The Trade Target Brad Treliving and the Leafs Must Avoid at All Costs

With all the names available on ahead of the March 7 trade deadline, there's no shortage of options that can help the Toronto Maple Leafs get to the next level. They need to be careful not to overpay, but as other teams make blockbuster moves; the team needs to do something.

But they should be weary about who they pick up as well, as what looks good on paper might not translate well to on-ice performance.

Toronto really needs to take a second look at Ryan O'Reilly and not to bring him back, but to make sure they don't handicap their lineup.

I guess if all else fails, O'Reilly is good pickup but beyond that? It's tough to see. He's got 30 points this season, which is solid enough but he's also a minus-17, skating at a glacial pace and for all his scoring; his shooting is weak.

He's winning lots of faceoffs, but he's regressed defensively. He's expensive at $4.5M, has years left on his deal, and there's the whole locker room fiasco that led to O'Reilly leaving town in the first place.

He's going to be 35 on Feb. 7 and while he did help Toronto reach the second round his first time around; the team is a lot different from 2022-23. Craig Berube could use his size, but the worsening defense and lack of speed makes it difficult to keep him in at crucial times.

O'Reilly is currently playing second line minutes in Nashville, and might not want to give up that responsibility and playing time in order to play minimal minutes regardless of the chance to win. He averaged only 16:32 his first go round with the Leafs which is a steep three minute decline from his career average.

Nashville is also going to squeeze whatever they can out of Toronto and an overpayment for an aging O'Reilly is not the move. If the team can shift gears for a player like Colton Sissons that's a safer option.

Brad Treliving is going to make a splash at the trade deadline, but he should tread water carefully regarding Ryan O'Reilly or he might end up being drowned in the rough waters of the Atlantic Division.