The Toronto Maple Leafs have begun to turn things around after a brutal stretch at the beginning of December, picking up a point in each of their last seven games — and winning five of them.
Now 20-15-7 and just two points out of an Eastern Conference wildcard berth, the Leafs will continue trying to climb up the standings in the second half of the 2025-26 season, although it's an uphill battle considering the blue line is decimated without Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe.
Tanev's injury is especially concerning, as the stalwart defender could be getting surgery which will cost him at least the rest of the regular season. And with the Olympic trade freeze going into effect from February 4-22, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported that Toronto might have no choice but to add before that time.
“Whether it’s because of injuries or being in need of a season-saving move, we’re also going to see deals between now and Feb. 4 because some teams that haven’t given up on the year have to plug holes as soon as possible and can’t afford to wait until after the Olympics,” the hockey insider wrote in his latest column on Wednesday.
“It might be too late by March 6 to save their season. That could be a team like the Toronto Maple Leafs trying to add on defense, for example. The Leafs have renewed calls around the league looking to bolster their blue line. Losing Chris Tanev again has intensified those efforts.”
LeBrun believes that the Leafs might be forced to act in the next few weeks “with smaller transactions” as they look to hang around in a competitive Atlantic Division. Currently, all eight teams in the division are within 10 points.
Why teams will wait until after Olympics to make trades
LeBrun speculates that some of the bigger trades — which probably excludes the Leafs' need for immediate help — could wait until after the Olympics, for a couple of reasons.
“I’m hearing from an increasing number of buyers and contenders that they’re learning toward waiting until after the Olympic trade freeze to make their most impactful moves. The reason is two-fold: 1) They might be targeting a player who’s going to play in the Olympics and want to make sure he’s not injured in Milan; and 2) Those same playoff contenders also have players headed to Milan and want to make sure if they suffer an injury there, they have time to pivot on their deadline needs post-Olympics,” he wrote.
Once the Olympic games in Italy conclude, National Hockey League front offices will only have 12 days before the March 6 trade deadline. It's certainly not a ton of time, but many general managers can still afford to wait.
For a team like the Maple Leafs, a franchise looking to make it 10 consecutive postseason appearances come April, they might not be able to stick to the status quo as the injuries pile up.
It'll be interesting to see if Brad Treliving makes a move between now and the Olympic freeze in 28 days.
