Leafs unfazed by increasing trade chatter Even if a Stanley Cup playoff berth seemed like little more than a pipe dream prior to the Maple Leafs’ 8-2-2 run in December, the team’s current five-game losing skid has all but extinguished any flicker of hope, writes TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli.

Frank Seravalli TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Follow|Archive

PHILADELPHIA - Even if a Stanley Cup playoff berth seemed like little more than a pipe dream prior to the Maple Leafs’ 8-2-2 run in December, the team’s current five-game losing skid has all but extinguished any flicker of hope.

The Maple Leafs have scored just five goals in the five games. They sit 11 points back of a playoff position and - more importantly - nine points shy of a pack of five teams jockeying for the final spots in the Eastern Conference. The Leafs visit one of those playoff hopefuls, the Flyers, tonight at Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m., TSN4).

For their part, the Maple Leafs say they are refusing to look ahead to the Feb. 29 trade deadline, even knowing the roster may be significantly overhauled in the next 40 days.

“I try not to think about that,” forward P.A. Parenteau said after Tuesday’s morning skate. “I’ve said from Day 1 this season that I’m taking it day by day and game by game. That’s the mentality that I’m going to try to keep through the end of the year.”

Parenteau, 32, admitted in years past that he might’ve been more worried or upset about the speculation leading up to the deadline.

He went into this season with eyes wide open, coming off a buyout from the Canadiens, knowing that if he performed well with a cap-friendly one-year, $1.5-million contract he could potentially find himself in a position to help a contender.

Parenteau has held up his end of the bargain with 11 goals and 11 assists in 43 games. He is one of many pending free agents on the Maple Leafs roster who aren’t likely to be part of Toronto’s long-term future and could help lessen the pain of the rebuild.

Other unrestricted free agents include Roman Polak, Nick Spaling, Shawn Matthias, Michael Grabner and Brad Boyes. Most are signed to easy-to-move contracts with the idea that they could ultimately bring back future assets and draft picks.

Restricted free agents Morgan Rielly and Nazem Kadri are part of the much smaller group of Maple Leafs unlikely to be going anywhere. Unrestricted free agent goaltender James Reimer is also part of that club.

Coach Mike Babcock has done his best to insulate his players from the trade rumour storm, which is about to intensify. On Tuesday, a Twitter account belonging to TSN 1050 radio posted a tweet indicating James van Riemsdyk had been traded to the New York Rangers. The account was hacked; no such trade had happened.

“I don’t even know this is going on,” Babcock said, oblivious to the story. “I think [the social media talk], that’s a waste of energy and time. Like, whose opinion do you value in your life?

“I talk to Lou [Lamoriello] every day. I talk to my coaching staff every day. I talk to my players every day. I talk to Shanny, Kyle Dubas every day. Those are the opinions I get that influence hockey. I talk to my wife and kids every day. That’s kind of what matters to me.”

Babcock said he will not change his coaching style or method to potentially showcase a player for trade.

“We’re going about our job,” Babcock said.

When asked if the trade deadline could potentially become a distraction, he didn’t hesitate.

“It might be,” Babcock said. “I guess the way I would look at it is…I got up today, I knew we were playing Philly, and I thought about finding a way to get a win. That’s what I would do if I were a player.”

Joffrey Lupul said Tuesday’s Twitter hoax could have caused a few anxious moment for van Riemsdyk, who is out for the next six-to-eight weeks with a non-displaced fracture in his foot.

But the rumours and the intrigue come with playing in Toronto, more so when you play for a non-playoff team.

“I’ve been on both ends, in Toronto and Anaheim,” Lupul said. “In Anaheim, sometimes you wish for something like [the Twitter hoax] to happen once in a while, to give you something exciting. It’s just part of what goes on here - same thing in Edmonton and Montreal. It happens. The New York Yankees are subjected to similar stuff. You get used to it.”

Frank Seravalli can be reached at frank.seravalli@bellmedia.ca.