The trade deadline came and went this season with the Toronto Maple Leafs being one of the quieter contending teams. After getting out ahead of the game, acquiring Ilya Lyubushkin on February 29th, the Leafs made just 2 trades to address roster needs at the NHL level before the March 8th deadline, acquiring Joel Edmundson on March 7th before bringing in Connor Dewar to help the team's struggling penalty kill late Friday afternoon.
Following the conclusion of the trade deadline, Leafs GM Brad Treliving mentioned that the Leafs pondered a number of different moves, but that they were happy with what they were able to accomplish with their 3 moves. As far as what the moves that they had discussed were that never came to fruition, we now know one of the names that they targeted, but missed out on ahead of the deadline.
Per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman during his latest edition of 32 Thoughts, the Leafs took a run at Nashville Predators forward Yakov Trenin, who ultimately went to the Colorado Avalanche with a 3rd round pick in 2025 being the main piece heading back to Nashville.
Trenin, a 6'2, 201-pound center, was a heavy hitter who was highly coveted ahead of the trade deadline. A solid depth option, Trenin has produced double digits in goals in each of the last 4 seasons. He has also been credited with at least 167 hits in each season over that same span.
Ultimately, when the Leafs were unable to sway the Preds, they turned their attention to the 24-year-old Dewar, who is 3 years younger than Trenin and is a pending RFA, which means that the Leafs will have a couple of years of control remaining, whereas Trenin is set to become a UFA this summer. The Leafs also paid a lower price for Dewar than what the Avs paid for Trenin, having parted with just a C prospect in Dmitry Ovchinnikov and a 4th round pick.
