Insider Elliotte Friedman Drops A Bombshell Regarding Brad Treliving and The Toronto Maple Leafs Next Move

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Julien Trekker
December 1, 2023 (2:44 PM)

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Now that the Toronto Maple Leafs' top trade target Nikita Zadorov has been traded to the Vancouver Canucks, Brad Treliving must find another way to bolster his blue line.

Trade Options for Treliving: No Rentals Please

We saw it last year: rentals don't work for the Leafs. Ryan O'Reilly, Luke Schenn and Noel Acciari all left Toronto this summer for nothing, after Dubas paid a hefty price to trade for them.

The renowned insider Elliotte Friedman talked about that possibility:

"Toronto is down three defencemen: Mark Giordano (injured Tuesday, length of time to be determined), John Klingberg (could be rest of the season) and Timothy Liljegren (already out three weeks).

As they consider what to do, the biggest question might be, "Is this the year to spend key assets on rentals?" A less-costly depth option, OK. Someone with term or that you know you can sign, all right. But a pure rental? Do they think that makes sense for this team, this season?"

There are still great options out there for Treliving, like Sean Walker or Ilya Lyubushkin. But let's hope he doesn't waste future assets for players who'll leave a few months later...

But Another Great Option Involves a Rental...

Another great candidate is Chris Tanev. Even if he'd be a rental, as a Toronto guy, Friedman believes Treliving should be able to keep him.

"He's a Toronto guy, Treliving singed him (in Calgary), I bet you he'll have a good idea of what it will take to keep him (in Toronto)," Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts podcast. "That's the one guy I think Toronto goes hard to get, because even if he's acquired as a rental, I think they're going to be pretty confident they can keep him. But we'll see."

Who do you think Treliving should go after?

As seen on Hockey Feed - Maple Leafs planning blockbuster deal ahead of trade deadline?!