Toronto Maple Leafs willing to trade a top prospect ahead of the deadline, GM says
General manager Kyle Dubas said 'Yes' on March 16, 2021 when asked whether the Maple Leafs would part with a top prospect to improve the roster before the April 12 trade deadline, naming Nick Robertson, Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin among the young players in play.
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said on March 16, 2021, that he would be willing to trade a top prospect to improve the team ahead of the NHL's April 12 trade deadline, according to Daily Hive. Asked directly whether he would part with a top prospect, Dubas answered: "Yes."
Dubas expanded on the team's approach heading into the deadline, saying, "I think it's very clear that our team will explore every opportunity we can to improve as we head towards the trade deadline," per the report. Daily Hive's Jacob White reported the comments; the available sources do not indicate the remarks originated with The Athletic, so that attribution could not be independently confirmed in this session.
Dubas did not name a specific prospect he was prepared to move, and the report characterized several of Toronto's young players -- rather than one confirmed name -- as possible trade bait heading into the deadline.
Which prospects were in play
Daily Hive's report named forward Nicholas Robertson, a 2019 second-round pick, along with defensemen Timothy Liljegren, a 2017 first-round pick, and Rasmus Sandin, a 2018 first-round pick, as prospects who could be considered trade bait if Toronto believed an available asset could help the team win immediately.
The urgency behind the timeline
Dubas also addressed the team's recent stretch of losses, saying, "I think the great teams find a way to stop the bleeding and pull themselves out and use those as an opportunity to grow and improve and get better." The report noted added urgency around the deadline given Canada's 14-day quarantine requirement at the time for players entering the country, which shortened the practical window for completing a cross-border trade.
Where the Leafs stood and what they were shopping for
NHL.com's coverage of Dubas's deadline strategy placed the Maple Leafs in first place in the North Division at 19-9-2 at the time, with the deadline set for April 12 and the regular season running through May 10. Dubas told the outlet the team's primary target was a top-six left wing to play alongside John Tavares and William Nylander, saying, "Most of the conversations are focused on forwards right now." He also floated a rental-first approach given salary-cap limits -- the cap was set to hold at $81.5 million -- saying, "It's a rare time where probably a rental is a better fit, but that said, if it's something we feel can improve our team long term, we'll find a way to make it work."
A more detailed version of the same comments
A separate report from Maple Leafs Hot Stove, drawing on comments Dubas made to TSN's James Duthie on April 3, 2021 -- roughly a week before the deadline -- quoted him setting a higher bar for moving one of the team's top-end prospects specifically: "If we are going to move one of the higher-end guys, I would say it would need to be an extremely significant deal ... We are not opposed to it." That report named the same trio of Nick Robertson and Rasmus Sandin along with forward Nick Abruzzese as the higher-end prospects under discussion, and noted the Leafs' asset pool for a deadline deal also included their 2021 first-round draft pick.
Neither Robertson nor Sandin was ultimately traded at the 2021 deadline; Sandin was later dealt to the Washington Capitals in 2023, according to subsequent reporting.
US In News compiled this archived account from contemporaneous coverage by Daily Hive and Maple Leafs Hot Stove. It restores a story originally published on this site in March 2021; figures are as reported at the time.