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The Toronto Maple Leafs have been able to go 6-1-2 over the last nine games with a severely short-handed defense, something that Leafs GM Brad Treliving reportedly tried to remedy by making a blockbuster deal to acquire Calgary defensemen Nikita Zadorov and Chris Tanev.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday’s Hockey Night In Canada broadcast and on Monday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast that the Leafs GM inquired about the pair of rental blueliners (who he both brought to Calgary during his tenure as Flames GM), but a deal would have required Calgary to retain up to 50% of Tanev’s $4.5 million salary and Zadorov’s $3.75 million cap hit.
The Flames balked at that and instead traded Zadorov to Vancouver for a third and fifth-round pick with no salary retention required. The Leafs are still awaiting final clarification on the injury status of John Klingberg, so their cap room at this point is extremely limited.
Friedman indicated that the Leafs are still interested in Tanev, although he believes that Calgary will take another swing at signing the pending UFA before they shop him before the March 8th trade deadline. He also said that Philadelphia defenseman Sean Walker could be an option, but that he is not thought to be high on Toronto’s wish list.
The Leafs are not likely to get injured defenseman Timothy Liljegren back for another couple weeks, and veteran Mark Giordano until the New Year, so at this point they at the absolute least need to add some depth with Klingberg probably done for the season and a busy December schedule. It is also thought that Toronto is not in desperation mode, based on where they are currently at in terms of being a Stanley Cup contender.
Toronto is currently in a playoff spot, but have the second-least amount of regulation wins and besides their blueline, have questions in goal and consistency at forward. A short-term rental deal does not make a whole lot of sense unless the price is a mid-to-low-round draft pick. With the Leafs long-term picture on the blueline cloudy at best, Treliving should only be dealing valuable assets like high draft picks for players with term on their deal.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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