Treliving says Leafs looking to trade for a defenceman
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to improve their defensive group.
Today, Leafs general manager Brad Treliving met with the media for a quarter-season check-in press conference and spoke about the team’s desire to add another defenceman into the mix via the trade market – although he admitted it wouldn’t necessarily be a cure-all elixir.
Toronto has scored 65 goals this season, but it’s given up the exact same amount, setting the team up for a goal differential of precisely zero.
Ranking both 14th in the league in goals for and against – and 12th in points percentage – a move or two could help the team sort out its defensive struggles to kick off the year, as it currently sits seventh in the Eastern Conference.
“It was an area that we wanted to see if we could strengthen regardless,” Treliving said, via Sportsnet’s Luke Fox, about trading for a defenceman. “I think that’s your job all the time [to explore the trade market], because you’re trying to help your team now. The idea that you’re always just going to trade yourself out of issues isn’t realistic.”
Defenceman John Klingberg, placed on long-term injured reserve by Toronto last week due to a nagging hip issue, has been arguably the team’s biggest letdown this season, skating in just 14 games before being shut down.
Meanwhile, Timothy Liljegren has been out for Toronto since November 4 with an injury suffered after going hard into the corner boards during a puck battle with Boston’s Brad Marchand.
Treliving added that he hopes to get some clarity on Klingberg within the next week, per Fox. Klingberg is currently seeing a specialist in New York to decide if he’ll need surgery.
The Leafs next hit the ice tomorrow night at home when they host the Florida Panthers for a 7 pm ET puck drop.
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