Maple Leafs Eyeing Pair of Hard-Nosed Forwards as Trade Deadline Looms
Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly eyeing a pair of hard-nosed forwards to help bolster their roster ahead of Friday's trade deadline.
While we were all asleep, the Colorado Avalanche swooped in and nabbed one of the Maple Leafs' top trade targets in Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders.
In addition, the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars were close to acquiring a premium asset in Mikko Rantanen. Those discussions are expected to continue today.
As for the Leafs, they remain connected to Brayden Schenn and Scott Laughton, but as The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta mentioned on Friday morning, there are two more players they've also turned their attention towards.
"As the Maple Leafs weigh their options, two players they continue to pursue as potential bottom-six adds including Brandon Tanev from Seattle and Luke Kunin from San Jose."
Obviously, Kunin and Tanev aren't some of the sexier names out there, but they're still very useful players in their own right. Kunin, unlike Tanev, can play centre as well as the wing and could be a nice fit at 3C for the Leafs.
There's a lot of time remaining between now and the 3:00 pm ET trade deadline, and with the Leafs having waived Ryan Reaves on Thursday, we know they're going to use that cap space to do something.
The questions now are, how motivated are they to make a big splash? And if they prefer to avoid spending their top assets, will they pursue deals for multiple less attractive players and under-the-radar adds? We'll find out in short order.
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MARS 7 | 2207 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Eyeing Pair of Hard-Nosed Forwards as Trade Deadline Looms If the Maple Leafs fail to add a significant player, how far will they go in the playoffs? | ||
| 1st round | 1238 | 56.1 % |
| 2nd round | 698 | 31.6 % |
| 3rd round | 123 | 5.6 % |
| Stanley Cup Finals | 148 | 6.7 % |
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