Hostile situation prevents Maple Leafs from pulling off significant trade!

There isn’t much of a blue line left in Toronto as the Maple Leafs are already without blue liners Mark Giordano, John Klingberg and Timonthy Liljegren. Therefore, there are reports stating that GM Brad Treliving is actively working the phones trying to find help for his back end, though he informed Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that he is not willing to overpay to bolster the blue line.

“Would we like improve the defence? Absolutely,” Treliving said. “It all comes at a cost. There just isn’t a lot of high-end defencemen that people are dying to give you for low cost. Ultimately, what is the cost you’re going to have to pay for somebody to come in and make a significant difference?”

Then, Friedman, along with Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, explained how Treliving attempted to acquire Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames last week, but the latter was eventually move to Vancouver. The Canucks shipped a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft (acquired from CHI) and a third-round pick in 2026 back to Calgary.

“From what I understand, Calgary drew a hard line on what it would take — as is the Flames’ right — and the Maple Leafs weren’t willing to go there,” reports Friedman about Treliving’s attempt.

While the Maple Leafs’ GM may blame the high prices on the trade market, Garrioch was informed by some league executives that “Flames owner Murray Edwards is “no hurry” to help Treliving and the Leafs. The two sides couldn’t get the package deal with Zadorov done and the sense is, if Toronto really wants Tanev, the club has to be willing to pay.”

“That may be higher than it is for some teams,” a league executive told Garrioch.

When speaking about the asking price for Tanev or other defensemen on the market, TSN’s Darren Dreger said this on last night’s edition of Insider Trading:

“Would Toronto be willing to give up a second-round draft pick for Chris Tanev? Maybe. But Toronto doesn’t have a second-round draft pick. They’re limited in their draft supply.”

The insider also names other trade options available for Treliving in former Leaf Ilya Lyubushkin of the Anaheim Ducks, Philadelphia Flyers’ Sean Walker and Columbus Blue Jackets’ Andrew Peeke.

We all know how defense wins championships and with a huge void on the back end in Toronto, along with last night’s injury to goalie Justin Woll, something needs to happen for the Maple Leafs and possibly prior to the annual holiday roster freeze set for Dec. 19 at 11:59 p.m.

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