![\"Maple](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/576603.webp.webp\" "\\"Maple")
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Photo credit: Steven Ellis – The Daily Faceoff<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tToronto Maple Leafs prospect Ben Danford<\/a> has been dangled about as a trade piece as the team looks to add some big-time forward help according to NHL Insider David Pagnotta.There have been talks about the Toronto Maple Leafs wanting to add a top-six forward<\/a> and while that would be great, they seem to lack a lot of premium assets in order to get a deal done.It’s highly unlikely that the team will part with a name like Easton Cowan<\/a>, who has the potential to become an absolute stud in the NHL, and guys like Noah Chadwick<\/a> are oozing with a ton of upside, and losing him would be a hit to Toronto’s prospect pool.<\/p>\n Ben Danford emerges as a surprising trade candidate<\/p>\n However, there is a distinct possibility the team might be willing to part with Ben Danford according to NHL Insider David Pagnotta.<\/p>\n I’ve started to hear [Leafs prospect] Ben Danford’s name as a piece that they might consider to dangle.<\/p>\n It makes sense as to why Toronto would want to part with Danford, as he’s still a bit of a wild-card, and if there’s a chance a team will bite on his potential, and offer a top-six player in return; it might be too good to pass up.<\/p>\n Take a team like Pittsburgh for example. They could use a young defensive prospect in addition to Charlie Trethaway, and with players like Rickard Rakell<\/a> and Bryan Rust<\/a> available as impact players for the Leafs, that might be an avenue they explore.<\/p>\n Ben Danford: Quietly solid, aggressively focused<\/p>\n Danford, drafted 31st overall in the 2024 Draft, has been working extremely hard this summer to get himself in as best physical and mental shape as possible, and is working with<\/a> a contingent of Mark Giordano, Jake Muzzin, and Chris Tanev<\/a>; a trio of defensive geniuses who will no doubt help Danford’s growth.<\/p>\n It was another frustrating end to his season though, as Danford’s Oshawa Generals lost their second straight OHL Championships to fellow Leafs prospect Easton Cowan’s London Knights, but put in a solid year regardless.<\/p>\n