Where do the Leafs go from here?

So last night, prior to the Kraken game, Zadorov gets dealt to Vancouver and Leafs fans are left wondering when is it going to be their turn when they see a push notification from TSN on a big Leafs deal for a blueliner they so desperately need.

Here's my take on what I think has happened and what hopefully will be happening soon...

Kevin Weekes broke the news that the Leafs wanted Calgary to retain salary to make the deal work. This makes sense considering his cap hit of 3.75 million. At this point, there's still no clarity on John Klingberg's status, so until this gets cleared up, the Leafs were hesitant to take on all of Z's cash.

Also, Zadorov played primarily on a third pair role on a deep D in Calgary. Is he a second pairing guy? I think Treliving really wants more impact here, so that there's more of a trickle down effect with the rest of the depth on the blueline.

My guess: I don't believe the Leafs will be playing the next few weeks with this current makeup on defence. As much as William Lagesson, Simon Benoit and Conor Timmins have played admirably, this is not sustainable. I think the Klingberg situation should clear itself up soon and when it does, the Leafs will pounce and pull the trigger.

Elliotte Friedman suggested on his latest 32 Thoughts podcast that after the Zadorov trade, that Calgary remains open for business and they're potentially not going to wait until the trade deadline.

So here's my trade with Calgary:

To Leafs: Chris Tanev

To Flames: Nick Abruzzese, 2024 first round pick, 2024 fifth round pick

(The reason I suggest Abruzzese in the deal is because of this. )