With trade deadline day officially arriving and the Toronto Maple Leafs the only surefire contending team in the Atlantic Division yet to make a move, the heat is starting to turn up in the market.

The Florida Panthers acquired Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks after putting star forward Matthew Tkachuk on injured reserve, and the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired a familiar face in Yanni Gourde along with teammate Oliver Bjorkstrand from the Seattle Kraken. There aren’t too many game-changing players on the market this season outside of Mikko Rantanen, who the Maple Leafs were rumoured to be interested in, but at the time of filing, he’s reported to be in talks to join the Dallas Stars.

With the Leafs being in pursuit of a centre as their top priority, the two names they’ve been connected to more than anyone else are St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn and Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton. Both players have term on their contracts, which Treliving has said is a plus, and both would shore up a Leafs third line that’s been a bit of a revolving door in 2024-25. The Blues’ asking price for Schenn was reported to be astronomical by a number of insiders, including DailyFaceoff’s Frank Seravalli, and on Friday morning, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that Blues general manager Doug Armstrong is firm on his price, which has caused Leafs general manager Brad Treliving to pivot to Laughton.

Considering the asking price for Schenn was once floated to be multiple first-round picks, it makes sense why Treliving has turned his attention elsewhere. He’s a better player than Laughton, but he’s also three years older, has three years left on his contract compared to Laughton’s one, and makes twice the amount of money. The idea is that there would be salary retention involved, but the Leafs have more holes beyond their third-line centre role to address, so it makes sense that they don’t want to blow their wad on one player who might not be a needle-mover.

Schenn has 12 goals and 38 points in 63 games for the Blues this season, while Laughton has 11 goals and 27 points in 60 games.

Get ready, hockey fans! The Daily Faceoff Deadline is happening on March 7th from 11 AM to 4 PM Eastern, and you won’t want to miss it. We’ll be LIVE, breaking down every trade and big move as it happens, with instant reactions and expert analysis from the Daily Faceoff crew. Plus, we’ve got special guests lined up throughout the show, offering exclusive insights from some of the biggest names in the game. From blockbuster trades to surprise moves, we’re covering it all. Tune in to the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel and follow Daily Faceoff socials on March 7th to catch all the action!