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Brad Treliving and Toronto Maple Leafs fail to make blockbuster move for two 100-point superstars

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Daniel Lucente | Last updated Feb 7, 2025 2:19 PM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs watched two superstar players, both former 100-point guys, get snatched up by other teams, and they will need to rethink their strategy.

With the 4 Nations Tournament upcoming, as teams are gearing up for the playoffs, the Leafs once again find themselves lost.

The Leafs lost out on Mikko Rantanen and J.T. Miller

Two of their conference opponents just acquired superstar talents, Mikko Rantanen and J.T. Miller, which arguably pushes Toronto further from true contention.

The Leafs are still a flawed team in many ways as they continue with ineffective third and fourth lines. Their defensemen lack puck-movement skill altogether.

The Leafs could target Casey Mittelstadt

Do they go looking for a defenseman, or perhaps switch gears and target a forward to make up for the losses of Miller and Rantanen? Elliotte Friedman believes Casey Mittelstadt could be a possible Leafs target.

Colorado made a run at Miller, but it never got close enough to threaten the Rangers deal. That's why Casey Mittelstadt's name is out there. Believe New Jersey, Ottawa, and Toronto poked around, but not with much traction.
- Elliotte Friedman

Last year's deadline was an abomination, adding Joel Edmundson, Ilya Lyubushkin and Connor Dewar did nothing to improve the team. Worse still, they inexplicably held onto Ilya Samsonov after waivers in January.

Brad Treliving's deadline wasn't just poor, it was the worst in the NHL. His inaction left the Leafs with no real opportunity to advance.

They can't fix it all this offseason. They don't have the assets and cap room to fill all their holes. But if they make only minor adjustments again, it's proof they learned nothing from last season's failure. And failure is only worthwhile if you learn from it.

So, does Treliving go for broke and attempt a game-altering move? Do the Leafs finally get the elite defenseman they so badly require? Or is this going to be just another underwhelming deadline?

Is this finally a front office that can bring in a Stanley Cup? Only time will tell.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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