This season has been a very interesting one to start with for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and with some big off-season acquisitions and the hiring of Craig Berube as Head Coach, it's safe to say that the team believe they can live up to the hype in 2024/25. With some young pieces to play with and draft capital, this team appears ready to be aggressive on the trade market, and opposing teams realize that too, as scouts have been in attendance for many of their games this season.
Monday night's blockbuster with the Tampa Bay Lightning is the only game on the NHL slate ahead of Tuesday's Frozen Frenzy, and according to The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta, 23 teams are represented by scouts on the night.
While the reporter doesn't list every team there, he did mention that General Managers Jim Nill (Dallas Stars) and Steve Staios (Ottawa Senators) are in attendance, and given that both would like an upgrade on the right side of their blue line, Toronto appears to be a good team to converse with. Toronto also has the likes of Calle Jarnkrok, David Kampf, and Nick Robertson, all of whom were involved in trade speculation late in the off-season potentially available, and with the team looking to solidify their lineup, it makes sense that opposing teams are interested.
It's unclear exactly how active the Maple Leafs have been in trade talks early in the season, but with a big year ahead and potential jobs on the line in the organization, they could be ready to make a blockbuster deal at any time.
POLL | ||
Will the Toronto Maple Leafs make a blockbuster trade deadline acquisition this season? | ||
Yes | 71 | 60.7 % |
No | 46 | 39.3 % |
List of polls |