NHL General Managers Attend Maple Leafs Game Vs. the Lightning: Trade Rumors Heat Up

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Tom Banks
October 22, 2024 (2:16 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have been involved in plenty of trade speculation this season already, and now that's heated up following their battle with the Lightning.

This season has been off to a solid start for the Toronto Maple Leafs, with all of the changes through the off-season leading them to a 4-2-0 start through six games. Their latest matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning was an interesting one, as they played well all over the ice, but it was perhaps what was in the stands that was just as interesting as what was happening on the ice.

According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, 23 teams were represented in the stands as this was the only game of the night on the NHL slate ahead of the Frozen Frenzy on Tuesday, which will see all 32 teams in action, as well as two General Manager's in Dallas' Jim Nill and Ottawa's Steve Staios.

There's already been plenty of trade speculation around the Toronto Maple Leafs, which involves the likes of Calle Jarnkrok, Nicholas Robertson, David Kampf but mostly Timothy Liljegren, who is becoming a top target for several teams around the league. It's unclear which players that Nill and Staios among many, many scouts were there to see, but this has been a recurring theme at Maple Leafs games all season long, with Brad Treliving likely open to a big move that improves this team at some point this season.

In previous years, Toronto have failed to go big at the trade deadline, adding the likes of Joel Edmundson and Ilya Lyubushkin, but with a chance to finally make an impact, the team could potentially be looking to go all in with a blockbuster trade.

With so much talent added in the off-season, many believe that this may be the year the Toronto Maple Leafs finally take their step towards a deep Stanley Cup run, and if the team can move some of their younger players and find an impact player to insert into the lineup, there's no reason why they can't be a major contender in 2024/25.