NHL Insider Reveals Brad Treliving's Top Priority Ahead Of Trade Deadline
NHL Insider Frank Seravalli recently posted each Eastern Conference team's objective this trade deadline and Toronto's is one of their most glaring needs.
It's no secret that the Toronto Maple Leafs need to make a trade this season in order to either shore up their defense in case of any struggles, or add a third-line piece that can stabilize their forward situation once and for all.
There are a lot of names on the market and while they all have their pros and cons, Toronto has their sights set on some very specific criteria.
Linked to everyone from Sidney Crosby to Brock Nelson to Nazem Kadri; it's a mystery how they'll approach things.
Frank Seravalli Wants Toronto's Third-Line Completely Overhauled
If Seravalli had his way, there would be an entirely different look for the Maple Leafs after March 7:
"The gap between Auston Matthews as the Leafs' fourth-highest scorer at 31 points and Bobby McMann seventh at 17 points is quite a lot, considering Matthews has missed 15 games so far this season.
GM Brad Treliving can start with acquiring a true No. 3 center, then see what he has left over in both cap space and assets to attack the wing in trying to make the Maple Leafs a less top heavy team."
GM Brad Treliving can start with acquiring a true No. 3 center, then see what he has left over in both cap space and assets to attack the wing in trying to make the Maple Leafs a less top heavy team."
It's a big ask to simply just take out these players but the Maple Leafs could end up finding the right deal, it's just going to take a few pieces.
Toronto needs cap space so they could waive Ryan Reaves and Conor Timmins to free up room there and give Toronto a much deeper team overall.
While gambling on the future is never a sure thing, Toronto's window to win is closing, so maybe it's time to go big or go home.
A true third-line center would be a player the likes of Yanni Gourde, Scott Laughton or Ryan O'Reilly.
All three players provide both penalty killing and powerplay production, a complete game with both offense and defense, and have playoff experience.
An overhauled third-line with Bobby McMann, one of the aforementioned centers and perhaps a low-cost winger like Brandon Saad or Brandon Tanev, both with connections to the team.
Brad Treliving has his work cut out for him, but if Treliving wants to make his team as good as possible, it might be best to try and make the most complete team possible.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 14 | 688 ANSWERS NHL Insider Reveals Brad Treliving's Top Priority Ahead Of Trade Deadline Does Toronto need to make a trade to improve their third line or their defense? | ||
| Third line! | 126 | 18.3 % |
| Defense! | 131 | 19 % |
| Both! | 388 | 56.4 % |
| Neither! | 43 | 6.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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