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Insider Believes Maple Leafs Drop Out of Big Deadline Trade
It appears the Toronto Maple Leafs have dropped out of discussions to try and trade for Brayden Schenn at the trade deadline.
As per Andy Strickland, it is believed the Toronto Maple Leafs are no longer in the running or talking seriously about a trade to acquire Brayden Schenn at the trade deadline. He writes in a post on Fridya, “Toronto has the pieces to make a deal for Brayden Schenn but as of now haven’t put a package together to make it work.” He then adds, “Told, at this point, a deal with the Maple Leafs is unlikely. Could change, but as of now doubtful.”
The Maple Leafs were one of the teams rumored to be in on discussions involving a trade that would see Schenn leave the St. Louis Blues. Of course, reports also noted that Schenn wasn’t looking to depart from St. Louis, and it wasn’t clear if he would even waive his no-trade to facilitate a deal.
That could have had something to do with the Leafs reportedly backing away from this, and/or why Toronto was also rumored to be in talks to acquire Brayden’s brother, Luke (from the Nashville Predators). Toronto may have been trying to entice Brayden to seriously consider the Maple Leafs if his brother was on the team.
A Brayden Schenn to Maple Leafs Trade Was Tricky
Either way, the trade wasn’t easy to pull off. Even if Brayden had agreed, he was a $6.5 million cap hit until 2028 and a 33-year-old. His production was decent, not jumping off the page and it was likely he would regress over time. Adding him was a risk and the cost of acquiring him in a trade was high. If the Blues were asking for someone like Matthew Knies, it’s understandable the Leafs would have walked away from discussions.
Strickland didn’t reveal what the package Toronto had put together, but it was likely a high pick and one of Easton Cowan or Fraser Minten, if not more. The Leafs might feel more comfortable holding onto those pieces in the event that Mikko Rantanen or another player shakes loose over the next few days.
Given the recent injury to Chris Tanev, the Leafs might have also shifted priorities and may be looking at blue line options.
Next: Prices on Centers Affecting Scott Laughton Trade Talks for Flyers
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