Are the Leafs & Flames poised to make a deal?

If the Leafs decide to give in to Calgary and pay the rumoured asking price – this year’s first round pick – in exchange for veteran blue liner Chris Tanev, they would be making a colossal mistake.

The good news, however, is to this point, the Leafs have made it abundantly clear to the Flames that they’re not willing to do that. Needless to say though, with each and every passing d-zone breakdown, Toronto’s patience will continue to be tested.

Any way you slice it, the purported price tag would be a massive overpay —especially when it’s already public knowledge that Calgary’s been requesting a second-round pick from other interested parties. Of course, the Flames are trying to bid up Toronto because they know the Leafs don’t have a second rounder at their disposal.

Having said all that, it would make a lot of sense for the Leafs to dangle that first rounder in a deal for Tanev-plus. And by the sounds of it, that’s exactly what they’ve been trying to do.

Unfortunately, pertaining to Calgary – Tanev and Noah Hanifin specifically – the Leafs are competing with a bunch of other squads for their services. The Flames have a lot of leverage in this scenario. They know Toronto’s looking to dance, so they’ve been holding firm on their asking price.

This is the ultimate game of chicken.

Regardless of how bad this team needs a boost on the blue line, under no circumstances can they be sucked into making a bad deal. They just can’t.

Enter Brad Treliving.

It’s scenarios like this one where the 54-year-old general manager’s expertise and experience will be leaned upon heavily. Of course, adding intrigue to the whole thing is the fact that he’s trying to deal with Craig Conroy —his former understudy and the man who replaced him in Calgary.

If there’s a team that knows Brad Treliving well, it’s the Calgary Flames.