Rumor: Maple Leafs linked to two defensemen in potential trade.

Leafs linked to a pair of potential trades.

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HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Rumor: Maple Leafs linked to two defensemen in potential trade.
David Kirouac/CSM/Zuma

It is no secret that the Toronto Maple Leafs could use an upgrade to their blue line and it seems very likely that Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas will, at the very least, make an attempt to acquire one prior to the upcoming National Hockey League trade deadline. That of course leaves a wide open field of possibilities as to who the Leafs could potentially target in a trade, but now thanks to some NHL insiders we may have the names of 2 players who have hit the Maple Leafs' radar. 

Last week during the weekly "Headlines" segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet's National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that the San Jose Sharks were making some players available after a terrible start to the 2019 - 2020 NHL regular season for that organization. Specifically Friedman pointed to veteran defenseman Brenden Dillon, a player that will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, as a potential trading chip for the Sharks. Additionally Friedman took the time to mention the Maple Leafs by name, suggesting that the Leafs might already be kicking tires on a trade involving Dillon. Through 50 regular season games thus far Dillon has 1 goal and 10 assists for a combined total of 11 points this season. The veteran blue liner has 73 penalty minutes to his name this season and currently boasts a plus minus rating of -4, all in all pretty good when you factor in how bad the Sharks have been this season.

Another name has now come up however, but in this case it sounds like the Leafs may have some competition. In a recent article for The Athletic, Minnesota Wild insider Mike Russo touched on the fact that newly appointed Wild general manager Bill Guerin is currently being flooded with calls from opposing teams. Like the Sharks the Wild have had a rough go of it this season, although they currently sit 4 points ahead of the Sharks, and the expectation is that they will be sellers at the deadline. According to Russo the Leafs may have interest in one of the players that might become available, defenseman Jonas Brodin.

From Russo:

They surely wonder: Is Jason Zucker available? Is Jonas Brodin, who may be getting interest from Carolina, Colorado, Toronto and Vegas, available?

Will the Leafs pick up one of these targets? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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