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The Toronto Maple Leafs in every year during GM Kyle Dubas tenure traded down, out, and/or back into the first round, so why should things be different under new GM Brad Treliving.
According to David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period, the Leafs are shopping the first-round pick (28th overall) acquired in the deal that sent defenseman Rasmus Sandin to Washington at the trade deadline for “immediate help.…
Based on the Leafs needs and the tendencies of Treliving in Calgary, it is likely that Toronto would be looking for defensive help and preferably a blueliner with size. The Flames brought in big defensemen like Noah Hanifin, Nikita Zadorov, Erik Gudbranson, and Chris Tanev via trade and free agency over the last few seasons.
Spoke to #leafs Morgan Rielly about the teams new GM and upcoming free agency that starts July 1. #NHL pic.twitter.com/a55D2ZPZsx
— Lindsay Dunn (@LindsayDunnTV) June 23, 2023
Part of that may have been due to fit the style of former Calgary bench boss Darryl Sutter, but the Leafs have long needed to address the “aggressive quotient… on defense and that was quite apparent by their performance against Florida. Toronto appears motivated to re-sign Luke Schenn, but Treliving may be looking to add size that can play regularly in their top-four.
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A number of NHL clubs have begun to release their preseason schedules, in advance of the release of the full regular season schedule early next week. The Maple Leafs are known to be playing in the Kraft Hockeyville game against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at Joe Thornton Community Centre in St. Thomas, Ontario, but on Friday the Ottawa Senators preseason schedule revealed the traditional home-and-home with Toronto on Saturday, September 24 and Sunday, September 25.
The Saturday contest will be at 2 pm in Kanata, ON, while Sunday’s game will be at Scotiabank Arena at 7 pm.
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In ex-Leafs news, recently retired winger Patrick Marleau was named player development coach and hockey operations advisor by the San Jose Sharks. The 43-year-old played 19 years for San Jose before signing a three-year deal with Toronto in 2017.
Marleau played two seasons for the Leafs before being traded along with a first-round pick (Seth Jarvis) to Carolina and bought out by the Hurricanes. He finished his career with the Penguins and two more stints with the Sharks before retiring in 2022.
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