Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving makes trade admission involving Auston Matthews & $77,000,000 ex-captain

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving spoke to the media on Monday morning. With the 2025 NHL trade deadline quickly approaching, Treliving will soon be in the spotlight.

Rumors have been suggesting that Toronto is in the market to acquire another center. With a two-headed monster of Auston Matthews and John Tavares down the middle, the top of the lineup is set. A third-line center is what Treliving will be pursuing.

The Leafs GM was asked about his plans leading up to the trade deadline and the possibility of acquiring another top centerman. Here is what Leafs reporter Luke Fox shared on X (formerly Twitter).

"Brad Treliving doesn't believe it's 'realistic' to acquire a centre better than Matthews or Tavares. He's targeting a centre that's reliable on both sides of puck and can add offence. 'What you want and sometimes what's available are two different things, so we'll keep looking,'" Luke Fox wrote on X.

It certainly wouldn't be realistic to imagine they'll be acquiring a center better than their $53 million current captain or $77 million former captain. There aren't many better than those two in the league.

Brad Treliving will likely be shopping for more of a middle-six center in the coming months. Max Domi, David Kampf, and Pontus Holmberg have all spent time centering Toronto's third and fourth lines so far this season.

Brad Treliving is expected to be aggressive ahead of the trade deadline

It's been reported by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger that Brad Treliving has been examining the market for centermen as we approach the NHL trade deadline.

Dreger specifically mentioned seven players as potential targets for Treliving and the Maple Leafs. Those are Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome, Ryan O'Reilly, Scott Laughton, Mikael Granlund, Yanni Gourde, and Nick Bjusgtad. This certainly provides a plethora of options the Leafs could look to acquire in their search for depth down the middle.

Treliving will have to factor in the cost of acquisition, his salary cap situation, and the player fit. Expect to hear plenty of more rumors as we approach the March 7 trade deadline. The second-year Maple Leafs GM is known to be one of the more aggressive managers around the league.

The Maple Leafs will return to action on Tuesday night when they battle the Dallas Stars at Scotiabank Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET.