Shocking Maple Leafs Trade Report Emerges from Top NHL Analyst

Looking ahead to the March 7 trade deadline, Brad Treliving has a lot of work to do in regards to finding the best possible fit for the Maple Leafs going forward not only for the rest of the regular season, but a strong playoff push.

But in order to do so they have to move a lot of pieces, and for NHL analyst Justin Bourne; it's likely involving either Fraser Minten or Easton Cowan.

It's hard to imagine the Maple Leafs letting go of either of their top two prospects, but their time to win is now. Bourne points out that this isn't the year for depth, it's the time to make a statement:

But with that bigger move comes a bigger cost, not only financially but asset wise as well. Toronto might need to part with either or their prospects (or potentially Nikita Grebenkin; whose potential should entice several teams to take a chance) but they'll also need to give up their 2026 first rounder.

In terms of Minten, he's already proved he can make it in the NHL and while the scoring hasn't taken off yet, his upside is massive and is at worst a good second line center and a great third liner.

Bourne adds that Minten's readiness is something that should play a big factor as well:

In 15 games with the Maple Leafs, Minten has two goals and two assists and is used primarily used on an emergency basis. He was drafted 38th overall by Toronto in 2022.

Cowan is the more intriguing prospect. Not yet in the NHL, he's been tearing up the OHL with the London Knights, and while he did not have as successful a World Juniors as fans had hoped, there's no denying his skill.

He's a bit of a wild card though, as there's no telling if his junior success can translate well at the NHL level. Bourne does state that even though he's still a relative unknown, it's a tantalizing prospect nonetheless:

With the Knights, Cowan has 17 goals and 20 assists in 27 games, and has an absurd regular season point streak of 63 games, stretching back to last season.

Toronto does have a few options though. If they can package a deal with their second round pick (FLA), Grebenkin, and an expiring deal like Connor Dewar or Conor Timmins they may be able to acquire Ryan O'Reilly from the Predators.

He's fairly inexpensive at $4.5M, and moving out the money of Dewar/Timmins, a potential Top 9 forward in Grebenkin and a late second round pick (anywhere from 55-64) would be more than enough to entice GM Barry Trotz to let him go, especially with no real hope for this season.

Another option could be Sean Kuraly. He's a cheaper option at $2.5M and wouldn't cost as much asset wise. Toronto has several picks as well as mid-tier prospects like Topi Niemala and could even package AHL leading scorer Alex Steeves together in order to add to the senior team without breaking the bank.

Either way you slice it, Toronto is going to get a trade done one way or another. But the question remains: How desperate are they to improve to win now, and will it cost them their future?