TORONTO: Brad Treliving went shopping at night. The general manager of the Maple Leafs has taken care of a pressing need on his blue line, but there is still much on his to-do list before the NHL trade deadline on March 8.
Brad Treliving went shopping late one night in Toronto.
The general manager of the Maple Leafs has taken care of a pressing need on his blue line, but there is still much on his to-do list before the NHL trade deadline on March 8.
He’s also sensible.
Ilya Lyubushkin, a physically strong defenseman, was acquired by Toronto late on Thursday night in a three-team trade that included salary retention maneuvers, a few draft picks, and only a US$687,500 cap increase.
With one week to go before general managers across the league put down their pens, Treliving met with reporters approximately 14 hours later to discuss the organization’s future and the trade for the right-shooting Lyubushkin, a much-needed addition to a battered defense corps that is primarily left-handed at the moment.
Treliving, whose team has used six lefties on the blue line in the last two games, stated, “We’re short on the right side.” “The first step in searching the market is figuring out what’s accessible.
“There’s lots of names people want to bandy about, but you’ve got to separate reality from non-reality.”
Treliving stated that the Lyubushkin trade was not affected by Mark Giordano’s early concussion sustained during Thursday’s 4-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes because the deal was still far off.
However, it also benefits a team that is without right-shot defenders Conor Timmins (mononucleosis) and Timothy Liljegren (undisclosed injury). In the meanwhile, after hip surgery that ended the season, John Klingberg is placed on long-term injured reserve.
Following Lyubushkin’s acquisition from Arizona in February 2022, former general manager Kyle Dubas brought the Russian to the Leafs for 31 games and one postseason run.
The trustworthy 29-year-old, who might play when the New York Rangers visit Toronto on Saturday, doesn’t provide much offensively but last time around he bonded well with Morgan Rielly.
“Very competitive,” the top defenseman for the Leafs described his new or former teammate. “Lots of guys in here that were excited to hear the news.”
After taking over last spring, Treliving claimed he relied on Sheldon Keefe, the head coach, and a few voices from the locker room to determine Lyubushkin’s suitability.
Ilya Samsonov, the goaltender from Toronto, trains with his countryman throughout the off-season, but he won’t be present at the airport on Friday night.
“He will arrive at 10:30,” grinned Samsonov. “I will be asleep.”