Toronto Maple Leafs seriously considering Brayden Schenn trade: report
The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly very interested in trading for St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn.
With the NHL trade deadline set to hit on Friday, the Leafs are looking to bolster their centre depth. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, it appears that one of the options they are considering is Schenn, who currently has 12 goals and 37 points in 61 games this season.
“It’s pretty common knowledge, they are looking at centres,” Friedman said. “One player they are definitely, definitely considering in terms of both the acquisition cost and if there is any way they can do possible retention is Brayden Schenn of the St. Louis Blues.
“There is competition there, but he is definitely a guy Toronto is thinking about very hard.”
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The Leafs are currently running Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and Max Domi as their top three centres so far this season. Adding Schenn into the fold would allow head coach Craig Berube some flexibility with his top-nine forward group.
Friedman also mentioned that Toronto is not the only team with interest in Schenn as the Vegas Golden Knights are reportedly poking around the player as well.
Trading for Schenn would be a significant move for the Leafs as the 33-year-old Saskatoon native is coming off three-straight 20-goal seasons with the Blues and is a great leader both on and off the ice. In some ways, it would feel like a similar type of trade as when the Leafs acquired Ryan O’Reilly at the 2023 deadline.
Fitting Schenn’s $6.5-million cap hit would be difficult for a cap-strapped team like the Leafs, but between retention and getting a third team involved to eat salary, it should be doable. Schenn is under contract until the end of the 2027-28 NHL season.
Friedman was not able to pin down what exactly the Leafs would have to give up in a potential Schenn trade with St. Louis. There have been rumours surrounding prospects like Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan, so perhaps one of those players could be part of an asking price.
We’ll find out after Friday.