According to Elliotte Friedman, John Chayka and the Maple Leafs are not going to make any deals that put any of their important assets at risk no matter what.
With the Maple Leafs coming off a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday, things are starting to get a little worrisome in Toronto. While they had been able to put up a strong effort but still end up with a loss, this was domination from start to finish.
Colton Sissons was the only goal scorer, and while there's certainly some issues with not only Toronto's scoring outside of their stars, their defensive side isn't exactly fast or skilled enough to suppress opponents and a trade may be imminent to fix that more pressing issue.
Toronto is not going to make a deal for the sake of making one
But according to Elliotte Friedman that may not be the case, as he revealed Toronto's game plan during his Saturday's Headlines segment.
Friedman mentioned that John Chayka is not going to bend so easy to a trade, and would rather not give away any premium assets unless absolutely necessary:
What they are going to do with a blue line, here are a couple things. They have made it clear they are not looking for a Band-Aid solution, they will pay a premium asset for someone who is a difference maker on the blue line, and they've told people they are not going to move assets for a B-level replacement.
They would also consider getting a younger player in exchange for an older one, so that's what's going on there.
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It makes sense, given that the Maple Leafs don't have a ton of premium assets to give away, and anything else should be saved for a #1 defenseman or perhaps a 2C to replace John Tavares such as Dylan Larkin.
Also, Toronto is full of B-level defenders and need someone to move the needle, so the names we've heard like Zach Whitecloud may be out of the running especially if the Calgary Flames are charging a high price.
What can Toronto do without making a trade?
If they aren't going to work on a deal, then they need to figure out something internally to at least stop the bleeding and provide a Band-Aid solution while the team works towards a more permanent fix.
We could see the NHL debut of Ben Danford at some point soon once he's ready to go, and the team is reportedly looking to see what he can offer before going into any other moves. They could also try and give Marshall Rifai more time to at least develop into a third-pair/seventh D.
But that means that you're running with pairs like Morgan Rielly and Troy Stecher - ones that don't spark a lot of hope for offense or defense. It may sting to pay a premium for an asset but at this point, Toronto needs to get someone better than who they currently have.
They're going to need to anyways, because without that? The playoffs are a long ways away - and that could have a long-lasting domino effect on them for years.
Do you think the Maple Leafs and John Chayka will still make a trade if they aren't able to give up premium assets?
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