Maple Leafs will part with significant return due to trade partners ask

The Toronto Maple Leafs are heading into the trade deadline as serious buyers placing themselves into position to make at least one splash before next Friday.

However, they need to be ready to pay the price. According to insider Elliotte Friedman, Toronto will need to part with a significant return due to trade partners ask ahead of the deadline. This is what Friedman wrote in his latest 32 Thoughts on Sportsnet:

“There are four people/assets potential trade partners ask from Toronto: Easton Cowan, Ben Danforth, Fraser Minten and their 2026 first-rounder. If they want to do anything significant, they’ll have to decide which of those they’d part with.”

It makes total sense for trade partners to be interested in Cowan, who is having another strong season in the OHL with the London Knights. In 36 games, the 2023 first-round pick has 20 goals and 45 points.

Danford too is another promising prospect in the Maple Leafs’ system who could be a nice grab for a rebuilding team. With the Oshawa Generals this season, the Leafs’ 2024 first-round pick has five goals, 21 points, 53 penalty minutes, and a plus-2 rating.

It is not the first time Minten has been mentioned in trade rumours as the 2022 first-round pick is one of the Maple Leafs’ top prospects and has some NHL experience. He has taken part in 15 contests with the Leafs this season, collecting two goals and four points, on top of his six goals and 13 points in 24 games with the Marlies down in the AHL.

Toronto can also dangle its first-round pick in next year’s draft, which could put them in position to acquire a high-impact player for the playoffs.

The Maple Leafs could be going all in this time and with quite the trade arsenal, a monster move could be coming to Toronto shortly.