The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly scouring the trade market ahead of the Olympic Games next month. 

Urgency appears to be setting in for the Leafs with the clock ticking for the team to make a meaningful run at a playoff spot. The NHL trade deadline is set for March 6, but the league will undergo a lengthy Olympic trade freeze for the majority of February. 

This means that a team like Toronto, desperate to get better as soon as possible, might have to act sooner rather than later on the trade front, but what is GM Brad Treliving’s highest priority? 

According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, it appears the Maple Leafs are focusing on improving their defensive group. 

“The primary focus right now is on their blueline,” Dreger reported on Tuesday’s edition of Insider Trading. “The problem that Treliving has right now, like a lot of general managers looking for defence, is that the market is thin. 

“We’re talking about older defencemen, perhaps at the end of their run and third pairing guys. There hasn’t been a fit that’s surfaced just yet.” 

Toronto’s defensive group has been devastated by injuries this season. All of Jake McCabe, Chris Tanev, and Brandon Carlo have recently missed time. Though Carlo returned on Tuesday, McCabe is out at least another week, and Tanev may have suffered a season-ending injury. 

Those injuries have likely sparked the Leafs’ desire to add another body into the mix. Waiver claim Troy Stecher turned out to be a valuable addition for the club, and getting another top-six defender could go a long way with this group. 

NHL insider Pierre LeBrun added in that same segment that the Leafs are among the teams hoping to make a move before the Olympics begin in just over a month. 

“With cases like the Maple Leafs and the [Winnipeg] Jets, there are a number of teams that don’t have a choice that are gonna have to act before that trade freeze for the Olympics because they have to save their season,” LeBrun said. 

“They’re in desperation mode, so I expect to see some smaller to medium moves in the next few weeks [across the NHL], but the bigger moves for contenders [will come] post-Olympics.” 

The Leafs have been playing better of late, getting points in seven of their last 10 games, but still remain on the outside of the playoff picture. As of Wednesday evening, Toronto is sitting sixth in the Atlantic Division and just two points out of a wildcard spot. 

It’s been a while since missing the playoffs has been in the cards for the Leafs. It will be up to Treliving to find a way to avoid that fate in the coming months. 

Lead photo by

 Dan Hamilton/Imagn Images