NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman Reveals Insider Insights: A Deep Dive into the Current State and Plans of the Toronto Maple Leafs

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Dawson Mckenzie
November 10, 2023 (12:49)

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This NHL insider just revealed the biggest issues happening right now with Toronto's roster and whether or not Sheldon Keefe is to blame.

Elliotte Friedman Discusses Klingberg's Situation and the New Faces in Toronto

Elliotte Friedman recently was on the Leafs Morning Take podcast to discuss the current state of affairs that is the Toronto Maple Leafs. After the tough stretch that the Leafs have gone through recently, the first question he was asked was why the Leafs are struggling so much with their new guys, and if it is something to panic about

It looks like they've kind of solved the Domi problem. Like they have a role for him, and it looks like he's going to be okay.

But it's really incredible to me to see how hard it has been. I just heard you talking about, know Klingberg. Everybody was talking about Klingberg last night. Bertuzzi hasn't found a spot yet, how hard it has been to make the new players part of the team. And I don't know if it's the way they play or what it is exactly, or if it's on the players who came here, but on paper, the team that finished last year and the team that's playing this year, it shouldn't be this big a difference.

This team should not be, and every team goes through bad stretches and all that, but this team should not look the way it does compared to the way last year's team looked with the roster changes.

Friedman rightly points out that it's hard to put the blame on Treliving for bringing in guys who have had successful pasts and just haven't found their game in Toronto. Despite that, however, they still have some major flaws, mainly on the backend.

Friedman Believes That the Leafs Will Go After a Defenseman from Calgary

The Leafs will definitely be looking to improve their blueline via an acquisition this season, and Friedman does believe that Nikita Zadorov or Chris Tanev, or even both, would be the target for Brad Treliving. However, he notes that this won't be easy and that most teams are looking for defensemen.

Calgary's got three defensemen that a lot of teams are going to be looking at. I think Vancouver is going to be looking at some of their guys. I don't know, Marek says. There's no way that Calgary can help Edmonton, but I could see Edmonton even calling and seeing.

But I think any good team like Dallas is another team that's going to be looking for the best defenseman that they can find. And I think any team that is going to be looking for something is going to be looking at the Calgary Flames.

To me, I think Treliving would love to have Tanev or Zadorov, if not both, but there's going to be a lot of competition for those players. Yeah, it's going to be difficult.

While it will be difficult for the Leafs to get the highly sought-after defenseman, hopefully, Treliving's connections in Calgary will give the Leafs the upper hand when it comes to getting a trade done.

As seen on The Leafs Nation - Leafs Morning Take