Leafs acquire 2 star defensemen in MOCK 3-team trade!

With little time to go ahead of the March 8 trade deadline, we see all kinds of speculations and rumours about what contenders should do to hit a home run on the market and boost their roster ahead of the postseason.

And so, several reporters and team insiders are putting together trade suggestions and scenarios, and one of them proposed by The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek has gotten a lot of feedback.

Duhatschek has put together a mock trade that would add two star defensemen to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ roster ahead of the deadline. He believes Leafs general manager Brad Treliving should pull off a three-team trade in order to acquire Arizona Coyotes’ Matt Dumba, but also Calgary Flames’ Chris Tanev. Here is how he sees this happening:

“Arizona Coyotes trade Matt Dumba and a 2024 second-round draft choice to the Maple Leafs for Toronto’s 2024 first-rounder. Toronto flips the second-rounder to the Calgary Flames for Chris Tanev.”

Duhatschek readily admits this is a complicated scenario, though he is adamant that “the Maple Leafs need at least one and potentially two defensemen to give themselves a legitimate shot at the 2024 Stanley Cup.” When it comes to Dumba, the Coyotes are known to be seeking picks to build a stronger future, and so, the deal from Toronto could work for them.

I see a clear issue when it comes to flipping the second-rounder to Tanev…

It was recently reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that the Leafs attempted to sway Flames general manager Craig Conroy to move his defenseman at a lower cost. On his latest 32 Thoughts podcast with host Jeff Marek, Friedman revealed that Leafs GM Brad Treliving is believed to have offered multiple lower-round draft picks to get his hands on Tanev. However, the Flames are seeking a first-round pick, which is missing from Duhatschek’s mock trade.

Duhatschek does point out that a boost on the back end will inevitably force the Maple Leafs and Treliving to part with their first-round pick, which they’ve been reluctant to move since they don’t own a second-round pick in any of the next three drafts. But Duhatschek believes it’s not as bad as losing either Fraser Minten or Easton Cowan in the deal.

So, are you convinced this is the trade needed in Toronto?

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