Toronto Maple Leafs Would Prefer to Trade a Winger for Defenseman

In search of help along the blue line, the Toronto Maple Leafs would reportedly prefer to trade one of their wingers if they were to make a deal for a defenseman.

With a glut of forward talent in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, it’s no surprise the team would reportedly prefer to trade a winger if they were to make a deal for a defenseman.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie went into detail about the Leafs situation — and the Dougie Hamilton rumours — when he appeared on TSN’s Insider Trading Tuesday night. Here’s what McKenzie had to say:

"From the Toronto Maple Leafs’ side of the equation — yes, they would like to move a winger at some point for a defenseman. But, people are trying to connect the dots and say “well, if Dougie Hamilton’s available you’d have to trade William Nylander for that to happen” and the fact of the matter is the Leafs are not intent on trading William Nylander at all.What they do have is an incredible depth of wingers. That’s part of the reason why William Nylander’s on the fourth line — with Brendan Leipsic, Kasperi Kapanen, they’ve got more wingers waiting that they believe are NHL ready. So the logical name at some point, whether it’s this season before the deadline, or next season, or the offseason, is James van Riemsdyk.You’re going to be hearing a lot of that one because that is something that logically makes sense, to trade a winger like van Riemsdyk for a defenseman at some point."

You can watch the full video here.

A lot of interesting stuff from McKenzie, but let’s start with the Hamilton rumours. McKenzie did mention that “there have not been substantive trade talks between the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs.” He did, however, mention that scouts from each team and there general managers have been looking at each others players, but, again, nothing serious at the moment.

McKenzie also mentioned that the Flames are listening to calls for Hamilton, but, like the Maple Leafs rumours, nothing is serious right now. In other words, the Flames are doing their due diligence and listening to calls for a player, like any team would, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are actively trying to trade Hamilton.

Adding to McKenzie’s report from Tuesday night, Flames general manager Brad Treliving says the team is not shopping Hamilton, according to Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The FAN.

We’ve heard plenty of general managers in the past — like Marc Bergevin with the P.K. Subban rumours — make these sort of statements when a player on their team becomes the centre of rumours. I mean, what do you think the GM is going to say? Yes, we are trying to trade this player? We all understand why they make these kind of statements, so let’s just take them with a grain of salt.

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When it comes to these Calgary-Toronto rumours, though, it’s no secret these two teams are ideal trade partners. But I’m sure part of the issue for Toronto is trying to determining who to give up in a trade.

We’ve heard names like William Nylander (which I think is ridiculous), Kasperi Kapanen, and James van Riemsdyk be mentioned, but, like McKenzie mentioned, I think JVR is the only possible player the Leafs would consider dealing.

I don’t know if JVR for Hamilton would be enough to get a deal done, but I’m sure JVR will draw interest from other teams who could be looking to deal a defenseman, like the Ducks (Simon Despres or Cam Fowler), Predators (Matthias Ekholm or Ryan Ellis) or Jets (Jacob Trouba).

It will be interesting to see how these rumours unravel throughout the season, but, man, what I would give to be a fly on the wall and listen to Treliving and Brian Burke negotiate with Lou Lamoriello. I’m sure those would be compelling negotiations to say the least.

Next: A Conversation with James van Riemsdyk about Fitness and Health

What are your thoughts on these Flames-Leafs rumours? Would you like to see the Leafs acquire Dougie Hamilton? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.