TSN: Pierre LeBrun, Mike Johnson, and Ryan Rishaug on what they think the Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving will do leading up to the trade deadline.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Rishaug: “On the Toronto front Pierre. What do you, if I were to ask you right now to predict what the haul ends up being, what do you think Brad’s reliving is standing there holding when trade deadline comes and goes? What’s real, do you think?”
LeBrun: “Well, there’s a couple of things to get at. I’ll try to be quick. One is that I really think that the Leaf stretch of games coming out of All-Star, we’re going to be part of, I think, giving Brad Treliving the impetus to add. Like I think he, I think he wants to see what his team has your cause they’ve been …”
Johnson: “By playing well, or by playing poorly?”
LeBrun: “Yes. Well. Exactly. I mean …”
Johnson: “If they play poorly he’s going to think I gotta add because we’re no good or if they play well I got to add.”
LeBrun: “No, No, I think if they played poorly, I think he’s got to sit on his assets.”
Johnson: “Okay, pulls back.”
LeBrun: “Listen to the Leafs have traded so much away going all-in the last few years, that I, you know, I think the Leafs need reason to spend another first-round pick. Which is what it’s going to have to be for something tangible.
The Leafs don’t have a second-round pick for the next three years. The next three seconds are gone. And and you know, I reported this last week but to get in on the Tanev discussion right now, it’s a second and another asset is what we’re hearing around the league. The Leafs don’t have that.
Now the Leafs can find other ways to find a package. There’s no question Brad Treliving, loves Chris Tanev, I mean he had him in Calgary. It’s, it would be a great boost to the Leafs blue line.
But I’m just telling you that I think, I think the Flames have made it clear to Toronto, well, you don’t have a second so if you want Chris Tanev, it’s your first and that’s a big price to pay.But then again, Winnipeg paid first for Sean Monahan last week, so, you know, maybe that’s the kind of year we’re having at the deadline.
Now. if the Leafs can’t get Tanev and they still want to add, there’s (Ilya) Lyubushkin or Sean Walker, there’s (Nick) Seeler. They definitely want to add on the blue line there’s no question about it.”
Johnson: “There, so yes, there, the gap there that (John) Klingberg, and we know that they need someone there, but if you look at the Leafs the last, I don’t know 25 games, their problem is no one could score except the big players.”
LeBrun: “Right.”
Johnson: “Like, like they everyone talks about defense and yes, I get it. They could use an upgrade there and they haven’t been perfect, but I tell you what, putting Chris Tanev on the back end…”
LeBrun: “Probably both.”
Johnson: “Yeah, right. So I’m saying like it’s not gonna help you score goals, and they need help, like, Tyler Bertuzzi one in 28. Max Domi two in 22. Matthew Knies zero and 16 (numbers are from before the weekend). Whatever they, like all these guys that they were counting on scoring 20ish goals are in a wicked drought.
So unless that corrects itself, right? Doesn’t matter what you do defensively, they need offense and it’s been several years where they’ve needed offense. They don’t usually go get it and I think if the goal we get something like they need offense to.”
LeBrun: “Well, maybe they get a bit of both, that wouldn’t surprise me either. But again, going back to all the assets, I mean, the you know, the Athletic’s Scott Wheeler just in his organizational or he’s in the middle of organizational prospect rankings, I think the Leafs are ranked 28th.
Like, you know, they’ve gone for it a number of years here under the previous GM.”
Johnson: “But I guess I’m just saying Pierre, going to get a defenseman doesn’t cure all in Toronto.”
LeBrun: “No, totally. Honestly, I think they need two defensemen, in my opinion, they need two defensemen and a top-nine board. But how do you do that when you’re sitting in a wildcard spot? I don’t know. Like …”
Johnson: “You don’t.”
