NHL Insider confirms that a Maple Leafs trade is possible this week amid rough stretch

With the Leafs heading into a break following Sunday's tough 4-3 loss at the hands of the Ottawa Senators, the question was asked to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger on Monday morning whether he can foresee a trade coming for GM Kyle Dubas this week with the Leafs not seeing game action again until Friday.

"Yeah, I mean, it's easy to identify in the calendar, just given the break in the schedule for the Maple Leafs. The players will practice, they'll be able to rest and recover and I don't think we should diminish the fact that all teams go through stretches of fatigue and I think, of late, that's where the Toronto Maple Leafs are," said Dreger of the Leafs' recent struggles, losing 5 of their last 6 games, after completing a successful 3-game sweep of the Oilers in Edmonton dating back to March 3rd.

"Is there a possibility that Kyle [Dubas] gets some business done during this stretch? Yes, because he has been making his calls. We know that he's been targeting a forward, there's been some speculation about the potential of a defenseman - Mattias Ekholm's name is out there. But in saying that, those two transactions are difficult to complete in a healthy world, even during the offseason, when you've got more flexibility. I'm not saying that Dubas can't do both. I think that it's going to be a significant challenge, where the Maple Leafs are in the cap, the pieces that they're going to have to give up to acquire the forward AND the defense, or either or. It's entirely do-able and it makes sense given the break and the quarantine restrictions that still exist in Canada that he'd be pushing to some degree, but there's no evidence as we're having this conversation that he's close on anything."

The Leafs definitely have the pieces that would be required to land both an impact forward for their top-six and a potential top-four defenseman, but their willingness to part with those pieces is another thing entirely. I think it's probably fair to say that Nick Robertson and Rasmus Sandin are off the table in most, if not all discussions. That still leaves Timothy Liljegren, Travis Dermott, Rodion Amirov, World Juniors standout defenseman Topi Niemelä and their 1st and 2nd round draft picks in 2021 and 2022. At this point, it's not a matter of if they have the pieces needed to make a deal, it's more about the lack of cap space that Dubas may require to make a significant addition(s) at or ahead of the April 12th trade deadline.

"I don't think they want to part with any of that. They don't, but if the perfect fit materializes, then maybe we shouldn't be surprised that a minor trade like we just saw with the Columbus Blue Jackets becomes much more than that," Dreger said of the Leafs' spoils of tangible assets and whether we might see a larger deal take place over the next few weeks.

The Leafs now find themselves with a record of 19-9-2 through 30 games played with 26 remaining. They still sit atop the North Division, though they have slipped considerably in the overall league standings, currently holding down the 5th spot, though Washington, Vegas, Winnipeg, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Colorado nipping at their heels, each with 3 or more games-in-hand.

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