The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost their last four games and are currently 8-10-2 in the season. There's no doubt that the team needs to play better, but they may also need some help along the blue line to see some real improvement.
According to Pierre LeBrun, the Maple Leafs are in the trade market for some help, but it's looking hard for them to find what they need.
“John Chayka, the GM of the Maple Leafs, according to what I'm hearing from other teams around the league, continues to make calls about trying to upgrade the blue line in a real way. Not in a Band-Aid way, or not in a patchwork way, but at least make the kind of trade they want to make between now and March 1st for a meaningful upgrade on the blue line that is beyond just this year, that fits in with this core and helps this team moving forward,” LeBrun said. “In other words, I think he would be trying to be doing this, even if the record was reversed right now.
Article Continues Below“This is not about winning or losing or being in a losing streak. But this is a priority item. If at all possible, at least, to upgrade the blue line. The thing is, we're in mid-November, and strangely enough, teams aren't really selling on top-four defensemen right now this early in the year.”
It'll be interesting to see if the Maple Leafs can make a trade at some point to improve the blue line. If they can't, it could be a long season for them, especially with them near the bottom of the division this early.