With the NHL trade deadline now just one week away, Brad Treliving started the party on Thursday night by re-acquiring D Ilya Lyubushkin in a three-way trade with the Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes.
The move came just 24 hours after the Leafs lost out on Chris Tanev, a deal sources say Toronto was in till the very end. Ultimately, Calgary chose Dallas’ package, and the rest was history.
Since all that went down, as evident by Thursday night’s post-game trade, the Leafs briskly turned their focus towards other potential D trade targets. Clearly, they got over the finish line with Lyubushkin, someone the organization is very familiar with dating back to his time with the team in 2021-22.
The big question now is are the Leafs done? Only time will tell on that front.
Having said all that, at this point, it doesn’t sound like much has changed in terms of their unwillingness to deal any of their blue-chip prospects.
Hearing that the #LeafsForever are still unwilling to budge on teams asking about Fraser Minten & Easton Cowan.
That said, it sounds like Ryan Tverberg could be in-play leading up to the March 8th #NHLTradeDeadline.
— Nick Alberga (@thegoldenmuzzy) February 29, 2024
Not familiar with Ryan Tverberg? Well, lucky for you, our Steven Ellis offered up this scouting report on the 2020 7th rounder a few days ago. Essentially, the 22-year-old is replaceable, but it goes without saying, he’s proven to be a huge value pick for the Maple Leafs. In 35 outings so far this season for the AHL’s Marlies, the forward has tallied eight goals and 28 points.
Big picture, considering the lack of premier talent seemingly available on the trade market this year, it’s probably in Toronto’s best interest to keep its top prospects off the table. Simply put, there’s nobody out there right now – at least to the best of our knowledge – that’s worthy of even having a discussion on Cowan or Minten. On top of that, both players will likely get a legitimate shot to make next year’s team out of training camp. When you’re committed to your big guns the way the Leafs are, you need some cheap contracts and there’s not much more valuable than players on entry level contracts. See Matthew Knies and Joseph Woll.
All in all, it will be fascinating to see what else – if anything – transpires over the next seven days. Anything’s possible, but if you’re looking to purchase some Cowan/Minten swag, there’s no need to think twice about it. Neither guy is going anywhere —at least not anytime soon.
