Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving has already made one trade this season — and it doesn't look like the executive is done, at least according to The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta.
“Leafs GM Brad Treliving is believed to still be engaged in trade discussions with other teams while also weighing his options via the waiver wire,” Pagnotta reported on Monday. “The Maple Leafs appear to have options, but what direction management takes remains to be seen.”
After weeks of trade rumors — and a couple of healthy scratches — Timothy Liljegren finally got a new home on October 30, being traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Matt Benning and a couple of draft picks.
That freed up some cap space for Toronto, which is necessary considering a couple of players look ready to come off the injured list. That includes forward Connor Dewar and defenseman Jani Hakanpaa — the pair were sent to the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies on a conditioning stint earlier this week.
When the two are ready to return to NHL action, the Leafs will need to accommodate both under the cap; that's $1.18 million for Dewar and $1.47 million for Hakanpaa. In an attempt to free up more space, Treliving could try to flip Benning to another team, or send him down to the AHL.
The front office has a couple other trade chips to work with as well. Calle Jarnkrok is currently on long-term injured reserve, and teams have called about the Swedish forward earlier in the season, per Pagnotta.
Nick Robertson also remains on the trade block, and his $875,000 could be another option to get off the books. But right now, the Leafs could really use some more goal scoring.
Leafs are struggling to score goals in 2024-25
The Leafs are having a real tough time scoring goals lately, and they've lost five of their last seven games because of it. Auston Matthews hasn't looked at all like himself; he's on pace to score 32 goals after potting an eye-popping 69 tallies in 2023-24.
And it could be because the star American is injured — Matthews won't play in an all-Atlantic Division clash against the rival Boston Bruins on Tuesday night, the team announced.
That's a disappointing blow for a club that is already having a difficult time putting the puck in the other team's net. Toronto has scored just 19 goals in seven games, and that's not a recipe for any kind of success.
Although both Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz have been fine between the pipes, neither netminder has been able to step up and steal a game when it was really needed.
Overall, it hasn't been a great start; the Leafs are 6-5-2 and barely holding onto the third seed in the Atlantic. It'll be interesting to see if Treliving tries to add another scorer to the lineup, or allows the current players to try to snap out of the funk.
Toronto begins a four-game homestand against the visiting Bruins on Tuesday — the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators will also make trips to Scotiabank Arena over the next week.
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