Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs Miss Critical Trade Opportunity to Strengthen Blueline
A lot of talk is surrounding how the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to improve their offense on the blueline, but their reluctance has led to their rivals benefitting.
The offensive production on the blueline for the Leafs this season has been god-awful. Besides Morgan Rielly (who hasn't been all that impressive himself), the only player with more than goal on the team is Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
While the addition of defense is great, the offense on the backend needs work.
There are a few options that Brad Treliving could look to in order to add some extra firepower to his blueline, but he needs to be careful not to overpay, but he could see if a former player of his wants to reunite.
But it was the trade Toronto didn't make that hurts them a lot, and the worst part of it all, is their most heated rivals get to reap the benefits.
Alexandre Carrier Could Have Helped Toronto Immensely
Carrier, a right-handed shooting defenseman doesn't fit the typical mold of a Craig Berube or Brad Treliving system, but you can't deny he has the skills necessary to improve the team.
He's able to play on both sides of special teams, blocks shots, and has solid positioning on the ice. In 2021-22 he averaged over a point per game, and since being traded to Montreal has been great.
He has five assists in 11 games with the Canadiens and has been outstanding over his last five games.
He only has an assist but has 12 blocks and his analytics show that he can be trusted at both ends of the ice.
Toronto does have a new mindset when it comes to roster construction so it's understandable why they may have wanted to pass on a player like Carrier who is only 5'11 and 174 pounds. But if the team continues to pass up on potential gamechangers then it's going to be rough for the team come the deadline.
Given that there is only a month and a bit left until the trade deadline, not to mention a potentially dangerous 4 Nations Face-Off causing headaches both due to time and injury risk, Brad Treliving's miss on adding some firepower may be the team's ultimate downfall come the postseason.
