Not everything is perfect for the Toronto Maple Leafs right now, but it could have been so much worse if former general manager Brad Treliving was able to pull off a trade he so desperately wanted before he was eventually fired. And it looks even worse than he did when we originally found out about it.
Back in January of this year, several months ago, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said on an episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast that Treliving was on the hunt for a center at the 2025 trade deadline and Brayden Schenn was really the main target for the Leafs. This was a team pushing in the chips for one last potential run with Mitch Marner in the fold and clearly by what they were willing to give up for a middle-aged centerman, they were truly all in.
According to Friedman, the Blues wanted a package of Easton Cowan, Ben Danford, and possibly an additional draft pick. And, the deal eventually fell apart when Brayden Schenn only wanted to waive his no-trade clause to go to Toronto if his brother Luke was going to be going there too.
Friedman on 32T says at the deadline last year he believes the Blues told the Leafs if they wanted Schenn it’s Cowan, Danford, and something else, possibly a pick. That was on the table
— Willyston Riellander (@nylanderthews) January 9, 2026
But Friedman heard the deal fell apart when Schenn wouldn’t waive without Luke coming as well
Now, it wasn't confirmed that Treliving accepted the offer or anything. But this was also the trade deadline that he shipped out Fraser Minten, Nikita Grebenkin, and two first-round picks for Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo. It certainly feels like he was willing to empty the entire cupboard for this final run, and that package of Cowan and Danford was probably a price he was willing to pay for Schenn.
Trading Cowan would have been even more of a disaster for the Leafs
Now, it feels like a bullet was dodged. We're already dealing with the repercussions of sending Minten -- who looks like a bona fide second-line center at 22 years old -- to the Bruins. To then have Cowan playing how he is right now, but down in St. Louis instead, it would be mindnumbingly terrible. A series of trades that would have set this franchise back decades.
Of course, now it looks even worse. Cowan has exploded onto the scene this season. He looked so good on the third line to start the season and now he earned a promotion up to Auston Matthews' wing -- and he looks like he should never ever leave his side. Five goals and 11 points in 12 games. It would be miserable if he was doing it for anyone else.
If the Leafs ended up making this trade, in addition to the others that they did at that deadline, then surely Auston Matthews might have made up his decision and want to leave. Maybe Schenn would have just been good enough last season to push them up a couple spots in the standings and end up not selecting Gavin McKenna.
Then, Matthews would be looking at a future of him and William Nylander only getting older, surrounded by even older veterans like Schenn and John Tavares, and no real other players of note except Matthew Knies. And Treliving tried to trade Knies to the Montreal Canadiens for nothing but picks and prospects a year later anyways. It could have been a future where the Leafs truly gutted their entire team because Matthews saw no hope left in winning in Toronto.
Anyways, we can at least be thankful that Schenn prevented this nightmare scenario from happening.
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