefully, lest he drown in failure again, but with nothing left to pull him back to shore.