Maple Leafs trade watch: 12 NHL teams have scouts in Toronto tonight with less than a week to go

With the trade deadline less than a week away, all eyes are going to be on the Toronto Maple Leafs as they look to be sellers and potentially get rid of some big assets but all in the name of saving the future.

It seems like teams are making sure their homework is done and it's going to be a packed house at Scotiabank Arena.

According to The Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan, there is going to be a wealth of scouts taking part in Toronto and Ottawa's Battle of Ontario, with several teams sending multiple scouts:

There are some very interesting teams on that list including Los Angeles, Tampa Bay, Dallas, and Columbus meanwhile we've heard lots of noise regarding Edmonton.

There's no indication which players are being scouted or if there are eyes on the Senators as well considering they may be also in a selling process but for now, it seems like the Maple Leafs are the main target given their asset pool.

Bobby McMann and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are garnering the most attention right now meanwhile names like Nic Roy, Matias Maccelli, Brandon Carlo, Scott Laughton, and even Joseph Woll could be in play.

There is no telling what the first domino to fall will be, but it's likely that whatever happens is going to set in place the next events pretty clearly. If we see McMann and OEL dealt, then it's time to accept the season is over and look towards some real change.

But if they stand pat and end up coming away empty handed despite all of their premium assets -- then no matter how much things seem to change, it just ends up staying the same.

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