NHL Trade Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs in Talks with Bobby Ryan?

You can add the Toronto Maple Leafs to the list of teams that have inquired about the Anaheim Ducks' Bobby Ryan. The following pair of tweets were sent out today that show the Leafs' keen interest in Bobby Ryan.

Personally after looking at these tweets, I wouldn't sound off any alarms. Ryan is starting to pick up his game and Anaheim is winning. If there was ever a time to hold onto Ryan, the time is now. Unless Bob Murray receives a knockout of an offer, Ryan will likely remain a Duck for the foreseeable future.

As the deadline gets closer, the Ducks' and Ryan's situation should become more clear. If the Ducks are still in the thick of things in mid to late February, Murray will have little to no reason to move his star forward. Trading a star player when you're in the thick of a playoff race is not going to win over your fanbase.

However if the Ducks fall out of playoff contention, teams will really inquire about his services. They will inquire but there are no guarantee that Murray will trade him.

While Murray may not want to move him, if he is given an offer that improves his team he could have a hard time turning it down. Anaheim could use some more secondary scoring and Murray would likely want some draft picks as well.

Ryan is a great player and could be the future of the Ducks' franchise, but there are teams that would deal for Ryan even if it leaves them with two solid lines and a makeshift bottom six of youngsters and waiver-wire pickups. Players like him rarely hit the market this early in their career.

These rumors seem to come and go during this time of year. Tensions run high amongst fans over the thought of losing a star player, and tensions grow amongst fans of the team that could acquire him. There is no reason to get up in arms over the rumor, but it only points out the obvious and makes more interesting discussions.

Everyone is familiar with how it was tweeted that a New York Rangers acquisition of Ryan was imminent. If the Leafs were going to trade for Bobby Ryan, it is likely that the package would have to be very lucrative.

If the word gets out that Murray is going to trade Ryan, every team will line up and offer him a premium package for the perennial 30-goal scorer. Today Bobby Ryan is an Anaheim Duck. Tomorrow he will be an Anaheim Duck, but three, four, five or six weeks from now, that remains to be determined.

Tom Urtz Jr. is an NHL Featured Columnist. For NHL news, updates and alerts about players: