Insider Reveals Maple Leafs' Trade Talks Heating Up With Blackhawks, Blue Jackets
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton
Nicholas Robertson may finally get his long awaited fresh start as the Leafs are reportedly engaged in talks with a new trade partner in the Blackhawks.
The Leafs and GM Brad Treliving have been exploring options in terms of finding a trading partner for Robertson for the better part of a year.
In the off-season, reports surfaced that the Leafs had opened discussions with the Columbus Blue Jackets that would see Robertson sent to Columbus for disgruntled forward Yegor Chinakhov.
Leafs and Blue Jackets Re-Engaged
Those initial talks fell through, but according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun on Thursday's edition of 'Insider Trading', the two teams have opened talks again.
The news comes as Robertson is projected to be a healthy scratch for Friday night's game against the Buffalo Sabres.
Leafs Have Eyes on Young Blackhawks Forward
In a late-night edition of written '32 Thoughts', Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman corroborated LeBrun's report and added that the Leafs and Hawks have engaged in talks surrounding Lukas Reichel.
"Toronto is investigating options for Nick Robertson. At some point in the summer, they pitched a move for Yegor Chinakhov, but that wasn't to the Blue Jackets' liking. That file remains open in Columbus, however. Same with Lukas Reichel in Chicago," wrote Friedman
Maple Leafs Need Top-Six Help
Both Reichel and Chinakhov have played top-six minutes for their respective clubs in the past, and both fit the mold of players Treliving and Craig Berube prefer, compared to the much smaller Robertson.
As Leafs head coach Craig Berube continues to search for someone to skate alongside Auston Matthews on the top line, or next to Tavares on line 2 with William Nylander moving up, it would appear that Treliving is hoping to land a player who fits that role, but is on the younger side.
At this point, both sides are likely tired of trade rumours, so hopefully the Leafs can find a resolution to their issue and give Robertson a fresh start in short order.
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