TORONTO -- With the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline quickly approaching, the Toronto Maple Leafs will try to extend their winning streak to six when they host the San Jose Sharks at Scotiabank Arena on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; Prime, NBCSCA).
But how much of the team’s recent success will alter how aggressive general manager Brad Treliving and Maple Leafs management will be by 3 p.m. Friday?
Toronto’s current 8-1-0 run has put the team in first place in the Atlantic Division with 78 points, one ahead of the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Their 6-5 overtime victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday ran the Maple Leafs record to a perfect 27-0-0 when leading after two periods, a telling indication that coach Craig Berube’s message of tightening things up at crunch time is being followed.
At the same time, they’ve been unable to separate themselves from the pack. The second place Panthers are 8-2-0 in their past 10 and made a huge move by acquiring defenseman Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. The third place Tampa Bay Lightning, meanwhile, have won eight consecutive games to pull within four points of Toronto and three of Florida.
Does Toronto take a big swing for the fences like Florida did with Jones? Or try to string a bunch of singles together in a number of smaller, less risky deals at a more digestible cost?
“I am happy with where the group is at,” Treliving told reporters in Pittsburgh this weekend. “I’m not going to get into a whole lot about the deadline, other than to say we’re going to try to help ourselves. We want to try to improve our team. That’s pretty breaking news there, isn’t it?”
Toronto’s biggest two needs: a third-line center and depth on the blue line. Both TSN and Sportsnet have reported the Maple Leafs are interested in St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn, who won the Stanley Cup there under Berube in 2019.
Despite a 6-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday, the Blues remain one point behind the Calgary Flames, who have two games in hand, for the second wild card from the Western Conference. How willing are the Blues to move key cogs like Schenn when they’re in the midst of a playoff race? And if he’s not on the market, who around the League really is?
“You have to determine fact from fiction,” Treliving said. “What players are actually available? If you look around, there are still a lot of teams in the race. If I had to categorize it, it is busy, and you are talking to lots of guys, but in comparison to years past, it is a little bit slower. There are a lot more teams that maybe haven’t declared yet. There are lots of conversations going on.
“We would certainly like to help ourselves. We will see how things play out.”
When asked if the Maple Leafs felt more compelled than a few weeks ago to take a bolder attitude on the trade front, given how open the East is, Treliving said he doesn’t view the situation that way.
“I don’t buy into the idea that from one year to another, it is wide open,” he said. “The East has the reigning Stanley Cup champions. It has good teams. You always have to base it on where your team is at.
“To me, it is not about taking big swings. Where do you think you can help your team the most? This isn’t to say we are doing this or doing that, but historically, if you look back at these attention-grabbing deadline deals, really look back at how many have really paid dividends.
“Ultimately, it is more about looking at your team. What are the areas you think you can improve on? Are there players out there who can make a difference and move the needle? Sometimes, moving the needle is a small (move). Maybe it is not the sexy, headline-grabbing move, but are there areas where you can shore up? Ultimately, what is available, what is the cost, and how does it all fit in?
“It is a long way of saying that I like our team. I would like to see if we can make it better by Friday than it is today.”
With just one home game in February, the Maple Leafs have still found a way to stay in the hunt for the division title. Their resiliency under Berube is exemplified by the perfect 4-0-0 road trip they just came off of, one that featured tight overtime wins against the Boston Bruins and Penguins, and a 3-2 victory against the New York Rangers on Friday in which they were badly outplayed and outshot 35-16.
They certainly didn’t get any points for artistic merit in the victory against Pittsburgh, but Berube will take it anyway.
“It is not how we wanted to draw it up but it happens sometimes,” Berube told reporters afterward. “We made a couple of mistakes and put ourselves in a little bit of a hole but the guys stayed with it, climbed out of it, and found a way to get a win, which is great.”
Now it’s up to Treliving and Maple Leafs management to find the correct pieces to improve, whether it be in the form of a big splash or small ripples.
Florida, after all, already has.
