Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving all but confirmed the obvious in a Monday midseason media availability: The Leafs would like to – and are likely prioritizing – add a middle-six centre ahead of the March 7 NHL trade deadline.
Craig Berube and the Leafs have tried Pontus Holmberg and are currently playing Max Domi as their third-line centre. But that’s likely not where someone like Domi will end up playing come playoff time.
“We’ve got lots of guys who can play (centre). Is it an area that we continue to try to upgrade? I would say this: The guys at the top of the food chain are pretty darn good. Auston (Matthews), and how can you talk anything but positively about the year John (Tavares) has had? So to say you’re going to go and get somebody above that, I don’t think that’s realistic. Is there ways that we can continue to look at adding to that? Is that an area that we’d like to continue to look at? Sure, it’s one that we, probably along with about 15 or 18 other teams, are looking at,” Treliving said.
Considering what Treliving said he liked about how his team has played through 44 games, it makes sense to narrow the list of centres the Leafs might add even further. They likely prioritize finding a centre who can handle defensive and physical responsibilities.
“We’re viewed as a team that checks well and defends the front of our net and doesn’t give up a lot of easy ice,” Treliving said.
Whomever the targeted player ends up being – and if indeed Treliving finds someone for a price he’s willing to pay – expect him to be a two-way player.
Experienced Philadelphia Flyers centre Scott Laughton could bring a little bit of everything the Leafs want. Another veteran, Seattle Kraken centre Yanni Gourde, has two Stanley Cup rings. What about a reunion with Nashville Predators centre Ryan O’Reilly, or Utah Hockey Club centre Nick Bjugstad, a pending UFA?
“You want good players, right? If there’s one out there that fits, reliable on both sides of the puck, certainly somebody that can add offence, all those types of things,” Treliving said. “What you want and sometimes what’s available are two different things.”
The Leafs are without a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to barter with in trade talks. They do own a second-round pick this year and their first-round picks in 2026 and 2027.
Does that mean they’ll have to move one of their better prospects to land a centre? Not necessarily. It just means the Leafs might have to get creative in terms of what they can offer.
“You look at good teams and you need to have good young players on entry-level deals and on lower money, those help you become successful as well. Certainly, it’s a balance,” Treliving said.
Obviously, things change depending on whether specific players become available ahead of the deadline, but it certainly sounds like Leafs prospects Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten aren’t going anywhere.
Perhaps if Minten continues to dominate the AHL he could be brought up for his second NHL tour of duty ahead of the playoffs. Minten doesn’t have the experience and scoring touch that outside options have. But Treliving also might not like the prices on the trade market.
Either way, the likelihood of Treliving selling a possible future centre for the Leafs to add one for the present seems unlikely.
“I think the world of Fraser,” Treliving said. “Is he a guy that can help us? I think he can help us. Is that now? Is that six months from now? Is that a year from now? We continue to look at it every day.”
With his Leafs team in first place in the Atlantic Division and home-ice advantage in the first round coming into their sights, how Treliving hopes to bolster his team now looks clearer. The next 53 days could end up being some of the most fascinating in Treliving’s tenure as Leafs GM.
“Certainly we’ll continue to look to see what the marketplace, what’s available there and then ultimately what the cost is and see if there’s a fit,” Treliving said.
Other news from Treliving’s Monday availability:
• Despite some concern about how healthy Matthews will be for the 4 Nations Face-Off in mid-February, and whether it makes sense for his health this season for him to participate, it seems likely he will suit up for the United States. “There’s nothing right at this point to make me worry about that. But we still are a month away or so,” Treliving said. “Hopefully there’s no setbacks and everything keeps moving forward.”
• Generating offence at five-on-five and on the power play has been prioritized as an area of improvement for the Leafs. “We’ve seen it in spurts,” Treliving said. “We should be a top power play. It has been a top power play for a number of years.” Treliving admitted that the team’s power play “needs to be a difference maker for us. And it hasn’t been.”
• Contract extensions for Mitch Marner and Tavares? At this point, Treliving has got the act of deflecting questions about the two high-profile Leafs without contracts at the end of the season down to a fine art. “Those are things we’re always looking at and talking about,” Treliving said. “Nothing to report right now.”
(Photo of Brad Treliving: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
