With just a fews day left before the NHL Trade Deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs are weighing their options of what they’re going to have to do in order to add quality talent to their roster.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman joined Leafs Morning Take on Tuesday to discuss what could be on the horizon for the Maple Leafs before 3 p.m. ET on Friday. Friedman stated that if Toronto wants to get a more prominent name, he thinks it’s going to cost someone in the pipeline.
“I think they have accepted the fact that if they’re going to get something that moves the needle,” Friedman said. “It’s gonna cost them some combination of their No. 1 pick in 2026, Easton Cowan, Fraser Minten, or Ben Danford.”
"I think they have accepted the fact that if they're going to get something that moves the needle, it's gonna cost them some combination of their No. 1 pick in 2026, Cowan, Minten, or Danford."
– @FriedgeHNIC @thegoldenmuzzy | @CarterHutton4
Presented by @CharmDiamonds pic.twitter.com/Qmi1BW67Yl
— TheLeafsNation (@TLNdc) March 4, 2025
Of those names, only Minten has appeared in an NHL game already. The 20-year-old has appeared in 19 games with the Maple Leafs, including 15 this season. Right now, Cowan is tearing it up in the OHL with the London Knights, while Danford is having another solid season with the Oshawa Generals.
Friedman believes that the prospect that would get the biggest return would be Cowan.
“Of all their prospects, Cowan is the one with the most offensive upside…I think their kids got so much room to grow and so much talent. I think they’ve really thought hard about, ‘Okay, do we do we do it?’ I think that’s one of the things that they’re weighing.”
Friedman also mentioned that the Leafs might have to offload some money to make room for a player. Philadelphia Flyers centre Scott Laughton’s name has been tied to Toronto in recent weeks. While Laughton carries a $3 million cap hit, the Leafs have hardly over $100,000 in deadline cap space, according to PuckPedia. According to Friedman, the Leafs might be in the market for a defender, making Rasmus Ristolainen a intriguing target as well.
