NHL Trade Deadline Betting Odds: What will be the Toronto Maple Leafs’ priority on deadline day?

We’re firmly into the back half of the regular season and the playoff races are becoming clearer. With the Toronto Maple Leafs hovering around a Wild Card spot in the standings, it’s clear general manager Brad Treliving needs to upgrade the roster if the Leafs want to have a chance at a deep playoff run.

Ahead of trade deadline day, let’s take a look at what the Toronto Maple Leafs should prioritize.

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What do the Toronto Maple Leafs need?

There’s no question the biggest issue facing this team is on the blue line. Outside of Morgan Rielly, Toronto’s defensive core just isn’t good enough to seriously compete for a Stanley Cup. Mark Giordano should be a No. 6 or No. 7 defenceman at best, but the team has been forced to play him on average over 17 minutes a night this season. The John Klingberg experiment was also a disaster, but at least adding his contract to long-term injured reserve frees up valuable salary cap space for a Leafs team that has the least amount of cap room in the NHL.

So, what kind of defenceman does Toronto need? Ideally, they will be able to pick up a big, tough, mobile defender who can block shots and lead the penalty kill. Essentially they need to finally finish what they’ve been trying to do for nearly two years and replace Jake Muzzin. And although half the NHL already seems to be looking for one, a right shot defenceman is preferable for the Leafs as the only righties they have on the blue line are Klingberg, Timothy Liljegren and Conor Timmins. Klingberg is out for the season, while Liljegren and Timmins are closer to third pairing defencemen on a true Stanley Cup contender.

Chirs Tanev

Calgary Flames defenceman Chris Tanev has been the top player on the trade bait board most of the season and Toronto is believed to have significant interest in the 34-year-old who is on an expiring contract with a $4.5 million AAV. It was current Leafs general manager Brad Treliving who signed Tanev in Calgary four years ago and Tanev checks all the boxes for Toronto. He’s a veteran right shot shutdown defenceman who isn’t afraid to put his body on the line and he can eat heavy minutes while anchoring the penalty kill. Tanev is averaging 19:48 of ice time per game this season, including 2:40 shorthanded, and he sits second in the NHL in blocked shots (151).

Tanev won’t come cheap and it will almost certainly cost Toronto their 2024 first round draft pick, especially if the Flames retain salary. Remember, the Leafs don’t have a second round draft pick this year and they don’t have a first or second round pick in the 2025 draft. Another problem for the Leafs is that while Tanev would fill a major roster hole, they still need to do more to upgrade their defence if they are going to compete among the best teams in the NHL.

Other trade targets

Sean Walker out of Philadelphia could be another target. He’s also a right shot defenceman and he’s only 29-years-old. There’s no long term committment because Walker is a UFA at the end of the season and his $2.65 million cap hit is great value for a player who is on pace to post career-highs in points, plus-minus, shooting percentage, blocked shots, hits and takeaways.

I don’t see Toronto being able to build a trade package strong enough to pry Noah Hanifin out of Calgary, but Nashville’s Alexandre Carrier would be a great depth addition if the Leafs end up also adding either Tanev or Walker to the top-four. Carrier is a 27-year-old right shot defenceman who will be a UFA at the end of the season and he has a reasonable $2.5 million cap hit. He provides stability and his reliable style of play could make Carrier a sneaky good addition come playoff time.

If Toronto is willing to compromise and go for a left-handed shot defenceman, they could target pending UFAs Nick Seeler out of Philadelphia or Joel Edmundson out of Washington. Familliar faces like Anaheim’s Ilya Lyubushkin and Nashville’s Tyson Barrie are also believed to be available, although Barrie’s offensive style is probably not something the Leafs are interested in right now.

Verdict

I would be shocked if the Leafs don’t heavily upgrade their defence before the playoffs and that likely means at least a couple of deadline day deals. Personally, I’m hammering Over 1.5 trades for the Toronto Maple Leafs on trade deadline day.