While the NHL Trade deadline is not until March 8th, 2024, in my opinion, Brad Treliving shouldn’t wait that long to pull the trigger on a trade. We know, according to reports from many NHL insiders such as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and TSN’s Chris Johnston, the Maple Leafs have shown strong interest in Calgary Flames defenceman Chris Tanev. Another thing we know is the Maple Leafs defense core has not been very good, nor deep depth wise. While considering the injuries to the Maple Leafs D core, the Leafs could have been in a way worse position, but thanks to Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll the Leafs have been able to still rack up points. I will also give credit to two defencemen: Simon Benoit and William Lagesson. There isn’t much more you can ask two AHL defencemen to do. While the Leafs are not in a terrible position, I do not believe they should wait until March 8th to pull the trigger on a trade here’s why:
A reason Brad Treliving should not sit back is that the Maple Leafs are not that far back for 1st place in the Atlantic Division. Showing aggressiveness for a position of need would be good for the Leafs. Another reason is that Chris Tanev is the perfect fit for the Leafs. A right-handed shooting defenceman who blocks shots, including to the face. He is a warrior; he would be the best for the Playoffs. Nowadays, it is super hard to find players like this. Why the Leafs need to pull the trigger on a possible trade soon, is because the Leafs aren’t the only team interested in Tanev’s services. The Vancouver Canucks, Colorado Avalance, and Boston Bruins are among other teams with interest. Those teams would likely be aggressive on a trade ,too. A perk for Chris Tanev to Toronto would be that Tanev’s born in Toronto, and the chances of Tanev re-signing in Toronto would likely be higher than other teams. Those are some of the reasons why Brad Treliving should not just watch this defense core suffer until March 2024.
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