Maple Leafs Like Two Defensemen as Backup Plans to Chris Tanev

The Toronto Maple Leafs are staying active looking for defenseman on the trade market. The entire league seems to know of their fondness for Chris Tanev of the Calgary Flames, but there are two other blueliners the Leafs have looked into. According to Darren Dreger of TSN, both Sean Walker and Ilya Lyubushkin are on their radar.

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic quotes Dreger in his recent article for The Athletic and writes:

Though Treliving remains keen on Tanev, knowing him well from his time as the Calgary GM, my TSN colleague Darren Dreger mentioned a couple of other intriguing names during our “Insider Trading” segment Thursday evening: Sean Walker from the Philadelphia Flyers and Ilya Lyubushkin from the Anaheim Ducks. Both are pending UFAs, like Tanev.

Dreger points out that either trade something that could take some time. The Maple Leafs believe that the current asking prices for the players they’re interested in are too steep, indicating that nothing is imminent. Elliotte Friedman also points out on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast, that as long as there’s a chance for the Leafs to get Tanev, he’s their number one choice.

But, the other two make for solid backup plans.

Lyubushkin has experience with the Maple Leafs, having played 31 games for the team in 2021-22. Meanwhile, the Flyers don’t necessarily want to trade Walker, but unless they can secure a contract extension, they are open to considering offers.

What Would the Maple Leafs Be Willing to Give Up?

Of all three players — Tanev, Walker and Lyubushkin — Walker is going to cost the most to acquire. The expectation is that the Flyers want a first-round pick in return for the player. LeBrun points out that if the Leafs trade their first, their lack of second-round picks for the next three years leaves them without much draft capital.

Multiple reports already note that GM Brad Treliving doesn’t want to spend all of that draft capital on rentals. Elliotte Friedman suggested there are real conversations going on in Toronto about how aggressive the team is willing to get. They know they need a defenseman, but they aren’t willing to sacrifice the future to add someone who won’t be around long term.

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