Toronto Maple Leafs in talks with St. Louis regarding Colton Parayko?

According to Howard Berger, the Toronto Maple Leafs are in talks with the St. Louis Blues and are aiming to trade for Colton Parayko.

Tip of the Tower’s James Reeves recently wrote about the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ blue line. In essence, he believed the current corps should be given the chance to prove themselves before looking at making any additions.

Certainly, there is a compelling argument to be made for this course of action. However, what if an opportunity emerged to bring in a young, talented defenceman with upside, to be the mainstay of your blue line for the foreseeable future?

Well, we might be about to find out, at least according to long-time hockey reporter, Howard Berger. Referencing a source, Berger writes that the Leafs and St. Louis Blues have recently ‘kicked trade tires’.

The thinking is that the teams can help each other, with the Leafs’ need for a blue-liner equaled by the Blues’ search for stronger offence. Berger goes on to suggest Leafs’ general manager, Kyle Dubas, would like to put together a trade which sees them receive Colton Parayko.

A lot of people will automatically want to dismiss anything Berger writes. However, you don’t spend 30 years working as part of the Toronto media covering the Leafs (and Blue Jays), without having some success and gaining contacts along the way.

In terms of the actual speculation, Berger does stress “it is merely a whisper at this point and has a number of moving parts”. The question is, does it have any legs, or is this just much ado about nothing?

Let’s be honest, on a lot of occasions when teams are talking, it is merely a case of performing your due diligence. Essentially, attempting to find out who is available from the other side, at least theoretically.

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Of course, if one or both teams get told that someone is available, who they are extremely interested in, this is when it can begin to get interesting. At that stage, talks will begin to progress/develop/advance.

In that respect, what would it take for the Blues to realistically consider parting company with Parayko? You would assume it would have to be something special to pry away a younger budding star, who is under contract for another four years.

As Berger mentioned, the Blues have to strengthen their offence. Despite missing the playoffs by only one point, they ranked just 24th in the NHL for goals scored.

And even though St. Louis has already bolstered their roster with the additions of Ryan O’Reilly and Leafs’ favourite Tyler Bozak, they still need more offence. In that respect, the Leafs are stacked.

So, who would the Leafs be prepared to part with? And who would the Blues want, in exchange for Parayko?

For example, what about Patrick Marleau? The issue with Marleau is the Leafs could well miss his invaluable leadership and positive influence on the younger players.

At the same time, would the Blues really bite on someone who will be 39-years-old when the new season starts? Why part company with a player who has a long career ahead of him, for someone who is near the end of his?

Another possibility is William Nylander, a restricted free agent who is currently without a contract. However, as Berger notes, the Leafs won’t even make Nylander available to St. Louis.

Ultimately, it is tough to envision a realistic way in which the Leafs can convince the Blues to trade Parayko to them. And this is assuming talks between the two sides even go anywhere.

However, there is no denying the addition of the hulking 2012 third round draft pick would do wonders for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ blue line. As such, it’s still fun to imagine, no matter how unlikely such a prospect may be.

Do you give any credence to this speculation, or do you believe it’s much ado about nothing? If there IS anything to the story, what would you be prepared for the Toronto Maple Leafs to give up in a return package for Parayko? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.