Defensemen Top GM Brian Burke's Best Trading Pieces on the Toronto Maple Leafs

With the trade deadline now less than two months away, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke is most likely looking to make a trade for a true No. 1 center to play with Phil Kessel and bring another scoring threat to Toronto.

The recent struggles of this Toronto Maple Leafs squad have also caused many to start speculating about potential trades that would improve the team and help the Leafs as they make their playoff push.

The question though, is what will the Leafs head to the bargaining table with?

Defensemen

With all of the depth on the blue line, the Maple Leafs will be centering most trade offers around defensemen. From NHL caliber defensemen like John-Michael Liles, Mike Komisarek and Cody Franson, to defensive prospects such as Korbinian Holzer or Jesse Blacker.

Luke Schenn is also a name that will undoubtedly be mentioned in any sort of blockbuster trade talks.

Komisarek and Liles will also be mentioned in those deals, as their cap hits come in around $4.5 million and $4.2 million respectively, and the Leafs have little wiggle room when it comes to the salary cap limit.

Forwards

Up front the Maple Leafs won't be wanting to move much.  Brian Burke will be looking to keep as much talent and depth on the roster as possible. Names that could be included in a deal would likely be Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin or Matt Frattin at the NHL level; or players like Joe Colborne, Nazem Kadri or Brad Ross at the prospect level.

Watch for Matthew Lombardi to be thrown into a trade for a high-priced star as well to offset any salary complications that may have been an issue, considering Toronto has little wiggle room inside the salary cap.

Goaltenders and Draft Picks.

This may be the wild card of all positions when it comes to making any deal over the next month- and-a-half. Burke has not hinted that he wants to make a move to improve the goaltending, but one would expect him to pull the trigger on a deal if the right net-minder was available.

In that unlikely scenario, it would probably mean he would send James Reimer the other way. Reimer is the only goalie the Maple Leafs have that is ready to start right now, and Jonas Gustavsson is a free agent at the end of the season, which makes him much less valuable.

As far as draft picks go, the Maple Leafs have their own first and second-round picks, as well their own fifth-round pick, two sixth-round picks and the Rangers' seventh-round pick.

This doesn't give the Leafs a lot to work with in terms of value, and with a lack of mid-round picks in the third and fourth rounds, I wouldn't anticipate Burke moving his first or second-round picks.

This means any big deal the Leafs want to make that would take draft picks to complete will more than likely come from next year's picks, where the Leafs still possess a pick in each round of the draft.

This is the group of players I personally believe Brian Burke will be willing to deal to acquire the right pieces (though Nazem Kadri has certainly been playing well enough to be moved into the "untouchable" category). Any true No. 1 center will command many of the pieces listed above, and it will be up to Burke to engineer a deal that keeps us competitive moving forward.

Thanks for the read guys and gals. Be sure to leave your input below in the comments section and please follow me on twitter for updates at @LeafsWriterBR.