The Leafs are about to open the phone lines, and it could get uncomfortable fast
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
According to Elliotte Friedman, the Toronto Maple Leafs are about to make a few calls regarding potential trades and there's a lot of names who could be on the block.
With the Maple Leafs facing a situation they are quite unfamiliar with recently, it's a question of whether or not the team needs to throw in the towel fully and embrace their retool.
Selling high on what assets they have could be key in shaping their future though it'll be up to Brad Treliving (or whoever is in his position) to get things done which means some fan favorites may be on the way out.
Toronto starting to send out feelers, trying to gauge trade market
According to Elliotte Friedman, that's going to start sooner than later and could end up leading to many uncomfortable situations for players, fans, and management:
Friedman believes that there will be some internal talks however don't expect things to be done before the Olympics roster freeze but Toronto is going to put out feelers for a lot.
However, it does begin the conversation that a lot of players weren't necessarily expecting this year.
No point pretending, it's time to sell
Names like Max Domi and Morgan Rielly are probably playing their last seasons as a Maple Leaf, and there's a good chance that pending free agents like Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, and Matias Maccelli are all available too.
While the latter two are pretty new additions to the team, the former are all players who have dealt with a lot of success and a lot of failure -- most notably Rielly who is the team's longest tenured player.
But it also makes things a bit uncomfortable for fans, who still want to see some level of competition and if they strip things down then it's going to make things even more contentious.
This is a team who came into the season with probably higher expectations than should have been placed on them, and the team ended up becoming a lot slower, older, and injury prone.
No one expected this, but it's the reality of the situation. Toronto has a chance to actually recoup some of the assets they gave away albeit it won't be a perfect haul -- they have to take what they can get.
But if they aren't proactive and can't bring themselves to make the moves necessary then it's going to lead to a lot more turmoil and could lead to the end of the Brad Treliving era in Toronto.
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Two Maple Leafs hit the trade block, and one name will surprise fans
Two Maple Leafs hit the trade block, and one name will surprise fans
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