The Toronto Maple Leafs have needed a star on the blue line for quite some time, and now, it appears they've found their way to land a home town star. Chris Tanev has been one the Toronto Maple Leafs for years now, and with former Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving now at the helm, they have a good shot to land the former Flames star. According to TSN's Chris Johnston, they've seemingly found a way to make it happen, as Treliving and the team are open to more term and less AAV to lock down the veteran. <q>»I think the Leafs are willing to get creative on a contract with Chris Tanev even despite his age and his injury historyyou might see him sign a longer term contract with wherever he lands and that could be a way to lower the AAV for him I don't think you can rule out a five or six year deal this time around and I think Toronto is one of the teams that is going to be knocking on his door.»</q> The links have been obvious for quite some time, and given that he's 34-years of age now, if the Maple Leafs do target him in free agency and offer more term than other teams, it may be the deciding factor for Tanev. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/nickbarden/status/1802034715332903220'> </a></blockquote></div> Renowned as one of the toughest players in the NHL, landing Tanev would be a game changer for the Maple Leafs blue line, and if they can sort out the log jam at the top of their forward group, this may finally be the year that they can make it happen. Source: Blade of Steel <a href='https://www.bladeofsteel.com/nhl/news/toronto-maple-leafs-willing-to-use-loophole-to-circumvent-cap-to-sign-free-agent' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Toronto Maple Leafs willing to use loophole to circumvent cap to sign free agent</a>