Elliotte Friedman has just delivered a significant update regarding Noah Hanifin's status as the trade deadline looms. <h2>Elliotte Friedman Announces Hanifin's Availability on the Trade Market</h2> Noah Hanifin, a top defenseman available ahead of the trade deadline, will likely be traded in the coming weeks. Friedman confirmed last night that Hanifin is available, with US teams becoming the likely landing spots for him.. <q>Friedman at the intermission says Noah Hanifin is going to the market, Canadian teams are interested but American teams are more confident they can sign him long-term.</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/nhl_watcher/status/1759034501668192691'> </a></blockquote></div> <h2>The Maple Leafs and GM Brad Treliving Face a Challenge to Acquire Hanifin</h2> There's widespread speculation that the Toronto Maple Leafs, under the leadership of Brad Treliving, are front-runners for Hanifin, thanks to a prior connection between the defenseman and the current Leafs GM. Yet, according to Friedman's insights, the Leafs may need to offer significantly more, especially regarding Hanifin's contract extension, to secure his services. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/TLNdc/status/1758253838274797991'> </a></blockquote></div> As the deadline draws near, it remains to be seen which team will succeed in adding Hanifin to their roster.