Report: Maple Leafs Willing To Move Off 'Premium Assets' For Help On Defense In Trade Market

The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off their third straight loss with a 4-1 defeat to the New York Islanders on Saturday, and they are falling behind slowly in the Atlantic Division.

The biggest, glaring weakness in Toronto has been their defense, and the team could use an upgrade on the back end. 

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman discussed the Maple Leafs and their activity in searching for a difference-maker on defense. He reported on the 'Saturday Headlines' segment that Toronto is open to moving off "premium assets" for said difference-maker.

"They have said they will pay a premium asset if they believe they are getting a difference-maker on the blueline," Friedman said.

With that, there are a couple of preferences from the Maple Leafs in terms of what a potential trade could look like.

For one, Toronto isn't interested in a "band-aid' solution. That means they won't acquire a player that won't have a long-term influence in the organization or a 'rental-type' player who is on an expiring contract and may not extend with the club.

They're also not interested in trading away A-tier assets for a B-tier replacement on the roster. Friedman also reported that the Leafs would be interested in moving off an older player to bring in a younger replacement.

Toronto is the fourth-oldest team in the NHL in average age, according to Elite Prospects, and there's only one defenseman who is regularly in the rotation that is younger than 30, which is Nick Blankenburg. And Blankenburg, 28, averaged 14:12 of ice time in four games this year, logging 13:39 against the Islanders on Saturday.

The Leafs have $4.925 million in salary cap space, according to PuckPedia.

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