We can clearly see Treliving trading one of his first-round draft picks if the player he trades for is signed beyond this season. Cost certainty is important for all GMs, and if the Leafs can bring in a player for the short-and-long haul – the way they did last season when they landed veteran defenseman Jake McCabe – they’re going to do so.
Not every team is going to pull off blockbuster deals, and that’s perfectly OK. Some teams feel they need only a sprinkle of depth additions, as they know the Stanley Cup playoffs are a war of attrition, and it makes a difference to have many options as the post-season unfolds. This is what we’d file the Lyubushkin deal is all about; he’s not going to be a first, second, or third star of the game, but Lyubushkin is a bigger body who embraces the physical
But something tells us Treliving wants to make a more significant move. If that involves moving out a prospect like Nick Robertson, we think he’s prepared to make that deal. If it means trading a solid American League player like Alex Steeves or Nick Abruzzese, we think Treliving is ready to make that trade. Toronto doesn’t need to remake their first two lines, but if they do get a chance to improve the third and fourth lines – or, of course, find a veteran defenseman to beef up one of their top-two ‘D’ pairings – the Leafs will absolutely take a swing to land one.
