Leafs reportedly reach out to Avalanche, express interest in acquiring 26-year-old center

The Leafs continue to scour the trade market, and according to Elliotte Friedman, they have reached out to the Avalanche about a skilled 26-year-old center.

The 4 Nations Face-Off break begins after the weekend, and the trade deadline is just over a month away. With that in mind, the Leafs are upping their efforts to acquire a center.

The Leafs have been linked to a handful of players, including 23-year-old Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens, but there's another young pivot who has also drawn their attention.

In Thursday's edition of Thursday's edition of the 32 Thoughts blog, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Leafs are looking to not only find a center, but potentially one who can play on their second line.

"Toronto is seeing how high it can go at center. Won't be easy, and might not be able to shoot as high as a 2C, but the Leafs are looking. First-round picks matter, and they don't have one in June," wrote Friedman.

In addition to revealing that the Leafs are aiming higher than previously expected in terms of upgrading their lineup, Friedman also noted that the Leafs have called the Colorado Avalanche about Casey Mittelstadt.

The 26-year-old is in the first year of a three-year extension that carries a cap hit of $5.75M per year and centers the second line for the Avalanche. At 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, Mittelstadt does provide some size, along with secondary scoring, which the Leafs could desperately use.

The former first-round pick has nine goals and 32 points in 55 games for the Avs so far this season and has nine points in his last nine games.

The Avalanche aren't afraid to shake things up, as we saw with the Mikko Rantanen trade at the end of January. However, it would take a lot of cap maneuvering to make such a deal work, given Mittelstadt's cap hit.

As the trade deadline approaches, Brad Treliving and the Leafs will be watched under a microscope by fans who will be hoping that he diverts away from his traditional low-cost deadline deals to help propel the Leafs beyond the first round.