Quoting: KingExLeafs
About Tanev, I actually agree that the Leafs should stay away and sign him in free agency because the Flames owner has kept a grudge against Treliving and wants the Leafs to overpay in any trade with them. But he is the ideal target.
And with Risto, how do we know what kind of player he truly is when he's been on bad teams his whole career? Maybe on a good team his mistakes could be covered up, or better yet he elevates his game, especially if he gets to play with Brodie on a second pair. He is big, strong, and has a right shot, and at under 4 million with the cap going up it won't be all that bad if he ends up on the third pair playing sheltered minutes. It's a gamble, but that's what the Leafs must do. They gambled with Klingberg and lost. But they have to continue gambling because there is no other choice.
Ideally, Dubas would have used all those picks he gave up for younger D. Instead he gave two 2nds to acquire a 38 year old Giordano while Sakic used that same currency to get Toews out of the Islanders.
Treliving was put in a tough spot. And he's lucky that Klingberg got injured.
Don't get me wrong, Tanev is a good target that would be a good fit, but he can't be seen as the solution. Getting him would be much like the Giordano acquisition in the sense which wasn't bad, but he's a short-term solution even if he re-signs, and while Giordano's Achilles' heel has been stamina, Tanev's will likely be his health. They should try to add someone now, and circle back on him later, I don't think many teams are bouncing up and down at the idea of giving a 1st for him. I do think that's why Treliving is calling in and looking into Ristolainen but I hope he doesn't absorb a large portion or all of it just for a low cost of acquisition. I'm guessing he's also among the teams looking at Logan Stanley.
We don't know what Ristolainen is perhaps but finding out is going to be a costly mistake if it's not positive. Klingberg might have not worked out even if he was healthy but either way, he would have been off the books at the end of the season.
There was no way Lou was sending Toews to Toronto or anywhere in the East probably but especially to Toronto. Don't think Toronto had the cap to sign him anyways, but even if they did, no one wants to help Toronto and Lou probably wants to help them less. Now that Dubas is out of Toronto, partly because PIT had cap, he's able to get someone like Rielly Smith for just a 3rd. If he was still the Leafs' GM, Vegas is probably asking like a 2nd at least in the same situation.
Treliving is not in an enviable position, but he does have a ton of cap flexibility, so there's the opportunity for things to get much better over the next few years or much worse depending on the moves he makes today. I'm sure he's aware of that but let's just hope he manages to get the right balance of taking risks and playing it safe and between the present and the future.
Treliving is looking to add a RHD but with the traits that he wants to acquire, he'll have to acquire a LHD as well. The traits that I think he's looking to add with the addition(s) are 1) size & "snot" 2) a reliable defender for those difficult defensive assignments and 3) a puck-moving defender who can chip in offensively.