With the Leafs passing the midway point of the season in a playoff spot, the chances of them remaining in the buyer's market remains higher than the chances of them either standing pat or becoming sellers at the trade deadline.
Leafs GM Brad Treliving has been on the hunt for at least one top-4 defenseman since before the season began and there's no reason to believe that he has changed his mind, especially since he continues to deploy scouts to watch specific teams prior to the trade deadline.
Over the weekend, Treliving had sent scouts to Los Angeles to take in the Kings/Rangers game. Last night, the Leafs were once again scouting a Kings game, this time against the San Jose Sharks. The Leafs weren't the only team with scouts in the building, however, as Tampa, Chicago, Vancouver, St. Louis, New Jersey, Colorado and Seattle had representatives present as well.
Obviously, everyone knows that the San Jose Sharks will be sellers at this year's deadline. As a rebuilding team, it would make no sense for the Sharks to retain many or any of their expiring contracts if they can find a dance partner on deadline day to secure some extra draft picks. We may also see some of the organization's top veterans on the block as well, such as Anthony Duclair, Mike Hoffman and potentially even captain Logan Couture.
Los Angeles, on the other hand, are projected to be buyers, which is why the Leafs having sent scouts to take in two of their games in close proximity is strange. The Kings do have pending UFA Matt Roy who may be of interest to the Leafs on the blueline, but there hasn't really been much trade speculation surrounding Roy this season. In having said that, the 6'1, 200-pound right shot defenseman is just the type of player the Leafs are looking for, so something to watch there.
