Maple Leafs Reportedly Made Astronomical Trade Deadline Offer For Flyers Defenseman

It was a well known fact that the Toronto Maple Leafs were looking to address their blueline ahead of the trade deadline with more rugged and physical players.

The Leafs had sought after many names, but eventually landed on Brandon Carlo in a stunning late-deadline move.

One name in particular that they were chasing before they got Carlo was Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. The Maple Leafs and the Flyers were in contact for weeks before they finally pulled the trigger on a Scott Laughton deal, but not without discussing a trade for Ristolainen as well.

According to a recent report from the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch, the Maple Leafs wanted Ristolainen so bad that they offered an astronomical deal that was rebuffed by Daniel Briere and the Flyers.

By now, Maple Leafs fans should be well aware that Briere is a hard nut to crack considering how long it took to get the Laughton trade done and the price of his acquisition that included a first round pick and prospect Nikita Grebenkin.

It remains to be seen what the monstrous offer was, but considering he still has term remaining, held a decent $5.1 million cap hit, and plays a similar style to Carlo, it probably included a top prospect, another first round pick, and maybe another asset.

The Flyers have remained very stringent on Ristolainen despite his value sky-rocketing over the last year and a bit. They still see him as a vital piece of their back-end and should anyone look to pry him out of Philadelphia, they will need to pony up several valuable assets.

It should be noted that this came from Garrioch's latest piece about how the Ottawa Senators should take another run at the Finnish defenseman. If that does come to pass, the Maple Leafs will likely have stiff competition this summer should they rekindle their interest in Ristolainen.