The Toronto Maple Leafs could be one of the main teams involved at the NHL trade deadline next week. After starting their resumed season with back-to-back losses in Florida, the signal appears to be that they should be selling a whole lot.
One player that could be on the block is veteran defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. While he has ben the best and most consistent blueliner for the Leafs this season, he's also 34 years old and signed for two more seasons -- at a very respectable $3.5-million AAV, but still under contract in his mid-30s.
Now might be the time to sell high and after reports came out that the Edmonton Oilers are targeting Ekman-Larsson as an answer for their defensive problems, we now have the latest report on what kind of deal we could expect involving the veteran blueliner.
Maple Leafs could get a haul in Ekman-Larsson trade
On Friday's episode of Oilers NOW, Edmonton reporter Bob Stauffer spilled the beans on what the Leafs have been offered to them for Ekman-Larsson. He did so while answering a fan question about a potential package that would send Ekman-Larsson to Edmonton.
"Another text from Josh says, 'I wonder if there's a package to be built such as a 2027 first, a 2027 second, and Mangiapane and a prospect, for OEL and Nicolas Roy.' I'm going to tell you right now, I don't believe that gets done for those combinations of players," Stauffer said.
"The Leafs, I'm told, have a number one for Oliver Ekman-Larsson. That's what I'm hearing through the grapevine."
It is understood, the way Stauffer said it, that the proposed first-round pick in return for Ekman-Larsson is not specifically from the Oilers, but a general trade offer that has been made. It could be the Oilers -- it could also be from any number of teams looking for some stability and offensive prowess on their blue line for the next couple of seasons.
If Toronto already has that high draft pick available to them, you have to wonder if they are looking for more in a potential deal. After all, they would've taken it by now, right?
The Leafs can make this move, and others, to really recover a whole lot of their assets that they blew over the last couple of years. With their first-round pick most likely going to the Boston Bruins (as long as it's not in the top five), they need to do all they can to recoup some high picks, draft good players to refill their prospect cupboard, and get back on the path to contending.
It's the first step in what will be a big process.