NHL Insider Reveals Reasons For Lybushkin Trade, Links Leafs To Another Defenseman
Brad Treliving has been busy in recent days. Just last night, he completed his first trade of the deadline season, but now it appears he may be ready to make a bigger move.
Insider Reveals Reason Leafs Traded For Lybushkin
The Leafs have had rather awful luck when it comes to injuries this season. The team's blueline has been particularly decimated time and time again. The trend continued last night when Mark Giordano left the game against the Coyotes early after a scary and violent collision with the boards.
The oldest skater in the league would not return to the game. This morning, the team placed him on injured reserve.
According to Elliotte Friedman, this injury was a factor in the Leafs decision to add Lybushkin. The team was already thin on defense, particularly on the right side, and this injury only made things worse. At this point we do not know how long Giordano will be out, but this move can be seen as somewhat of an insurance policy for the team.
"Yeah, they were talking [TOR/ANA], but all of a sudden it intensified. Giordano gets hurt, and first of all, you want to wish the best for Mark Giordano. That was a really heavy collision into the boards... While [the trade] wasn't directly as a result of the injury, there's no question that that exacerbated things.
Friedman Links Toronto Maple Leafs To Sharks Defenseman
At the same time, the insider also hinted that the Leafs are not done on the trade market, particularly on defense. One blueliner the team has been linked to in the past this season is 25-year-old Mario Ferraro. It seems that this link is very real as Friedman mentioned him here as a possibility for the team.
"They were looking at a lot of right-shot D... One of the guys I've wondered for Toronto, if it would make any sense for them, is a guy like Mario Ferraro, just because he's a guy San Jose's looked to move and he's a local guy, but he's a left-hand shot and they've got a lot of left hand shots. As I was kind of looking around, that was another name that kind of stood out to me... They do have some room to do some other things."
That being said, there are some conflicting reports about Ferraro. While Mike Grier has made it clear the team is open for business, One recent report says that the team is not actively shopping the 25-year-old defenseman.
| POLL | ||
1 MARS | 237 ANSWERS NHL Insider Reveals Reasons For Lybushkin Trade, Links Leafs To Another Defenseman Do you think the Leafs should target Mario Ferraro in a trade? | ||
| Yes | 111 | 46.8 % |
| No | 126 | 53.2 % |
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