Toronto Maple Leafs: Trade Rumours Ramping Up

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a bit of a slump.

The Toronto Maple Leafs played one of their worst games on Friday in Florida, and they have been struggling of late.

In the NHL, that means trade rumours get cranked up to 11.

Add in the fact that it’s entirely clear that the Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking to upgrade – most likely at defense – before the NHL’s trade deadline, and that that deadline is only a month away, and you’ve got a level of trade fever not seen since Tyler Bozak left town.

(Seriously, that guy was in a lot of trade rumours. Ironically, Tyler Bozak has never been traded. )

Leafs Rumours

The most persistent trade rumour isn’t even technically a rumour.  It’s more of an inference based on a report on Hockey Night in Canada.  They told us a few weeks ago that Carolina’s Dougie Hamilton – one of the five or so best defenseman in the world – was available.

The Leafs need a right handed defenseman, Carolina has been the team they’ve been most associated with rumour-wise, and so it just makes sense.

Will the Toronto Maple Leafs pay the exhorberant cost to aquire Hamilton? Does it matter that Hamilton is, if traded, going to his fourth team?

I’d say no and no.  No the Leafs won’t meet the price (which has to be more than Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm) and no it doesn’t matter whatsoever about Hamilton’s ‘character.’

The Leafs have been rumourd forever to be into Chris Tanev, but his game has taken a precipitous decline, so I’d read nothing into those.

Then of course the rumours about William Nylander never go away.  This week he was supposedly going to Edmonton.  Well, he’s not.

The Toronto Maple Leafs gave him a verbal no-trade clause, they aren’t going to sell low on him anyways, even if they were willing to break their word, which they won’t be.

So everyone can put 100% of Nylander rumours to rest.  He will definitely never be traded.

The Leafs did make a bit of news when it was ‘broken’ that their 1st round pick is ‘in play,’  but come one, that was pretty obvious. They’d hardly have a competent GM if it wasn’t.

Honestly, my thoughts are that the Leafs are in such a good spot, such a rare spot (Matthews/Marner ELCs) that they’ll make a huge move.

I think we’ll see a big name defenseman acquired if only because it’s crazy to think of what Rielly has done with such a bad partner, and how good he could be with a good one.

It’s going to be hard to do without sacrificing either Liljegren or Kapanen. I think the Leafs would rather not be detracting from this year’s roster, so I wouldn’t be buying a Liljegren jersey anytime soon, if I was you.