Maple Leafs refuse to include 2 players in any trade offer!

The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly still on the hunt on the trade market for a boost on their back end, however, general manager Brad Treliving won’t make any offers that include two of his best prospects Easton Cowen and Fraser Minten. Anthony Di Marco of The Fourth Period does not think Toronto would be willing to give up on the two forwards when it comes to adding to the Maple Leafs’ blue line.

“Prospect forwards Easton Cowen and Fraser Minten were described to me as ‘non-starters’ for the Leafs. The coy approach of Toronto has left more than one team a little frustrated with trade talks.”

If teams offering up options on the back end, who could be the Calgary Flames with Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin or defencemen Nick Seeler and Sean Walker of the Philadelphia Flyers, are getting frustrated, it may be a sign that the Maple Leafs should reconsider what they make available to get the desperate help they need on the blue line.

That Stanley Cup window isn’t going to stay open for much longer. This is already the seventh year of the Auston Matthews- William Nylander- Mitch Marner trio and several players on the roster are getting closer to free agency.

If Toronto wants a real shot, they need a significant improvement on defense and therefore should be open to offering prospects like Minten and Cowan.

Especially when we heard from Pierre LeBrun earlier this week that they could consider moving their June first-rounder when it comes to a Tanev transaction:

“I think if the Leafs were willing to move their June first-rounder, they could potentially entice the Flames into getting this done sooner rather than later. Too rich a price? Maybe. But Ben Chiarot , a similar type of defenseman who was also a pending UFA, went for a first-round pick two seasons ago from Montreal to Florida. David Savard , another rugged, physical, shot-blocking defenseman, also went for a first-rounder from Columbus (via Detroit) to Tampa Bay at the trade deadline in 2020-21, so I don’t think it’s completely greedy for the Flames to be thinking first, even if they end up settling for a second andor a prospect instead.”

The trade deadline is still a few months away, however, Treliving shouldn’t turn down all offers that could include one of the two prospects seeing that a void needs to be filled urgently on the back end in Toronto.

And Brad, it might mean to make Minten and Cowan available.

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